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

Who showed up in MetLife's toon-filled Super Bowl ad? And can you find Waldo? Cartoonist Mark Anderson has the answers (and one question in his blog - see if you can identify the mystery character): Link - Thanks Mark!

(YouTube Link)

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

(YouTube Link)

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various DC superheroes, and there was a comment posted which stated something to the effect that MAD Magazine is dead, outdated and nobody cares.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

(YouTube Link)

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

With a soggy and totally psychedelic style to his character renditions, it’s no wonder that Edwin Vazquez and his eye catching artworks have become a popular part of publications such as MAD magazine and Bongo Comics. Trip out on the drips, and some sweet tattoo inspired pieces, at the links below.

Link  –via ComicsAlliance

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

These adorable Valentine’s Day cards feature zombie characters from the Left 4 Dead video game series, and they’re full of dorky gamer humor, putrid sentimentality, and jokes about vomiting.

So, if the apple of your eye doesn’t enjoy these cards by Alexandria Neonakis as much as you do, it’s probably time to start the search all over again. Is that love in the air, or the sickly sweet smell of decomposition?

Link  –via GeeksAreSexy

(YouTube Link)

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

(YouTube Link)

This incredibly well made cartoon is the product of some talented students from the ESMA School of the Arts in France, and packs a full length feature worth of content into an eight minute long short.

With an endearing storyline, cute cartoony style and some sweet visual effects, it’s so slick that I can hardly believe that it was made by student animators! Check it out and see if Electro Shock changes the way you think about superheroes.

–via Cartoon Brew

(YouTube Link)

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

(YouTube Link)

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

It appears J.K. Rowling was more than a little inspired by Tolkien’s classic  fantasy series the Lord Of The Rings when writing her Harry Potter series, and this cute chart aims to prove it by illustrating the similarities between the characters and plot points in both series.

Check out all 4 sections of the chart at the link below, and see for yourself how Harry Potter literally owes his life to J.R.R. Tolkien.

Link

This is what Admiral Ackbar looked like, as a newly sold alien pet shop slave, way before he was figuring out that things were traps and helping the Rebel Alliance blow up the Death Star. He looked so cute before he grew legs!

Link –via JazJaz

You’d think Yoda’s amazing Force powers would allow him to correct his speech impediment, especially when getting on everyones nerves it is. This cute Shoebox Cards illustration shows why the rest of the Star Wars gang are sick of Christmas caroling with the little green Jedi Master.

Link

I’ve caught a fresh case of Muppet Fever thanks to the new movie, and I hope that a whole new generation of youngsters will find love for these fleece superstars. However, their career was in a slump for a while, and a few of the Muppets thought they might need to find other work, so here are some test shots from their alternate movie role tryouts.

You can see the rest at the link below, including Kermit as Anchorman and Dr. Bunsen as Walter White from Breaking Bad!

Link –via ComicsAlliance –image via National Post

(YouTube Link)

The lessons taught by the Captain Planet animated series were typically of an ecological or scientific nature, but there were a handful of episodes where the lessons went terribly wrong. Gamma Squad has a hilarious description for each episode, and a choice cut from the episode that shows the craziness that is Captain Planet teaching kids life lessons about drugs, slavery, and fornication. The power is yours!

Link

The New Yorker rejected this great same sex marriage cover art by Robert Crumb, so he subsequently declined to do any more work for the magazine. I think Robert Crumb is an unlikely candidate for New Yorker cartoonist, because his illustrations are neither boring nor conservative enough for the average subscriber, but what do you think?

Link

Beavis and Butthead are back, and their fans have come up with many creative ways to show their love. This quality gallery shows various fan art interpretations of the duo that don’t suck. Insert snarky comment here.

Link –image Source

These freaky paintings look like what you’ll see if you watch cartoons while on acid.

Created by Tina Lugo, they have a pop art flavor coupled with psychedelic melting madness, and yet the cartoon characters that star in these paintings are still recognizable.

Tina creates these bizarre pieces by painting enamel on sheets of Plexiglass, which enhances the vibrancy of the colors and gives them their cartoon cel look. Personally, I would love to see Hanna Barbera characters melt together in her future works!

