Animation Anecdotes #160
Bluth’s Beauty and the Beast. According to well-respected animation historian (and Bluth historian who once worked for the animator-director) John Cawley: “Early in 1984, Don (Bluth) began in earnest turning…
Results for "we robots"
Indian Animation – and a Thai Interloper
For several months I’ve been monitoring all the animation activity in the constantly growing animation industry (and fandom) in India. This report, mainly culled from stories posted on Animation Xpress…
“Dr. Slump and Arale”
Compared to most shows I have written about, Dr. Slump isn’t exactly the most obscure. After all, it was created by Akira Toriyama, who would have an even bigger success…
Out Of The Computer: The Mainframe Story
Back on my post of December 15th, in his comments on the Christmas CGI DVD movie Casper’s Haunted Christmas, reader Shane Skekel said, “I remember seeing that Mainframe/Rainmaker Casper special…
Animation Anecdotes #130
Mort Drucker on Animation. Artist Mort Drucker has been one of my favorite cartoonists for decades, not just because of his work for MAD magazine but his work in DC…
The “Teenagers From Outer Space” Genre
This, roughly speaking, is the other half of my “Anime Fandom in North America, part 3”. The first half was the column on the “real robot” anime TV serials. The…
The Many Programs of Go Nagai
It was the giant robot TV cartoons on Japanese-community TV channels that introduced Japanese anime to American fandom in 1977. Yuushu Raideen, UFO Senshi Dai Apolon, and Getta Robo G…
Anime Fandom in North America – part 2
Organized anime fandom, or at least the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization in Los Angeles, was formed in 1977 around the giant-robot superhero TV cartoons shown in Japanese with English subtitles on Channel…
Rampoo the Flying Warped Boy (1984)
As we all know, the early 1980s was a dark time in made-for-TV animation in the ‘States. Everything had to be talked down to the audience so as it doesn’t…
Fred Patten, Tezuka and… “Atomcat”?
Editor’s Note: Fred Patten has been a friend and colleague of mine for over 30 years. A respected comics and anime historian and a veteran of “the golden age of…
