John P.'s blog

Poignant quotes, part 1

2012-01-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some quotes that I find quite poignant:

"The kids of the early '90s liked humor and bright graphics and appealing characters to latch onto. The Simpsons and Nickelodeon proved that. And despite all the talk of 'postliterate' culture, they liked narrative. The astounding success of R.L. Stine's Fear Street and Goosebumps series of juvenile horror stories proved that. These kids had grown from toddlerhood to school age loving the Ninja Turtles and the Muppets. They'd been raised in a commercialized, competitive time, but generally by parents more serious about their duties than parents of the late '60s and '70s. Most kids of the middle class, at least, had been given a relatively optimistic and structured world. What could the superhero subculture, with its bizarre combination of vicious violence, hard-boiled posing, whiny melodrama, and geeky pretension, say to them?"

From The Comic Book Heroes by Gerard Jones and Will Jacobs (2nd edition)

I feel this quote captures me and my generation to a tee, and in way shows our place in the comic book industry of the 1990s.

"When I first saw Godzilla at the studio screening, I couldn't help crying when I watched Godzilla become a skeleton. I thought, 'Why did mankind have to punish Godzilla like that?'...Mankind seemed like a bigger villain than Godzilla, and I felt sorry for him. I think sympathy for him still exists today. If Godzilla were truly evil, people wouldn't have loved him so much. We were responsible for triggering Godzilla's violence."

Film star Akira Takarada, originally from an interview in Toho SF Special Effects Movie Series Vol. 7: Godzilla vs. Mothra, later quoted in Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G" by Steve Ryfle.

This quote needs no explanation.

Understanding Video Games Post 4: My Choice

2011-04-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

With this blog post for my Understanding Video Games class, I have been given the choice to talk about any topic that I want. Thus, I have decided to focus on a certain area of video game culture that has fascinated me over the past five years, yet has seldom been thoroughly analyzed-- the growing trend of comedic video reviewers of games on the internet.

The catalyst for this trend was James Rolfe, a big fan of movies and a budding filmmaker in his own right. Way back in 2004, Rolfe did two video game reviews, and decided to humorously subvert the more professional style of traditional video reviews of games by being overly negative and tossing in some profanity for good measure. Two years later in 2006, Rolfe's friend and collaborator Mike Matei encouraged him to post his game reviews on Youtube. Soon, Rolfe, in association with Matei and musician Kyle Justin, began producing more game reviews as part of the "Angry Video Game Nerd" series. The Nerd soon took Youtube and the internet in general by storm, and many were influenced by the Nerd's foul-mouthed and quick-witted reviewing style.

A seemingly countless amount of AVGN copycats soon flooded Youtube, though many of them were of dubious quality at best. But none of them have been as controversial as Chris Bores, a.k.a. the Irate Gamer. Many of the earlier Irate Gamer episodes not only covered games previously reviewed by the Angry Nerd (like the Back to the Future and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games for the NES), but Bores also critiqued many of the same aspects of those games that Rolfe had. To add insult to injury, Bores has gone to great lengths to discredit or downplay Rolfe as an inspiration. These accusations of plagiarism, combined with many factual errors, extremely weak complaints, an abundance of flubs (in many scenes, Bores's systems are turned off or not set up properly, and he often mispronounces frustrating as "fustrating"), and an increasingly erratic release schedule have resulted in Bores appearing as a flat-out hack in the eyes of many. Despite these criticisms, Bores has had a fair amount of success as a Youtube partner, and has even been invited to the video game's premiere expo, E3.

On the other end of the popularity spectrum, as far as reviewers/internet personalities based on AVGN go, is Derek Alexander, whose web series, the Happy Video Game Nerd, is, as it title indicates, a blatant parody/homage to Rolfe's iconic character. While Rolfe's character focuses largely on tearing apart poorly-made and/or bizarre games, Alexander's Nerd sets his sights on informing viewers about the hidden gems of gaming history. Alexander's videos have become so popular, that even Rolfe has admitted to liking them.

Another notable video game reviewer is Noah Antwiler and his show the Spoony Experiment. Antwiler is one of the most popular internet comedians affiliated with Channel Awesome, the company behind the website That Guy With The Glasses, and it's video game-centric sister site Blistered Thumbs. Other notable Channel Awesome contributers include Doug Walker, whose beloved Nostalgia Critic once had a mock feud with Rolfe's AVGN, and Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug, whose comic book review show Atop the Fourth Wall has made frequent crossovers with the Spoony Experiment. There are many other video game reviewers at Blistered Thumbs worth mentioning. Among them are the French-based Benjamin Daniel, whose character Benzaie is known for his comedically broken English; "Angry Joe" Vargas, whose reviews are meant to help video game producers improve their creations; Justin "JewWario" Carmical, who focuses on games only released in Japan; and Bennett "the Sage" White, who has reviewed everything from video games to comic books to even poorly-written fanfiction. One former member of Channel Awesome who deserves mention is Jason "LordKaT" Pullara, whose series Until We Win took viewers through some of the most challenging video games ever made.

