Clip from "The Premiere of Platypus Duck"

Here's a clip from the first cartoon I made -- "The Premiere of Platypus Duck."   Made it in college.  The music is composed and performed by Parker MacDonell, and that's Parker singing as well.   The entire cartoon is 11 minutes long.  

This 50-second clip was drawn mainly in colored pencil, with some inked lines on paper.  This sequence covers evolution from the dawn of time to the present day, as we see the platypus evolve.

The clip is below these images.  

 

Outtake from "Animaniacs" -- "Drive Insane"

Here's a short clip from the unreleased, unedited and unexpurgated "blooper reel" of the "Animaniacs" episode entitled "Drive-Insane."

 

Animation Smears, Wild Takes and Strong Poses from "Woodstock Slappy"

Animation Lesson:

 

1.  Here are some in-between smears that intensify the acting and animation in "Woodstock Slappy."

Slappy leans in on Skippy with a smear face stretch.    

 

Slappy makes a fast, single-frame gestures toward the stage... 

 

Slappy uses her arms to beseech Skippy to answer the question that's driving her crazy:   "Who's on stage?"

Skippy stretches up then goes down into a squash and freaks out as Slappy sings along with her accordion.

  

2.  Some wild takes from "Woodstock Slappy." 

Slappy wakes up to the song stylings of a screaming Janis Joplin... 
 

 

 

3.  And here are some excellent strong poses and acting from director Audu Paden and his brilliant crew of artists, story-boarders and animators on "Woodstock Slappy,"  helped by some great vocal performances by Sherri Stoner, Nate Ruegger and the rest of the cast.

 

  

"WOODSTOCK SLAPPY" PAN -- 5OTH ANNIVERSARY OF WOODSTOCK

IN CELEBRATION OF THE 5OTH ANNIVERSARY OF WOODSTOCK...

Here's a pan of the Woodstock crowd as Slappy Squirrel tries to shoo them away form her summer treehouse in "Woodstock Slappy" from "Animaniacs" (1994).  

And here's Slappy grabbing Jimi Hendrix guitar in an attempt to bring the concert to a close.  

 










 

BACKGROUND FROM MY FIRST CARTOON

Here's the original background from the first cartoon I made in college along with classmate Sarah Hobel.   

The story:  a stray dog finds a magic lamp in a big pile of rubbish and gives it a lick.  Then all his wishes come true.   

The deli pictured in the background is named after my professor and mentor Maury Rapf (screenwriter for Disney, among other studios).  This animated film was made for Maury's "Filmmaking 101" class.  

What's the Deal with Boo Boo?

In Hanna-Barbera's YOGI BEAR cartoons from 1958 and onward, Boo Boo played Yogi's sidekick.  But here's one thing about Boo Boo that has been strange from the very beginning:  his design seems to change from one cartoon to the next.  He might have a round head in a cartoon, and then be blocky in another.  He might have no forehead at all in one segment, and then he'll have a long tall forehead in the next.  The point is this:  early on, the folks at Hanna-Barbara were not terribly concerned about having a consistent model sheet for Boo Boo.  (Nor one for Ranger Smith.) 

Some Backgrounds For A New Animated Series

Paul Dini and I have been developing a new animated series!  Here's a sneak peek of a few B.G.s...