Madagascar
October 28th, 2008
Alex the lion, Marty the starry-eyed zebra, Melman the hypochondriac giraffe and Gloria the "hip" hippo all have a pampered life at the Central Park Zoo, New York City. Here they show off to the crowds and generally enjoy themselves. But Marty who is celebrating his tenth birthday, longs to see the rest of the world, and dreams of life in the wild. When he learns that the zoo's penguins are planning to escape, he decides to follow suit and return by morning. He has a vague notion that the wild can be found in Connecticut as Gloria told him that there were some wide open spaces resembling the wild. So one night he sneaks out of the zoo, and sets off on foot for Grand Central Terminal where he hopes to take the Metro-North Railroad to Connecticut.
When the others find him gone, they head for Grand Central Station via the Subway to try to get him back. Arriving at Grand Central, they scare away most of the passengers (except for one determined old lady who assaults Alex by bashing his head and his groin with her handbag), and catch Marty. Then they manage to wreck the information desk before being shot with tranquilizer darts, along with the penguins, Mason and Phil (two chimpanzees who also escaped). Anti-zoo campaigners use the incident as evidence that animals should not be locked up. Because of this, all the animals soon find themselves in wooden crates aboard a cargo ship to Kenya.
The penguins succeed in taking over the ship and changing its course, following their initial plan of making their way to Antarctica. During the penguins' takeover, the crates containing Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria fall overboard and they become separated on the ocean. Alex is soon washed ashore on a tropical beach. All night he is alone, but in the morning, finds Melman stuck in his crate. Gloria and Marty soon wash ashore on the same beach. At first Melman assumes they are in San Diego, California, and Alex is upset that he will be outshone by Shamu. But when they discover a large tribe of lemurs led by King Julien XIII (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen), they realize they are not in the United States anymore. They are actually in the wild, on the island of Madagascar.
Alex blames Marty for the group's situation and divides the island between them. Forcing Gloria and Melman to help him build a Statue of Liberty lookalike. His plan is to ignite the beacon, therefore making it easy for the boat (which Alex believes is coming to rescue them), to see where they are. However Melman accidentally sets the whole statue on fire and destroys it (in a Planet of the Apes parody). Gloria and Melman then decide to join Marty (who is living comfortably on his side of the island), and Alex soon realizes that he has been unfair to his friend. Deciding to join the others, and begin life on Madagascar.
Meanwhile the penguins have arrived on the snowbound, windswept Antarctica. After surveying it for a few moments, they decide that it is not as interesting as they thought it would be when Private yells, "Well, this sucks."
Julien hopes that the lemurs' new friends, whom he calls the "New York Giants", will scare away the foosa, enemies of the lemurs who prey on them. Despite the protests of his advisor Maurice (who thinks that Alex as a carnivore, might be dangerous), Julien convinces the lemurs to welcome Marty and the others to their own little corner of paradise.
Unfortunately Alex, who has only ever eaten pre-cut steaks until now, is beginning to regain his natural predatory instincts. After losing control and attacking Marty, he is considered too dangerous to be a friend to his zoomates or to any of the lemurs. Julien admits that Maurice has some sense in fearing Alex, and banishes the lion to the side of the island dominated by the foosa, just before everyone ends up running for their lives. Alex comes to his senses for a time after a knock on the head by a coconut thrown by Maurice, and makes the decision to leave his friends behind rather than do something he'd later regret. Marty, now completely aware of the predatory nature of life in the wild, is devastated at the realization of what is happening to him.
The penguins, leaving Antartica behind, soon arrive at Madagascar with the ship. Realizing this may be a way back into New York, Marty goes to find Alex (against Gloria's advice). He ends up deep in foosa territory where he unsuccessfully tries to get Alex to come with him. The foosa eventually attack and soon he, Melman, Gloria and the penguins (who showed up to save the three) end up fighting for their lives. Hopelessly outnumbered by the hungry creatures, Alex appears. At first he seems to have completely returned to his hunting instincts and claims Marty as his own prey. But this turns out to be a ruse: Alex has managed to overcome his predatory instincts. Using the foosa's natural fear of him, Alex drives the predators away from lemur territory forever.