Understanding Video Games Post 3: Player Culture

2011-03-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

In this post, I will discuss where I find myself in the scheme of "Player Culture". To be honest, I mostly play games by myself. I do enjoy enjoy playing video games with my younger brother Michael and my friends, but nowadays Michael is away at college most of the year, and as of late, I usually don't get to see most of my friends on a regular basis. But I have played online co-op on a few Playstation 3 titles like the recent HD port of the nearly 20-year old X-Men arcade game, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.

I am also an active member of gaming's metaculture, as I have joined many message boards over the years

Understanding Video Games post 2: What is a game?

2011-02-18T16:25:00.000-08:00

For my second blog post for the Understanding Video Games class, I have been asked the quesyion "what is a game?" Finding out the answer is very easy, yet also very difficult at the same time, if that makes any sense. It's easy to provide aliteral definition of a game (which is a pleasurable activity that involves some sorts of rules), but you also wonder if there can be a deeper, more psychological or even philosophical meaning to the word. Perhaps for some, a game represents a challenge or an obstacle to overcome, or simply something that, if achived, can result in great satisfaction. Perhaps that's why we hear of the "game of life". Like any good game, your life is filled with many conflicts and hurdles, but if you can manage to overcome them, you may feel exceptionally good about yourself and your abilities.

Understanding Video Games Post 1: Something Old, Something New

2011-02-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

Note: This is the first in a series of blog posts I am doing for a class I am taking at RIC called Understanding Video Games. In this post, I will pretend to be writing a 1000 years from now.

Looking back at the video games from a entire millennium ago, it is fascinating to see how primitive yet still very ingenious interactive entertainment was back in the early twenty-first century. For instance, "Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo" a manga and anime-licensed action platformer for the Nintendo Wii, requires some quick reflexes in order to beat its tough bosses. The period of 2006-2011 was also notable for marking the start a surge in popularity for downloadable games sold through online services available directly on gaming consoles themselves (such as Xbox Live Arcade, the Playstation Network Store, and the Wii's Virtual Console). This would mark a major turning point for games, as it allowed for lower budgeted and priced but at times ambitious and experimental titles to see the light of day. One such game was Flower, on the Playstation 3. I have only ever played the demo version of this particular title, yet that was enough to realize what unique piece of art it is. The game allows to control the wind as flower petals flow by. This gentle, nature-themed gimmick is outfitted by soothing music, resulting in one of the most extraordinary experiences that the gaming world had ever since at the time. Looking back, it's funny that at the time, the debate over wether or not games could be considered caused a decent bit of controversy, as in my eyes, the mere existance of works like Flowers more solidified games as perhaps the most creative art-form of all.

My Article On Scott Pilgrim

2011-01-31T16:21:00.000-08:00

Here's an article I wrote a few months ago for the Rhode Island College paper The Anchor. It compares the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels to its film adaptation.