Link –via BuzzFeed

Thomas Beg animated the Lifecycle of a Mushroom for the Spectacular Science collaboration project in the style of the cartoons of the 1920s. Link -via Dangerous Minds

(YouTube Link)

This short demonstrates how sometimes simpler is better, and that good acting and straight ahead storytelling are often better than over-the-top action and visual effects in 3d animation. Enjoy!

–via 3d World

Evelyn Evelyn “Have You Seen My Sister Evelyn” Music Video from Amanda Palmer on Vimeo.

This cute animation has an old-time cartoon look which works really well with the song “Have You Seen My Sister Evelyn?”, by Evelyn and Evelyn, for which it was created. If you’re curious about how they managed to animate on fogged glass, then hit the link and read on!
Link

There’s something about these Care Bears that’s not quite right. Maybe it’s the massive fangs, or sharp claws, or the fact that the symbol on the bear’s stomach seems to be running. Something tells me these bears don’t want to hug and sing songs!

Link

Link –via ComicsAlliance

If you are the ultimate Akira fan, and you have a thousand dollars burning a hole in your wallet, then this real life version of the red leather motorcycle jacket worn by Kaneda in the anime feature will soon become your most prized possession. If you can’t afford such geeky luxuries in life, then you’ll just have to bask in the glory of the jacket via the image gallery at the link below.

Link

What better subject for a batch of Cake Pops than the fluffy pink Nintendo character Kirby? These cute and delicious works of art take hours to make, and only five minutes to eat. I don’t know about you, but I think Kirby’s next adventure should be in my belly!

Link

Every lunch period would be an adventure if kids had lunch bags that look as cool as these! Take a look at this dad’s Tumblr page and see why his son sports a great big grin to school every day.

Link -via GeeksAreSexy

These characters aren’t going to be kicking anyone’s butt in battle, unless they find a way to use their cuteness as a weapon. Illustrator Ivan Camelo has taken our favorite musclebound DC heroes and turned them into diminutive, bubbly and shiny little cuties that look like they belong an alternate DC/Sanrio Universe alongside Hello Kitty and Keroppi. It’s good to see that even though Batman and Superman have lost their muscles, their incredibly square chins weren’t lost in translation. You can see more at ComicsAlliance, but beware: drawings this sweet may rot your teeth.

Link

Heavy pop, liquid designs and sheer surreal madness collide in Exit Man’s unusual artworks. These busy, colorful pieces use bold, curved lines to guide you around the scene, and looking at them kinda feels like taking your eyes on a rollercoaster ride. Want to hang one of these ocular amusements on your wall? Then follow the link to Exit Man’s Society6 page and support his vision!

Link -via ComicsAlliance

(YouTube Link)

If you think your life is strange, watch this animated short and thank your lucky stars that you don’t have to deal with the strangeness this guy deals with every day. Made by Santiago Grasso, this short yet insightful cartoon has lots to say and plenty of style to keep your eyes satisfied. This is animation for the lost, with a stark style that matches the dark subject matter, and an overall feeling that some people will identify with from frame one. Watch it while you’re at work and you just might end up with a better appreciation of what you do for a living!

Awww, Chunk and Sloth are best friends! Mark A. Fionda Jr.’s take on characters from pop culture, such as these cuties from The Goonies, make me feel all warm and squishy inside. Use these images to battle depression, make your girlfriend giggle, or simply to fill your cuteness quota, just don’t try to deny Mark’s skills with the watercolors! See many more cute and colorful imagery at Mark’s website, or hit the ComicsAlliance link below for a mini-gallery of his works.

Link -via ComicsAlliance

Defective Bigbot Short from Michele Boldoni on Vimeo.

A group of friends put together this cute CGI short about a defective robot, and it looks quite nice considering these amateurs had no experience as professional animators. It’s no surprise that they all found jobs while making the short, they definitely have the skills! Hear what the artists have to say about the project at the Vimeo link above.

-via 3d World

A gumshoe has an overactive imagination in this short film by Avner Geller and Stevie Lewis from Cartoon Brew’s Student Film Festival. -via Everlasting Blort

Fredrik Larsson (YouTube user FreddeGredde) sings a medley of 28 classic 80s cartoon theme songs that will surely transport y’all back to happier times.

Geektoplasm has the clip:

The only way I can explain how it feels to watch this is: you know that feeling you get when you come home from college and have your first dinner back home? That feeling you get in your mouth as you eat your favorite homemade meal after months of cafeteria fare? It’s like that, but in your brain and heart.