Following a celebratory feast, at which Alex's hunger is finally sated by the discovery that he likes sushi even better than steak, the friends return to the ship. The penguins, who stayed behind, decide not to tell them that the ship is out of fuel.
This cartoon collected numerou awards and, of course, after 3 years of waiting, the second part of this wonderful saga will be shown in late 2008.
Futurama
May 22nd, 2008
In the United States, the series aired from March 28, 1999 to August 10, 2003 on Fox before ceasing production. Futurama was then aired on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, from January 2003 to December 2007, when the network's contract expired. The series was revived in 2007 as four straight-to-DVD films which would then be split into a sixteen-episode fifth season. Comedy Central entered into an agreement with 20th Century Fox Television to syndicate the existing episodes and air the films as new episodes in an episodic format. Comedy Central began airing Futurama on January 2, 2008, with new episodes starting on March 23, 2008.
Futurama is set in New New York at the turn of the 31st century, in a time filled with technological wonders. The city of New New York has been built over the ruins of present-day New York City, referred to as "Old New York". Various devices and architecture are similar to the Populuxe design. Global warming, inflexible bureaucracy and substance abuse are a few of the subjects given a 31st century exaggeration in a world where the problems have become both more extreme and more common.
Numerous technological advances have been made between the present day and the 31st century. The ability to keep heads alive in jars was invented by Ron Popeil (who has a guest cameo in "A Big Piece of Garbage") which has resulted in many historical figures and current celebrities being present; this became the writers' excuse to feature and poke fun at celebrities in the show. Curiously, several of the preserved heads shown are those of people who were already dead well before the advent of this technology. One the most prominent examples of this anomaly being Richard Nixon who died in 1994. The Internet, while being fully immersive and encompassing all senses--even featuring its own digital world (similar to Tron or The Matrix), is slow and largely consists of pornography, pop-up ads, and "filthy" chat rooms. Some of it is edited to include educational material ostensibly for youth. Television is still a primary form of entertainment. Self-aware robots are a common sight, as well as being the main cause of global warming thanks to their alcohol-powered systems. The wheel is obsolete (no one but Fry even seems to recognize the design) having been forgotten and replaced by hovering vehicles and a network of large, clear pneumatic transportation tubes.
Futurama's setting is a backdrop, and the writers are not above committing continuity errors if they serve to further the gags. For example, while the pilot episode implies that the previous Planet Express crew was killed by a space wasp, the later episode "The Sting" is based on Leela almost being killed by space bees instead. The "world of tomorrow" setting is used to highlight and lampoon issues of today and to parody the science fiction genre.
Earth is depicted as being multicultural to the extent where there are a wide range of human, robot, and extraterrestrial beings shown in the series who interact with the primary characters. In some ways the future is depicted as being more socially advanced than Fry's, and thus the audience's, reality. The future is often shown, though, to have many of the same types of problems, challenges, mistakes and prejudices of the present. Robots make up the largest "minority" in the series. They are often treated as second-class citizens, while a few are depicted as wealthy members of the upper-class. Most robots are self-aware and have been granted freedom and free-will. However, at times of crisis, robots may have their free-will removed by as their "patriotism circuits" are activated, forcing them to serve humans or to serve in the military in times of war. Many robots live in apartments specially constructed for robots, with rooms the size of a typical coat closet and closets the size of typical rooms. Sewer mutants are mutated humans who must live in the sewers by law. They hold urban legend status and are regarded as fictional by some members of the public.
Religion is still a prominent part of society, although the dominant religions have evolved. A merger between the major religious groups of the 20th century has resulted in the First Amalgamated Church, while Voodoo is now mainstream. New religions include Oprahism, Robotology, and the banned religion of Star Trek fandom. Religious figures in the series include Father Changstein-El-Gamal, the Robot Devil, Reverend Preacherbot and passing references to The Space Pope. While very few episodes focus exclusively on the religious aspect within the Futurama universe they do cover a wide variety of subjects including predestination, prayer, the nature of salvation, and religious conversion.