Scott Pilgrim meets his strongest foe: Scott Pilgrim

By John Pannozzi

In the past few decades, many live-action films based off animated cartoons, comic books and video games have been released, and despite the occasional knock-out like "The Dark Knight," many of these adaptations have received dismal responses from both critics and the box-office, with the likes of "Howard the Duck" and "Double Dragon" often considered to be some of the biggest failures in Hollywood history. This past summer saw the release of cult favorite director Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," based on the increasingly popular six-volume series of independent graphic novels from Canadian-born cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley. Though the film's box-office returns proved rather mediocre, it received mostly glowing reviews from critics and those who did see it mostly adored it regardless of whether or not they were familiar with the source material.
It's something of a rarity that such a wonderfully idiosyncratic and genre-defying comic book creation would receive a big-budget Hollywood film adaptation that not only preserves the delightfully weird tone of its source material, but also stands on its own as a wildly hilarious and a visually spectacular treat. Although there have been a good handful of well-received independent comic book-based films, including "Fritz the Cat", "Heavy Metal", the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie "The Crow," "Ghost World" and the "HellBoy" series. Scott Pilgrim's ambitious tone and fairly large budget more immediately calls to mind "Tank Girl", the cult-favorite underground British comic strip turned multimillion dollar box-office and critical dud. But history has shown that director Wright's works (which includes such fan favorites as "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" as well as the short-lived but well-loved TV series "Spaced"), have a special quality about them that may not result in immediate financial success, but often gain a dedicated and loyal fan base over time, as DVD sales have proven. While the visual spectacle and rapid-fire comic timing earn the Scott Pilgrim film an important place in film history, when seen as an adaptation of O'Malley's work, the film in some ways comes off as rather lackluster. This article will serve as an examination of some the ways in which the film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim diverges significantly from the graphic novels.
It is worth noting that the screenplay to the Scott Pilgrim film was developed during the same time as the later volumes in the graphic novels. Indeed, watching the finished film, it‘s hard to shake the fact that the last two-thirds or so are largely based on rough outlines and concepts O'Malley had in mind for the last few books. O'Malley has said that he created outlines primarily to aid the filmmakers in conceiving a conclusion for the film well before he finalized his plans for the finale of the books. One wonders then if the differences between the film's last act and the last three volumes of the book series showcase how the ideas that O'Malley that initially conceived the end of the series were not good enough for his own work, but good enough for a Hollywood film.
In this reviewer's opinion, perhaps the most infuriating way in which the Scott Pilgrim film differs from its source material is that many of the secondary characters lack the depth and character development given over course of the six graphic novels. Kim Pine, the freckled and redheaded drummer of Sex Bob-omb and Scott's former high school fling is a wonderfully complex and thoroughly appealing character in books, but in the film she never receives any depth beyond a snarky and cynical comic relief role that almost seems like a parody of the way she was initially depicted in the earlier volumes. While in the movie, Scott apologizes to Kim for how he mistreated her in the past, we don't see exactly what happened between in the past (the promotional short "Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation" shown on Adult Swim sheds some light on Scott and Kim's high school days, but the sixth and final book adds even more depth to their history that is not captured at all on screen), nor do we see Kim gradually show a sweeter side as we do in the later books in the series, particularly volumes four through six.
The lead characters, Scott Pilgrim and his rather literal "dream girl" Ramona Flowers, also suffer from a lack of development. In the books, Scott eventually has to move out of his roommate Wallace's apartment and get a job, which results in him gaining the adult responsibility he sorely lacked at the start of the series, and thus "levels up" in a big way. Also, the fight scenes with the seven evil exes eventually overwhelm the film, while in the comics Scott only fights one ex per book (with the exception of volume five, in which he takes on both of the Katayanagi twins). As a result, we are given much less breathing room and less time for the characters and their relationships to develop, including Scott and Ramona's rocky romance.
In the movie, Ramona leaves Scott because she goes back to Gideon (the last and most insidious of the Seven Evil Exes), due to having a chip implanted in her head that makes her unable to resist Gideon. And when Scott faces off against Gideon in the film's final fight, Ramona does little more than sit by the sidelines, essentially played the damsel in distress role as seen in many older video games like Super Mario Bros. This ultimately makes Ramona seem like a much weaker and more submissive person than she is in the books. In volume five, she does leave Scott due to Gideon manipulating her feelings via "Emotional Warfare" (which is a bit too complicated to explain in full detail here). But in the sixth and final volume, it is revealed that she did not return to Gideon (resulting in a wonderful subversion of video game tropes when Scott and Gideon first face each other and are both shocked to find that Ramona isn't with either of them at the time), but rather left to do some soul-searching and eventually return to say goodbye to Scott and break up on more formal and amicable terms. Following this, Ramona does retreat into her deepest darkest corner of her own personal SubSpace, in which she is basically submissive to Gideon (which Gideon claims to be her innermost desire). But this only for a brief moment, as Scott quite literally head butts this so-called "all-powerful" version of Gideon, allowing Ramona the chance to officially drop Gideon like the bad habit he is. And in the end, Scott and Ramona simultaneously deal the final blow to Gideon, which shows that in quite a few ways, Scott's quest to defeat Ramona's Seven Evil Exes was as much Ramona's fight as it was his own.
Another thing from the last book that adds a very important dimension to Scott's struggle against Gideon but is missing from the film is the way in which the two are not so different. Scott and Gideon both have a tendency to block out memories of being inconsiderate towards past girlfriends, and as a result, overlook their own character flaws. Scott's past mistakes eventually manifest themselves in the form of the NegaScott (who appears in the film with almost no setup or context). Scott tries to defeat NegaScott, but Kim tells him that if he forgets his past sins, he will only make the same mistakes all over again in the future, and after she yells at him to just accept the past, he merges with NegaScott and regains all his memories. Gideon, by contrast, has seemingly repressed his past failings and as a result mistakenly believes himself to be perfect.
Gideon also shows a more hilariously pathetic side in the last book when it is revealed that he formed the League of Ramona's Evil Exes by posting a drunken rant on Facebook after being dumped by Ramona (who left Gideon because he showed no real interest in her whatsoever when they were dating). We also get a taste of the more cruel and twisted side of Gideon when he reveals that he has already cryogenically frozen six of his ex-girlfriends in order to later unfreeze them and date them at his own leisure, and he intends to make Ramona his Seventh Ex.
Finally, one other theme prevalent in the Scott Pilgrim books that I didn't feel was carried as strongly in the film is the idea of moving on from your past. In the books, we get the feeling that Scott is only dating Knives because he wants to make up for his unsatisfying relationships with Kim in high school and Natalie "Envy" Adams in college. He claims that dating a high school student like Knives is "simple", which shows how he tries to shield himself from the painful heartbreak caused by his decidedly less than simple previous attempts at romance. And when he tries to get back with Knives and later Kim in the final book, things don't work out. Scott and Knives are quickly grossed out after briefly attempting to make out with each other again. Kim meanwhile refuses to embrace Scott, as even though Scott notes that Kim has been the one constant in his life, Kim reminds him that her high school days were anything but the typical sappy Hollywood "romance" (this leads to Scott having to face the NegaScott, as described above). Scott ultimately realizes that he needs to move forward in life by being with Ramona, who is more his equal in terms of age, maturity and romantic history than someone like Knives is. Though Knives clearly cares about Scott (this is clear in her last scene in volume six), her attraction to Scott's band Sex Bob-omb turns out to be fleeting (again, reference the sixth book), and she ends being quite needy (as evidenced by how crazy with jealously she is when she believes Ramona stole Scott). The film, by contrast, seemed to be setting up Scott and Knives as a couple (especially when one considers that the original scripted and even filmed ending to the film had Scott choosing Knives instead of Ramona in the end), and as a result, the ending with Scott pursuing Ramona seems tacked on. In the last book, one gets the feeling that regardless of how successful Scott and Ramona's renewed relationship will be, it will prove that the time they spent together and will spend together in the future will shape them and allow them to grow and change for the better. In the movie, however, it's much vaguer as to where Scott and Ramona's path will lead. Whereas the Scott Pilgrim books tell a very satisfying and complete story of a young slacker "leveling up" to become a more mature individual, the movie by comparison, though fun and flashy, ultimately feels somewhat rushed and half-hearted when it comes to the themes and characterization that O'Malley handled so well, yet Wright could not give full justice to on the silver screen.