If you don’t smile, then you’re definitely cold-hearted Link

Previously on Neatorama: Cartoon Theme Medley on Piano

Mothers, you’ve certainly noticed that some parents look at child rearing as a competition. There are those who strive for perfection in every aspect of their kids’ lives (according to the latest parenthood buzz, which may change tomorrow), and have no problem crowing about it to any other parent who doesn’t measure up in their eyes. You’ll enjoy this exchange at NeatoBambino. Link

1. Today’s Google doodle honors The Flintstones anniversary. After today, you’ll find it in their archives.

2. The characters of The Flintstones were greatly influenced by the 1954-56 hit TV series The Honeymooners, starring Jackie Gleason and Art Carney as working class neighbors. Blowhard Fred Flintstone was very like Gleason’s character Ralph Kramden, goofy sidekick Barney Rubble resembled Carney’s character Ed Norton, and their wives Wilma and Betty had the practical personalities of the wives in The Honeymooners. Jackie Gleason considered suing Hanna-Barbera, but did not want to go down in history as “the guy who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air”.

3. The show’s gimmick, besides being a rare prime-time cartoon, was that the Flintstone family had everyday modern situations set in prehistoric times. There was no electricity, no internal-combustion engines, and no shoes, but the characters still had modern conveniences like dishwashers and phonographs. All these appliances were powered by captive animals (including dinosaurs). The heavy equipment Fred and Barney worked with was powered by pulleys, and their cars were powered by “the courtesy of Fred’s two feet.”

4. Most of the series’ comedy came from puns about rocks. The Flintstones lived in the town of Bedrock. Fred worked for a boss named Mr. Slate. Guest stars on the show had “rock” names.

And who can forget the celebrities? “Cary Granite” (Cary Grant), “Stony Curtis” (Tony Curtis), “Ed Sulleyrock/Sulleystone” (Ed Sullivan), “Rock Pile/Quarry/Hudstone” (Rock Hudson) and “Ann-Margrock” (Ann-Margret) all had cameos.

(RIP Tony Curtis)

The exception was Tuesday Weld, whose “Bedrock” name was Tuesday Wednesday.

5. The show had some interesting casting: the man of a thousand voices, Mel Blanc played Barney Rubble for most of the series’ run, and provided the sounds of Fred’s pet dinosaur Dino. Actress Bea Benedaret, who you might remember as the owner of the Shady Rest Hotel on Petticoat Junction and cousin Pearl on The Beverly Hillbillies did the voice for Barney’s wife Betty Rubble. Funnyman Harvey Korman joined the cast in 1965 as the voice of The Great Gazoo.

6. In the first two seasons of The Flintstones, the opening theme was different from the theme song you remember (Meet the Flintstones). The original song, which had no lyrics, was called “Rise and Shine”, and was also used for the show’s closing credits.

(YouTube link)

7. The show contained several breakthroughs for network television. It was the first prime-time animated series on American television. After the Flintstones’ daughter Pebbles was born, Betty Rubble was depressed about her inability to conceive a child. This was the first time an animated show addressed the issue of infertility. The Rubbles then adopted their son Bamm-Bamm. The “first” that most people associate with the show was the fact that Fred and Wilma slept in the same bed. However, this was not the first American depiction of such sleeping arrangements; that was in the 1947 sitcom Mary Kay and Johnny, which few people saw, considering how many people owned TV sets in the 1940s. However, Fred and Wilma were the first couple to sleep together in a cartoon.

8. While under development, the series had several names. First, the show was going to be called The Flagstones. Then it was The Gladstones. Finally, it was The Flintstones, and couldn’t be changed after the series premiered. However, an episode called The Flagstones was made to demonstrate the idea to potential financial backers.

(YouTube link)

9. Flintstones Vitamins are a childhood staple now, when I was a child, every kid wanted Chocks. Bayer produced Chocks, the first chewable children’s vitamin in 1960. The Flintstones line of vitamins began in 1968 when Chocks took on the shapes of the characters from The Flintstones TV series. Everyone noticed that Betty Rubble was missing, and the company did not add her to the vitamin lineup until 1995! Two cereals, Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles, were named after the daughter the Flintstones gave birth to during the series. They are still sold in grocery stores.