Matt Groening began thinking of Futurama in the mid-1990s. In 1997, he enlisted the help of David X. Cohen, then a Simpsons writer and producer, to assist in developing the show. The two then spent time researching science fiction books, television shows, and films of the past. By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and story lines. During that first meeting, Fox ordered thirteen episodes. Shortly after, however, Groening and Fox executives argued over whether the network would have any creative input into the show. With The Simpsons the network has no input. Groening explains, "When they tried to give me notes on Futurama, I just said: 'No, we're going to do this just the way we did Simpsons.' And they said, 'Well, we don't do business that way anymore.' And I said, 'Oh, well, that's the only way I do business.'" After negotiations, he received the same independence with Futurama.
Nowadays, Futurama is watched by millions of people in the world, huge amounts of DVD's are being sold. And guess what, Matt Groening also created the Simpsons, who have even more success, and that makes him a very, very popular person in the US.
South Park
February 20th, 2008
Since its debut on August 13, 1997, the show has aired 167 episodes over 11 seasons. The twelfth season will begin airing on March 12, 2008. The show is contracted to produce new episodes through a fifteenth season, until late 2011
South Park began around 1992 when Trey Parker and Matt Stone, at the time students at the University of Colorado, met in a film class and created an animated short called Jesus vs. Frosty. The low-budget crudely made film featured prototypes of the main characters of South Park, including a character resembling Cartman but named "Kenny", an unnamed character resembling what is today Kenny, and two near-identical unnamed characters who would resemble Stan and Kyle.
In 1995, FOX executive Brian Graden saw the film, and commissioned Parker and Stone to create a second short film that he could send to his friends as a video Christmas card. Titled Jesus vs. Santa, it resembled the style of the later series more closely, and featured a martial arts duel and subsequent truce between Jesus and Santa Claus over the true meaning of Christmas. This video was later featured in the episode "A Very Crappy Christmas" in which Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny, and Mr. Hankey "save" Christmas for the town. The video was popular and was widely shared, both by duplication and over the Internet. This led to talks to create a series, first with FOX, then with Comedy Central, where the series debuted on August 13, 1997. During the first four seasons of South Park, clips of the shorts can be seen in the opening sequence within an old television and a billboard. South Park has been translated into many different languages.
Prior to season four, the main characters of the show were four third grade students (often called "the boys" when as a group for easier reference): Stanley "Stan" Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Theodore Cartman, and Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick. There are many recurring characters on the show, including the boys' families, school staff, and other students. These include Leopold "Butters" Stotch, Chef, Mr. Hankey, Towelie, Jesus, and Satan. There are also many other minor characters.
Matt Stone and Trey Parker voice most of the male South Park characters, while April Stewart and Mona Marshall (formerly Mary Kay Bergman and Eliza Schneider) voice most of the female characters such as Wendy Testaburger and Sheila Broflovski. Other voices are currently provided by Adrien Beard (Token Black), Vernon Chatman (Towelie), Jennifer Howell (Bebe Stevens), and John Hansen (Mr. Slave). Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski were initially designed to represent creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone respectively; however, both have admitted to ultimately identifying far more with Cartman.
The show has faced numerous controversies. It often uses what many people find to be taboo subject matter, from its use of vulgarity ("It Hits the Fan") to its satire of subjects such as religion and cults (such as "Trapped in the Closet"), sexuality ("Proper Condom Use"), tolerance ("The Death Camp of Tolerance"), and natural disaster hysteria ("Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow"). Stone and Parker are self-described "equal opportunity offenders" and episodes often lampoon all sides of a contentious issue, rather than taking a concrete position.
The show's provocative material quickly drew protest from various spokesmen, who deemed the program offensive. American conservative media watchdog group Parents Television Council has frequently criticized South Park for its content.