A poll I made regarding Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

2010-07-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

A new direction for my blog

2010-07-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Heya. I've been going through some serious soul searching as of now. All my feelings on life came to a head when I read Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series (appropriate a series created by a Canadian cartoonist and based on cartoons and video games from Japan marked a real turning point in my life, considering my adoration for Canada and Japan becames all so apparent when you consider they're the only countries outside of the United States that I have visited as of now. You can see a thought provoking discussion I had over the final volume in the series at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/board/flat/167346966

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 25 Anniversary Tribute Part One: A look back at the original movie

2009-07-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

To "shellebrate" the quartercenturymark of perhaps the most famous independent comic book heroes, here are some vintages articles from Comics Scene and Starlog documenting the original 1990 film.

All you need to know about Rocko's Modern Life

2008-08-30T12:04:00.001-07:00

To celebrate the release of Rocko's Modern Life on DVD (which are only available at Amazon.com here and here), as well as the 15th anniversary of the show, here some links to stuff that will show you everything you'd ever want to learn about the show:

Creator Joe Murray's own site's entry on Rocko:
http://www.joemurraystudio.com/tv/rocko.shtml

An interview with Joe Murray:
http://www.title14.com/rocko/contributors/murray.html

A little bit of trivia on the show:
http://www.title14.com/rocko/unknowns/

Joe Murray reveals a stressful event that occured just before Rocko started production:
http://joemurraystudio.com/blog/?p=135

Some more info and links can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocko%27s_Modern_Life

A Gaggle of Gremlins

2008-08-06T13:19:00.001-07:00

Here's a slew of articles from Starlog Magazine about about Gremlins 2: The New Batch, starting with one that gives theories on the origins of the Gremlins:

And here's an overview on the film:

Here's an interview with writer Charlie Haas:

An interview with legendary actor Christopher Lee:

And an interview with producer Mike Finnell:

Xtro at 25

2008-07-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

A quarter of a century ago, an unusual, low-budget, British horror movie called "Xtro" was released to some minor success. It was one of the early films made (or in this case, partially funded) by New Line Cinema (the studio that produced or distributed such varied films as Pink Flamingos, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Evil Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Critters, Hairspray, the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, the Mask, the Austin Powers series, and the Lord of the Rings films). Attempts were made to ban Xtro during the Video Nasties era in the 1980s, dispite that Xtro had been rated and approved by the British Board of Film Classification.
Two sequels were made, "Xtro II: The Second Encounter" and "Xtro 3: Watch the Skies", neither of which have anything to the original, or each other, except that they all involve some sort of alien creatures and were all directed by Harry Bromley Davenport. Davenport has plans for a fourth Xtro movie in the near future.
To celebrate, here's an article from Fangoria about Xtro and other New Line productions, such as "Alone in the Dark" (not be confused with the video game of the same name and its film adaptations):

As a bonus, here's another Xtro article from Twilight Zone Magazine:

20 years of Who Framed Roger Rabbit

2008-07-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

This year marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most important films in the history of animation, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". To celebrate, here are some articles about this seminal film (all but two are from Starlog), starting with a look at the film's effects:

Here's a review of the film by Harry McCracken in the defunct animation fan magazine Animato:

And here's an article on the making of the film in Newsweek:

And here's an interview with actress Joanna Cassidy, who played Dolores:

And here's and interview with musical composer Alan Silvestri:

Here's an overview of the film:

And finally, here's an interview with director Robert Zemeckis:

Also, check out this article:http://johnpannozzi.blogspot.com/2008/03/censorship-of-who-framed-roger-rabbit.html

A Tribute to Tiny Toon Adventures

2008-07-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

In honor of the first official DVD release of Tiny Toon Adventures tomorrow, here's an article that shows a look at that seminal show and some other stuff that may reveal things about the making of Tiny Toons that may not have known before.

And here's another article from that same issue of Comics Scene that concerns director Rich Arons:

Tiny Toons (and Animaniacs) Links:

Article on director Kent Butterworth: http://johnpannozzi.blogspot.com/2008/07/all-about-kent-butterworth.html

An article introducing Tiny Toons: http://jedaniels-adventures.blogspot.com/2006/05/what-should-be-released-on-dvd.html

Interviews with Tiny Toon directors: http://jedaniels-adventures.blogspot.com/2006/05/tiny-toon-directors.html

Entertainment Weekly article on Tiny Toons: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318258,00.html

Part one of an interview with senior producer Tom Ruegger: http://www.platypuscomix.net/people/ruegger2.html

Part two of an interview with senior producer Tom Ruegger: http://www.platypuscomix.net/people/ruegger2.html

Interview with director and animator Jon McClenahan: http://www.platypuscomix.net/people/mcclenahan1.html

Another interview with Johnny Mack: http://wba.toonzone.net/mcclenahan/

Yet ANOTHER interview: http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=9642

Still another interview with Johnny Mack: http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/871/

An article on Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain and Freakazoid:
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/1120/

An article on Animaniacs: http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/539/

An article on the development of Animaniacs: http://members.cruzio.com/~keeper/anibeg.html
A write-up of the Tiny Toons/Freakazoid panel at Comic-con 2008: http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=25275

Tiny Toons Sheet Music: http://johnpannozzi.blogspot.com/2008/03/tiny-toon-adventures-theme-song-piano.html

Enjoy!

All About Kent Butterworth

2008-07-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an article on animation director Kent Butterworth.

Since this article was published, Kent has directed all 65 episodes of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and recently an independent animated feature film called "Attila the Ham and the Great Blue Bean". Visit Kent at his blog and his MySpace Page.

Back to the Bakshi

2008-04-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here some articles on maverick animation director Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat, Coonskin a.k.a. Streetfight, Wizards, the original film version of Lord of the Rings, "Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures", and Cool World), in honor of his new book "Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi" (I'll share a few tantilizing images from that book in a future post). Btw, Ralph will be at the New York Comicon on Friday, April 18 (go to nycomiccon.com for more info).

Here's an indepth interview with Bakshi from a 2005 issue of Film Fanaddict:

Here's an interview with Bakshi from a 1988 issue of Animato in which he discusses Tattertown (which never became a series, only a christmas special was ever made), the second season of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, and some other things:

Here's an article from Animation Magazine, also from 1988, which discusses Tattertown:

Here's some production drawing of Bakshi's animated shorts for Cartoon Network, from a 1994 issue of Animato (this issue also had interview with Bakshi, which was reprinted in the book Escape):

Here's a Comics Scene article on Bakshi's unsuccessful (and troubled in production) 1992 film "Cool World", which starred Brad Pitt, Kim Basinger and Gabriel Byrne.