9. The success of The Flintstones led directly to the creation of another Hanna-Barbera prime-time cartoon, The Jetsons. The comedy was just about the same as The Flintstones, except the main characters were set in a futuristic world of flying cars and robot maids instead of foot-powered cars and animal appliances. As The Flintstones were seen as a copy of The Honeymooners, this new animated series was seen as a copy of the comic and movie series Blondie. The Jetsons premiered in 1962, but only 24 episodes were produced. Those same 24 episodes were later shown on Saturday morning TV, over and over, for many years.

(Reconstruction by Kennis and Kennis, photgraph by Joe McNally/National Geographic)

10. National Geographic has a roundup of links on Neanderthals for the 50th anniversary of The Flintstones. In 2008, they did an extensive article on Neanderthals which included reconstructions of what they might look like. The NatGeo staff nicknamed this one “Wilma”, in honor of Fred Flintstone’s wife.

Geeks Are Sexy has the video clip: Link [YouTube Clip]

Who Censored Roger Rabbit?

Like so many movies, this one was a book before it ever hit the screen. In this case, the book was named Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, by Gary K. Wolf. But the film doesn’t follow the book exactly. For instance, the book took place in present day – which was 1981 – not 1947.

And instead of famous animated cartoon characters making appearances, famous cartoon strip characters pop up to chat with Roger, including Dick Tracy. Most Toons like Tracy “spoke” in the book the only way they knew how – through word bubbles. Some became “bilingual” and could speak without balloons. The only line in the whole book that made it to the silver screen was spoken by Baby Herman – “I’ve got a 50-year-old lust and a three-year-old dinky.” In the book, though, Baby Herman was actually 50, not 36. The ending is a lot different too, but I won’t spoil that for you (Google will tell you pretty quickly, if you’re dying to know).

After the movie became a success in 1988, Wolf wrote a second book (though not necessarily a sequel) that fell more in line with the movie than with his original book. It’s called Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?

Who Discovered Roger Rabbit?

It’s probably music to the ears of Roger Rabbit fans: a prequel. According to the prequel, Roger grew up on a farm in the midwest and headed out to California to try to find his real mother. That’s how he falls in love with Jessica Krupnick (Jessica Rabbit has a much better ring to it, don’t you think?) and eventually meets not only his mother, but his father too – none other than Bugs Bunny.

The movie would have been a direct-to-video release. As of 1997, Michael Eisner was onboard for the prequel and commissioned a rewrite of the script; in 1998 some test footage was even shot. After estimations brought the cost of the movie to about $100 million, the idea was more or less shelved.

However, just last year, Robert Zemeckis said he was interested in doing the prequel and it’s rumored that the script is being worked on again. I guess we’ll see. I’d certainly go see it.

Who Trivialized Roger Rabbit?

I did. Here are some other fun facts from the movie.

Although Roger and his cartoon pals have largely been abandoned at Disney, you can still find traces of them here and there. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled the next time you’re at Disney Hollywood Studios – if you look in the right place, you’ll find Eddie Valiant’s office, complete with the “hole” where Roger busted through the glass. There’s also a billboard for R.K. Maroon Studios.

Kathleen Turner famously provided Jessica Rabbit’s sultry voice, but Amy Irving – then Steven Spielberg’s wife – was her singing voice.

This was the last film Mel Blanc provided his famous voices for, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Porky Pig and Sylvester the Cat – with one exception. He did provide Daffy’s voice one more time in 1988 before passing away in 1989.

The movie’s original budget was $29.9 million dollars – the most an animated movie had ever cost at the time. But the price tag could have been even more astronomical – Roger was slated to cost $50 million at first, but Disney refused to shell out that much and wouldn’t approve production until costs were slashed. Rumor has it that by the time production was finished, the budget had soared to around $70 million.

Despite the cavalcade of characters from across the cartoon universe, a few that Disney wanted are missing: Popeye and Olive Oyl, Tom and Jerry, Casper the Friendly Ghost and Deputy Dawg. They couldn’t secure the rights for these in time for the movie.

Before the final title was finally settled on, others that were considered included Murder in Toontown, Dead Toons Don’t Pay Bills, Trouble in Toontown and Eddie Goes to Toontown.

The book has a question mark after the title, but the movie doesn’t – ending a movie title with a question mark is considered bad luck in the industry, apparently. This hasn’t stopped Who’s Harry Crumb?; What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?; or Dude, Where’s My Car?. The principle does apply to What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Who’s That Girl, however.