The show also frequently uses vulgarities. For example, in the episode "It Hits the Fan", the word shit was said a total of 162 times uncensored. A counter at the bottom of the screen recorded the number of times the expletive was spoken. Also, in the episode entitled "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", the racial slur nigger was used throughout the entire episode for a total of 42 times.
The general unintelligibility of Kenny's lines has helped them avoid being censored by television networks on a number of occasions, but sometimes words can be heard. The gist can usually be understood. It is sometimes easy to comprehend the lines, given the context in which they are delivered and their intonation. The syndicated versions of the show usually do censor Kenny's vulgar lines.
In 2005, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights protested the season finale episode, "Bloody Mary", for its depiction of a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeding from her vagina. The group claimed a victory when Comedy Central voluntarily canceled a scheduled airing of the episode which coincided with the Christian holiday season. In early 2006, Comedy Central denied that they were honoring the group's request to pull the episode from future repeats and DVD releases. Comedy Central has since run the episode more than once.
South Park has parodied Scientology in several episodes. Most of them, however, never mention Scientology by name, although they are obviously meant to parody it. The episode that caused the most controversy was "Trapped in the Closet", which caused what the media dubbed 'Closetgate'. The episode poked fun at the religion and its celebrity followers, including Tom Cruise. After Comedy Central pulled the episode from a scheduled repeat at the last minute, it was alleged that Cruise threatened Paramount with withdrawal from promotion of his latest film if the episode was re-broadcast (both Paramount and Comedy Central are owned by Viacom). This situation led to Isaac Hayes, who played Chef and is a Scientologist himself, to quit unexpectedly days before the spoof on Scientology was to re-air.
Tom and Jerry
February 3rd, 2008
Tom and Jerry is an Academy Award-winning animated cartoon series of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer theatrical short subjects created, written and directed by animators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. One hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry cartoons were produced by the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood from 1940 until 1957, when the animation unit was closed down. These shorts are notable for having won seven Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Cartoons), tieing it with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the most-awarded theatrical animated series.
The plots of each short usually center on Tom's frustrated attempts to catch Jerry, and the mayhem and destruction that ensues. Since Tom rarely attempts to eat Jerry and because the pair actually seem to get along in some cartoon shorts (at least in the first minute or so), it is unclear why Tom chases Jerry so much. But some reasons given may include normal feline/mouse enmity, duty according to his owner, Jerry's attempt at ruining a task that Tom is entrusted with, revenge, Jerry saving other potential prey (such as ducks, canaries, or goldfish) from being eaten by Tom, or competition with another cat, among other reasons.
Tom rarely succeeds in catching Jerry, mainly because of Jerry's craftiness and cunning abilities, but sometimes because of Tom's own stupidity. Tom sometimes beats Jerry, usually when Jerry becomes the instigator or when he crosses some sort of line.
The shorts are famous for some of the most violent gags ever devised in theatrical animation: Jerry slicing Tom in half, shutting his head in a window or a door, Tom using everything from axes, pistols, explosives, traps and poison to try to murder Jerry, Jerry stuffing Tom's tail in a waffle iron, kicking him into a refrigerator, plugging his tail into an electric socket, pounding him with a mace, club or mallet, causing a tree to drive him into the ground and so on. Despite the frequent violence, there is no blood or gore in any scenes. A recurring gag involves Jerry hitting Tom when he's preoccupied, with Tom initially oblivious to the pain - and only feeling the effects moments later, and vice versa; and another involves Jerry stopping Tom in midchase (as if calling for a time-out), before he does something, usually putting the hurt on Tom.
The cartoon is also noteworthy for its reliance on stereotypes, such as the blackening of characters following explosions and the use of heavy and enlarged shadows (e.g., Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse). Resemblance to everyday objects and occurrences is arguably the main appeal of visual humor in the series. The characters themselves regularly transform into ridiculous but strongly associative shapes, most of the time involuntarily, in masked but gruesome ways (see also Cartoon physics).