Roger Rabbit copyright controversy

2008-04-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

This some pretty shocking news from a 1989 issue of Film Threat. Apparently, an artist named Dna O'Neil created an underground comic strip story featuring a character named Roger Rabbit years before the Roger Rabbit we all know.

The story of Elmo Aardvark, the lost classic cartoon character

2008-03-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a very special post: A three-part article originally published in the great animation magazine Wild Cartoon Kingdom (from Film Threat) in 1993 and 1994 that the chronicles the nearly-forgotten tale of one of animation's earliest star characters: Elmo Aardvark.

Check out Elmo at Snappy Toons.

Nicktoons trivia and poster with all characters

2008-03-31T13:26:00.000-07:00

Man, November 2007 was a great time to be a Nicktoons fan. With the video game "Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots" having playable characters from many Nicktoons (including Rocko, Stimpy, G.I.R. and Jenny/XJ9), the book "Not just Cartoons: Nicktoons" (written by my favorite animation historian, Jerry Beck), and Non-Stop Nicktoons Weekend showing the first episode of all Nicktoon series, it was pretty cool, IMHO. From an issue of Nick Mag,here's some trivia about Nicktoons and a poster with characters from ALL the Nicktoon shows (a guide to who's who).

C.H. Greenblatt's life in cartoons

2008-03-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

Here's an animated look aty the life of C.H. Greenblatt, creator of "Chowder", writer on "SpongeBob SquarePants" and creator of Fred Fredburger on "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy"

1984 Film Comment article on "Gremlins" and director Joe Dante

2008-03-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here's an Film Comment article from 1984 about Joe Dante (who as may have guessed, is one of my favorite film directors), who discusses "Piranha", "The Howling", "Twilight Zone: The Movie" and the then-recent "Gremlins".

Tiny Toon Adventures theme song piano sheet music

2008-03-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

In honor of Tiny Toon Adventures' long-awaited DVD release, here's the sheet music to the show's theme song, so you can play it on your piano.

early Terminator article

2008-03-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

Here's an article on "The Terminator" from 1984. It's probably one of the earliest bits of major publicity that the Terminator series, James Cameron, and Arnold Schwarzenegger ever got.

Star Trek: The Next Generation first look

2008-03-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Here's the first look at the actors of Star Trek: The Next Generation, taken from a 1987 issue of Starlog. It's fun to look back at a time when these actors and actresses were, for the most part, unknowns.

Spider-Man's wedding

2008-03-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

Apparently, Marvel celebrated the marriage of Spider-Man (aka Peter Parker) and Mary Jane Watson in style back in 1987.

Snow White's 50th anniversary

2008-03-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here's an article that celebrated the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney's first feature film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".

Censorship of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

2008-03-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here's an article on deleted scenes from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

Jim Henson on "The Muppets take Manhattan"

2008-03-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Muppet Master himself, Jim Henson, discusses "The Muppets take Manhattan".

Frank Oz on "The Muppets take Manhattan"

2008-03-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

Frank Oz discusses "The Muppets take Manhattan". 'Nuff said.

Martin Short on "Innerspace"

2008-03-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with the well-known comic actor Martin Short, in which he discusses his roles as Jack Putter in Joe Dante's vastly underrated film "Innerspace".

Zach Galligan on "Gremlins"

2008-03-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with actor Zach Galligan, in which he discusses his role as Billy Peltzer in "Gremlins".

Gremlins review

2008-03-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a very interesting review of "Gremlins"

Phoebe Cates on "Gremlins"

2008-03-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with actress Phoebe Cates, in which she discusses her role as Kate Beringer in "Gremlins".

Joe Dante and Mike Finnell on "Gremlins"

2008-03-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

Here's an article inwhich director Joe Dante and producer Mike Finnell discuss their 1984 blockbuster "Gremlins".

Hoyt Axton on "Gremlins"

2008-03-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with actor and musican Hoyt Axton, inwhich he discusses his role as Rand Peltzer in "Gremlins".

Edward Andrews on "Gremlins', 'Twilight Zone', and "Sixteen Candles"

2008-03-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with veteran character actor Edward Andrews, inwhich discusses his roles as the bank owner in "Gremlins", Grandpa Howard in "Sixteen Candles", and various roles in 'The Twilight Zone', among other things.

Chris Columbus on "Gremlins"

2008-03-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with famed filmmaker Chris Columbus ("Home Alone", the Harry Potter series), inwhich he discusses his first filmatic creation, "Gremlins".