Warner Brothers would only allow the use of their toons if they got the same screen time as Disney’s toons. Thus, when you see Bugs, he’s usually with Mickey, and when you see Daffy, Donald is probably there too. Screencap from Obsessed with Film.

To make Judge Doom extra creepy, Robert Zemeckis had Christopher Lloyd refrain from blinking during his scenes. I’m tempted to watch just to see if I can catch him. Tim Curry auditioned for the role of Judge Doom, but he was so disturbingly sinister that Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner all nixed him for fear that he would give children nightmares.

The inspiration for Jessica Rabbit was taken from a bunch of Hollywood glamour girls, including Lauren Bacall, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth and Veronica Lake.

Zemeckis and Spielberg both really wanted Bill Murray for the role of Eddie Valiant, but Murray is notoriously hard to get a hold of, so it never happened. Murray has said that when he later found out that he was the number one choice for the role, he screamed out loud because he would have loved playing Eddie.

If you haven’t kept track of all of the animated cameos in the movie, here’s a list to watch for the next time you catch Roger on T.V.:

• From Disney: Mickey; Minnie; Pluto; Donald; Goofy; Pegleg Pete; Horace Horsecollar; Clarabell Cow; the dwarves from The Merry Dwarfs; the flowers and trees from Flowers and Trees; the Three Little Pigs; Snow White and the seven dwarves; many of the characters from Fantasia (though not Chernabog); Dumbo; his mom and the crows from Dumbo; Br’er Bear; Tinkerbell; the penguins from Mary Poppins; Mr. Toad and his horse from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad; Bambi and some that are a little more obscure.
• From Warner Brothers: Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Tweety, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, Sam the Sheepdog and Speedy Gonzales.
• From Paramount: Koko the Clown and Betty Boop.
• From Walter Lantz: Woody Woodpecker
• From MGM: Droopy
• You can also catch Felix the Cat, but he’s not an animated cameo. Instead, his face appears as the comedy and tragedy masks on the entrance to Toontown. He’s also shown in a photograph shaking hands with R.K. Maroon.

Wile Ethelbert Coyote seems to have an endless supply of Acme tools that he can use against the innocent Roadrunner. In every episode he attempts to destroy the Roadrunner with a bag of tricks that would make any terrorist envious. Thankfully he usually fails and blows himself up (something else the terrorists are probably familiar with).

See the rest of the list, and come back and tell us what they missed.

Link.  Cartoon still from Fast & Furryous, 1949. (Wikimedia).

In some cases, no one will get behind a wacky idea until there’s nothing left to lose. Such is the case with Ross Bagdasarian Sr. who recorded a novelty song called “The Witch Doctor”. As his record company was close to bankruptcy, three executives went along with recording a chorus of three sped-up voices he called The Chipmunks.

Production commenced and in just a few months leading up to Christmas of 1958, the record shot to the top of the charts, becoming one of the best selling singles of all time. Bagdasarian won two Grammy Awards, Liberty Records was saved from bankruptcy, and the Chipmunks became a household name with children all over the world.

And that’s just the beginning of the story of Simon, Theodore, and Alvin. Link -via Boing Boing

A brand new animated short by Simon Tofield.

More videos of Simon’s Cat featured here on Neatorama: Fly Guy, TV Dinner, Let Me In!, and Wake Up!

After almost 19 years of the classic Simpsons introduction scene today the brand new HDTV intro with brand new drawings and animation is being heralded across the interwebs. Being a life long fan of The Simpsons TV show this really is quite a breath of fresh air to the tired yet famous intro scene. So far since this post there have been up 521,439 views alone on YouTube since February 13th.

Link via Craftzine

You might not recognise the face but I’ll bet that if this video omitted the title “Alan Reed the voice of Fred Flintstone” you would have guessed the voice in a second.

Trivia: Reed died shortly before his 70th birthday on June 14, 1977 and his body was donated for medical research to the Loma Linda University School of Medicine.

Link:YouTube

On Australian’s weekly television talk show Rove Live, hosted by Rove McManus, he speaks with Nancy Cartwright who is famous for the voice of Bart Simpson. In the interview, she also impersonates does other charactors such as Nelson Muntz, Rod & Todd Flanders and others.

Link: YouTube