All Entries in the "Whacky" Category
Oh dear! Is that an animated Lalu?
Just when I thought that Indian animation had redeemed itself for the atrocious ‘Icy n Spicy’, I received a reminder that we have a long way to go, courtesy - the animated avatar of Lalu Prasad Yadav. A three-member team of enterprising animators from Patna have created a ‘cartoon clip’ based on the Indian Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, and even got his approval for it!
Animated Lalu
Is that Brad Bird and John Lasseter??!
This one is just for fun! Flipanimation.net is a monthly online magazine that’s been around since May 2007. With some very interesting articles and free readership, it seems to be quite popular. Their latest issue (September 2008) has a very interesting Black and White photograph on the cover - its the Character Animation Class of 1976 from Cal Arts and guess who’s there in the picture? See for yourself…
Flipanimation.net has many more such fascinating bits of trivia besides some really good articles that make for engrossing reading. Do check it out!
Mickey, Jerry are evil. Kill them!
Are the lovable Mickey Mouse and Jerry evil? Sheikh Muhammad Munajid seems to think so and would like nothing better than to see them killed. He claims the mouse is “one of Satan’s soldiers” and makes everything it touches impure. He warns that cartoon depictions of the animal such as Jerry and Disney’s Mickey Mouse has led children to believe that it was in fact loveable!
So who is Sheikh Muhammad Munajid and why is he accusing our beloved rodents? The Telegraph, UK, reports that he is a cleric and a former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, said that under Sharia, both household mice and their cartoon counterparts must be killed. Mr Munajid was asked to give Islam’s teaching on mice during a religious affairs programme broadcast on al-Majd TV, an Arab television network.
Indian Animation Going Vegetarian!
Not really. But I thought it makes for an interesting headline for the announcement that PETA has chosen as its brand mascot - none other than the latest animated hero to hit Indian screens - Ghatothkach.
Created by Shemaroo Entertainment and Sun Animatics for the animated ‘Ghatothkach - Master of Magic’, the character - Ghatothkach has been adopted by PETA as the Official Brand Ambassador for their ‘Save The Elephant’ campaign.
The announcement was made at music launch function of the movie which is all set to release on this Friday, the 23rd of May. The story, direction and music for the film are by veteran director, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, who is known for films like ‘Pushpak’, ‘Appu Raja’, ‘Mayuri’ and ‘Son Of Aladdin’. The 90 minute long, 2D animated feature is a collaboration between Shemaroo and Sun Animatics.
Credit must be given to the producers of the film who are going all out to promote Ghatothkach. The film will be released internationally in UK, USA and UAE, dubbed in Hindi, English, Tamil and Malayalam, screened at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival, adapted to mobile and online games and advertised all over the country through every possible medium. The mascot will visit malls and multiplexes, there are tie-ups with McDonalds and Chandamama and a plethora of merchandising options being exploited. The music, as always, is being heavily promoted.
Whether the Indian Animation Industry meets international standards in terms of animation quality or not, it sure has come of age as far as marketing , promoting and merchandising the characters and films is concerned (In other words, it is finally learning to make money from animated films!)
I sincerely hope that the animation is as good as the character design seen in the promos, or else for true animation fans aching to see drool-worthy Indian animation, the wait is long and arduous. All I can say to them (and myself ) until then is…
Shree Ganesh! Hare Krishna! Jai Hanuman!
(picture copyright : Shemaroo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.)
Mac gets animated for Christmas!
All Apple Mac lovers would be familiar with their “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” series of ads. Their latest one is interesting not because it features Santa Claus, but because for the first time, the ad is animated!
The characters bear perfect resemblance to their live action counterparts and are hilarious. Do check out this delightful film on the Apple site. Here is the link.
