Odds & Ends

While I try to finish a post of more substance, here's a post for those who like The Simpsons. Or Peanuts. Or animated violence: "Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown." Originally posted at Anime Hell, it quickly went down after Cartoon Brew linked to it, but as I write Anime Hell are linking to a couple of working mirror sites. A violence warning applies, so don't download it and show it to your kiddies. (If you do have trouble downloading it, there's a fairly detailed write-up here.)

(Edit, 16/5/07 - here's a YouTube version, while it works:



It's a student film by Jim Reardon, one of the longest-standing directors for The Simpsons, and despite its surface brutality it's a loving homage to both Schulz's comic strip and the animated TV specials that Bill Melendez made from them starting in the 1960s. It's interesting to note just how good this was - the success of The Simpsons clearly owes a lot to its ability to attract underused animators like Reardon who otherwise wouldn't have had an outlet. The kind of cinematic angles used in the final slaughter anticipate the really strong visuals that The Simpsons would introduce to television animation.

I also like the legal disclaimer at the end, which is a good example of the "begging for forgiveness" style of disclaimer:

The creator of this picture wishes to state that he does not in any way wish to tarnish or demean the beloved characters of Charles M. "Dutch" Schulz's comic strip, "Peanuts." No malice or damage to their goodwill was intended.

So please don't sue me, because it will drag through the courts for years, and I haven't got a lawyer - and besides, you've already got half the money in the world, and I haven't got any. OK?

Well, that should cover it.

Incidentally, if the voice of the narrator sounds familiar, you've been listening to DVD commentaries for either The Simpsons or Futurama: it's Rich Moore, one of the most prolific of the directors on those shows.