Music plays a very important part in the shorts, emphasizing the action, filling in for traditional sound effects, and lending emotion to the scenes. Musical director Scott Bradley created complex scores that combined elements of jazz, classical, and pop music; Bradley often reprised contemporary pop songs, as well as songs from MGM films, including The Wizard of Oz and Meet Me In St. Louis. Generally, there is no dialogue in Tom or Jerry, apart from the occasional few lines in certain moments. The character, Mammy Two-Shoes, has lines in every episode. Most of the dialogue from Tom and Jerry are the high-pitched laughs and gasping screams, which may be provided by a horn or other musical instrument.
Before 1954, all Tom and Jerry cartoons were produced in the standard Academy ratio and format; from late 1954 to 1955, some of the output was dually produced in both Academy format and the widescreen CinemaScope process. From 1956 until the close of the MGM cartoon studio a year later, all Tom and Jerry cartoons were produced in CinemaScope, some even had their soundtracks recorded in Perspecta Stereo. The 1960s Gene Deitch and Chuck Jones shorts were all produced in Academy format, but with compositions that made them compatible to be matted to Academy widescreen format as well. All of the Hanna and Barbera cartoons were produced in three-strip Technicolor, the 1960s entries were done in Metrocolor.
Tom is a bluish-grey cat, depending on the short (Tom's fur color is close to that of the Russian Blue breed of cats), who lives a pampered life, while Jerry is a small brown mouse who always lives in proximity to him. Tom is very quick-tempered and thin-skinned, while Jerry is independent and opportunistic. Despite being very energetic and determined, Tom is no match for Jerry's brains and wits. By the iris-out of each cartoon, Jerry usually emerges triumphant, while Tom is shown as the loser. However, other results may be reached; on rare occasions, Tom triumphs. Sometimes, usually ironically, they both lose or they both end up being friends. Both characters display sadistic tendencies, in that they are equally likely to take pleasure in tormenting each other. However, depending on the cartoon, whenever one character appears to be in mortal danger (in a dangerous situation or by an enemy), the other will develop a conscience and save him. Sometimes they bond over a mutual sentiment towards an unpleasant experience.
Although many supporting and minor characters speak, Tom and Jerry rarely do so. Tom, most famously, sings while wooing female cats; for example, Tom sings Louis Jordan's Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby in the 1946 short Solid Serenade. In one short, Tom, when romancing a female cat, woos her in a French-accented voice similar to that of screen actor Charles Boyer. Co-director William Hanna provided most of the squeaks, gasps, and other vocal effects for the pair, including the most famous sound effect from the series, Tom's leather-lunged scream (created by recording Hanna's scream and eliminating the beginning and ending of the recording, leaving only the strongest part of the scream on the soundtrack). The only other reasonably common vocalization is made by Tom when some external reference claims a certain scenario or eventuality to be impossible, which inevitably, ironically happens to thwart Tom's plans - at which point, a bedraggled and battered Tom appears and says in a haunting, echoing voice "Don't you believe it!", a reference to some famous World War II propaganda shorts of the 1940's. One short, 1956's Blue Cat Blues, is narrated by Jerry in voiceover (voiced by Paul Frees). Both Tom and Jerry speak more than once, in the 1943 short The Lonesome Mouse.
In 1945, Jerry made an appearance in the live-action MGM musical feature film Anchors Aweigh, in which, through the use of special effects, he performs a dance routine with Gene Kelly. In this sequence, Gene Kelly is telling a class of school kids a fictional tale of how he earned his medal of honor. Jerry is the king of a magical world populated with cartoon animals, whom he has forbidden to dance as he himself does not know how. Gene Kelly's character then comes along and guides Jerry through an elaborate dance routine, resulting in Jerry awarding him with a medal. Jerry speaks and sings in this film; his voice is performed by Sara Berner. Tom has a cameo in the sequence as one of Jerry's servants.
Both Tom and Jerry appear with Esther Williams in a dream sequence in another MGM musical, Dangerous When Wet. In the film, Tom and Jerry are chasing each other underwater, when they run into Esther Williams, with whom they perform an extended synchronized swimming routine. Tom and Jerry have to save Esther from a lecherous octopus, who tries to lure and woo Esther into (many of) his arms.