Rick Moranis on "Ghostbusters"

2008-03-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with actor Rick Moranis, inwhich he discusses his performance as Louis Tully in "Ghostbusters".

The special effects of Ghostbusters

2008-03-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here's an article about the special visual effects in "Ghostbusters".

Ivan Reitman discuss "Ghostbusters"

2008-03-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with Ivan Reitman, director of "Ghostbusters"!

Ernie Hudson, Ghostbuster

2008-03-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Here's an inteview with actor Ernie Hudson, inwhich he talks about his performance as Winston Zeddemore in "Ghostbusters".

Frank Marshall, producer extraordinare

2008-03-24T12:52:00.001-07:00

Here's an interview with film producer extraordinare, Frank Marshall ("E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Gremlins", the Indiana Jones series, etc.).

Joe Dante on "Explorers"

2008-03-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with director Joe Dante ("Gremlins") where he discusses not only "Gremlins", but his then-recent movie "Explorers".

Eric Luke, writer of Explorers

2008-03-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with Eric Luke, the writer of Joe Dante's "Explorers".

Edward Feldman, producer of Explorers

2008-03-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview with Edward Feldman, the producer of Joe Dante's "Explorers".

Clarence Nash obituary

2008-03-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

From Starlog magazine, here's an obituary for Clarence Nash, the original voice of Donald Duck.

Starlog article on Chuck Jones

2008-03-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

Here's an article from Starlog magazine regarding the great animation director Chuck Jones. (on personal note, I'm very interested by the postive mention of Gummi Bears and DuckTales near the end).

Bob Clampett obituary

2008-03-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here's an obituary in Starlog magazine for the famous cartoon director Bob Clampett. Anyone know the name of the lovely lady in the picture with Bob and Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent?

Article on time paradoxes in Back to the the Future

2008-03-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

Here is an article from Starlog Magazine which gives theories on time paradoxes in the first Back to the Future movie.

I also have an article concerning the sequels that I intend to post soon.

And now for something completly different

2007-07-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

A Japanese page that appears to be about fat people in Troma movies (warning; partial nudity):
http://ueno.cool.ne.jp/chiro_san/troma.htm

Want Tiny Toons and Freakazoid on DVD? You can help make it happen

2007-04-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Check this out, everyone. WHV has a new survey out regarding which classic cartoons to release on DVD next and the potential titles include Tiny Toon Adventures, Freakazoid, the Zeta Project, the Herculoids and more!

Go to http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey-intro.zgi?p=WEB226BDVALT9B

please.

In the comments point out that when the Tiny Toons episode "The Looney Beginning" aired on CBS in prime-time, it had at least 2 scenes that were cut out of all subsequent airings: one where the animator redraws Buster ala "Duck Amuck", and one where Sweetie and Furball audition. Also the episode "Return of Batduck" originally aired as the primere of the Plucky Duck Show, and when it aired in reruns as a regular Tiny Toons episode, bits and pieces were cut out in order to fit in the regular Tiny Toons opening.

Please reply with comments about your entering of the survey,please?

Original theme to Darkwing Duck

2007-04-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

Now here's something rare that even some of the most diehard fans of Darkwing Duck may have never seen before: The original theme to Darkwing Duck when it first aired on the Disney Channel in spring of 1991. Enjoy

Toon Vouge magazine

2007-04-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Check Toon Vouge, a magazine straight from Toontown:

Animaniacs episode titles in Japanese

2007-03-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys. Animaniacs is airing on Cartoon Network in Japan currently.

You can see their page for the show at http://www.cartoon.co.jp/program/animaniacs/index.html

And here is the list of episodes airing:
http://www.cartoon.co.jp/tv/index.php?tv=tv108&d=20070303

And now, with some help from Babelfish, I'll display the titles of the episodes in Japanese and translate them into English.

1. 誕生！ワーナー・ブラザース＆ワーナー・シスター/他2本

"Birth! Warner brothers & Warner sister/2 other things "

2. スーパースター”ヤッコ・ワーナー”世界かぞえ歌/他2本

"The Super Star 'Yakko Warner" whether world you obtain, song/2 other things"

3. ミケランジェロの秘密/登場！！グッド・フェザーズ

"Michelangelo's secret/Appearance! ! Goodfeathers"

4. 大海賊キャプテン・メル/大女優スラッピーおばさん/他1本

"Great Pirate Captain Mel/Great Actress Aunt Slappy/1 other thing"

5. ハリウッド・スター　はちゃめちゃパーティー

"Hollywood Hachamehacha Party"

6. ワーナー・ブラザース　秘書はゴ・キ・ゲ・ン？！/他1本

"Warner brothers are private secretary Go Ki Ge N?!/1 other thing"

7. ワーナー・ブラザースの大ウケ音楽会/他1本

"Warner brothers' Large Uge Concert/1 other thing"

8. シスターは二度ベルを鳴らす/スキッピーとバンビのママ

"Sister sounds two degree bell/Skippy and Bumbi's mom"

9. ワーナー・ブラザース”賢者はだれじゃ”/他1本

"Warner Brothers are 'wise men'/1 other thing"

10. 王様ヤッコ

"King Yakko"

11. ワーナー・ブラザース”ピカソに描かそ？”/他1本

"Warner brothers 'in Picasso drawing?'/1 other thing

12. ガレージ売ります！？/ウエストサイド・ハトーリー

"Garage for sale! ?/Westside Bird"

If anyone out there knows enough Japanese to improve these translations, please contact me.

hilarious American Dad vs. Family Guy official online fighting game

2006-04-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

Title says all.

WARNING: This game contains Family Guy's (and to a lesser extent, American Dad's) brand of politically incorrect humor and cartoon gore (nothing worse than the stuff you see in the Simpsons' Itchy & Scratchy, though).

But that won't bother Family Guy fans, and if you're a fan of Family Guy and/or American Dad and like fighting games, what are you waiting for? Check it out!

Online Game: Kung-Fu 2 Turbo

Kung-Fu 2 Turbo (Hyper Mega Edition) - American Dad vs Family Guy

Play This Free Game Now

Welcome to blog

2005-12-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog. My name is John Francis Pannozzi. I am a fan of cartoons, particularly Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast,, Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures (produced by Ralph Bakshi), Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, SpongeBob SquarePants, Camp Lazlo, Disney's Gargoyles, Dexter's Laboratory, the PowerPuff Girls, Cow & Chicken, Courage the Cowardley Dog, Samurai Jack, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, Real Monsters, Bruce Timm & Paul Dini's DC Comics cartoons (including Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series), Teen Titans, Raw Toonage, What A Cartoon! (a.k.a. World Priemere Toons or Cartoon Cartoon Show), Oh Yeah! Cartoons, Invader Zim, Angry Beavers, Danny Phantom, Earthworm Jim, Duckman and many others. I also love Mystery Science Theater 3000 (or MST3K) and Godzilla.

My favorite films include Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent my Vacation, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, The TMNT trilogy, Abra-Castrophe, Channel Chasers, The PowerPuff Girls Movie, Muppet films, Monty Python and the quest for the Holy Grail, The Road to Being the strongest, Mask of the Phantom, Subzero, Godzilla and Mothra films, the Heisei Gamera trilogy, Jungle Emperor Leo 1997, The Nightmare before X-Mas, Gremlins 1 and 2, Ghostbusters 1 and 2, Jurassic Park trilogy, Ralph Bakshi's Wizards, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Troll, Troll 2: Trolls a.k.a."Goblin(s)" ('cause it's so bad.:), Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Freddy and Jason movies, Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Tim Burton's Batman movies

My favorite directors include Chuck Jones, Isadore "Friz" Freleng, Bob Clampett, Robert McKimson, Fred Bean "Tex" Avery, Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera, Dave Flescher, Ralph Bakshi, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, Tim Burton, Craig McCracken, Ishiro Honda, Jun Fukuda, George Lucas, Brad Bird, David Silverman, Wesley "Wes" Archer, Eric Stough, Wes Craven, Ronny Yu, Jim Reardon, and others.

My favorite artists include David Feiss, Ward Kimball, Carl Barks, Ub Iwerks, Osamu Tezuka, Shotaro Ishinomori, Toho's concept artists, The McKimson brothers (Robert, Tom and Charles), John Kricfalusi and the rest of the Spumco design crew (including Jim Smith, Eddie Fitzgerald, Vincent Waller and Katie Rice), Bob Camp, Chris Reccardi, Lynne Naylor-Reccardi, Paul Rudish, Craig McCracken, Matt Groening, Bill Morrison, EvilLunch, Bleedman, NeoSlashDot, Shigeru Miyamoto, Naoto Oshima, Akira Toriyama, Jhonen Vasquez, Butch Hartman, Seth MacFarlene, Otto Messmer, Ralph Bakshi, Louise Zinagrelli, Chris Walas, Rick Baker, Bill Wray, Mark S. O'Hare, Milton Knight, Ken Boyer, and Bruce W. Timm