Tom and Jerry were planned to appear in the 1988 Touchstone/Amblin film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a homage to classic American animation, but their inclusion in the film was scrapped due to legal complications.[citation needed]
1993 saw the overseas release of Tom and Jerry: The Movie, produced and directed by Phil Roman for Live Entertainment, Turner Pictures Worldwide, Turner Entertainment, and WMG. The film was released to theatres in the U.S. by Miramax Films in 1993. Joseph Barbera, co-creator of the characters served as creative consultant for the film. A musical film with a structure similar ot Disney's animated features, Tom and Jerry: The Movie was criticized by reviewers and audiences alike for being predictable and for giving Tom and Jerry dialogue (and songs) through the entire film. As a result, it failed at the box office.
In 2001, Warner Bros., which had by then merged with Turner and assumed its properties, released the direct-to-video movie Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring, in which Tom covets a ring which grants mystical powers to the wearer, and has become accidentally stuck on Jerry's head. Also, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera co-executive produced Tom and Jerry for the final time. Four years later, Bill Kopp scripted and directed two more feature films for WB, Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars and Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry, the latter one based on a story by Joseph Barbera. Both were released on DVD in 2005, starting the celebration of Tom and Jerry's sixty-fifth anniversary. The Fast and the Furry was released theatrically in select cities on June 3, 2006 by Kidtoon Films. In 2006, another direct-to-video film Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers tells a story about Tom and Jerry having to work together to get the treasure. Barbera came up with the initial idea and storyline for the next feature, Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale, which, due to his death on December 18, 2006, became his final animated project. Produced and directed by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone, the holiday-set animated film was released on DVD on October 2, 2007
Throughout the years, the term and title Tom and Jerry became practically synonymous with never-ending rivalry, as much as the related "cat and mouse fight" metaphor has.
The Simpsons characters Itchy & Scratchy, of the eponymous cartoon on the Krusty the Clown Show, are spoofs of Tom and Jerry--a "cartoon within a cartoon." The extreme cartoon violence of the Tom and Jerry is parodied and intensified, as Itchy (the mouse) dispatches Scratchy in various gratuitous, gory fashions. In one episode, Itchy & Scratchy is replaced by a cartoon called Worker and Parasite, a parody of the Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry cartoons. In The Simpsons episode Itchy and Scratchy and Marge Marge gets violence banned from TV and Itchy and Scratchy became friends (that whacking intro of theirs is replaced by gift-exchanging), causing the downfall of the series.
Tom and Jerry are also parodied in the original Sally the Witch anime (1966), the The Fairly Oddparents TV movies Channel Chasers (2004), and an episode of Garfield and Friends entitled Good Mousekeeping.
Simpsons The Movie
December 19th, 2007
And now, at last, Matt Groening's wonderful creation has arrived in cinemas, with people focusing on that it all began in 1990, but otherwise extremly funny and contemporary. Though I admit: after this huge historical wait, there is a little bit of a dissapoitment, only because The Simpsons Movie just can't hit you with the way it did 18 years ego. This movie had to be the funniest Simpsons ever had. It is possible? No! Over 400 episodes during all those years have had so many funny moment,that you sometimes just start wondering - is it possible to create something new?
The story is very silly and involved to summarise, but it involves Homer saving his family and helping Springfield defeat a conspiracy by President Arnold Schwarzenegger to despoil the environment. But still Matt and his team made this thing run. And run like hell!.
Every movie, before it's official release, promise to give so many things, that sometimes they totally forget, what it is about. The Simpsons movie gives you everything you could possibly ever want, and maybe it's a victim of its own accomplishment. Of course, a 90-minute long cartoon can't summ everything up, that has been going around for almoust 20 years now, but it's still very, very good. A must see in my opinion!
Directed by David Silverman and written by a whole host of Simpsons veterans including Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, The Simpsons Movie also features special guest appearances by Albert Brooks among others.
