Marcel the Shell

I just discovered Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Well, actually, I discovered Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Two. Both are stop-motion short films written by Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate, directed by Fleischer-Camp, and voiced by Slate. Personally, I think the second one (released this week) is just as cute but more funny. But just the idea of putting shoes and a googly eye on a shell and making it talk is awesome because it's something weird and absurd that I would likely do.

Marcel: "I used to have a sister."
Camera: "Used to have?"
Marcel: "Yeah."
Camera: "What happened to her?"
Marcel: "Someone asked her to hold a balloon."

I also love when the dog barks at the doorbell and scares Marcel, who dives into the couch cushions. I can relate. I still jump every time our shetland sheepdog barks. That shit is LOUD.

Your Hair Looks Like Starlight

Yesterday was a downer, so Ali and I decided to watch some happy animation. I felt like watching Up, but it's no longer streaming, so we settled for the English version of Hayao Miyazaki's 2004 anime film Howl's Moving Castle.

Although I enjoyed the animation, especially the castle, I only really started caring about the story when Sophie turned into an old woman and marched into the Wastes. I think this is due in part to the character's increased confidence and sense of humor and the actress Jean Simmons.

That castle's pretty bad-ass.

From the first moment Howl started speaking, I was thinking "Why is he talking so weirdly? He sounds like Christian Bale's Batman." Uh, yeah...I had no idea that the voice does indeed belong to Christian Bale and I laughed hysterically when the credits rolled. I then felt compelled to check the chronological order of HMC and Batman Begins: 2004 and 2005, respectively. So, now I'm convinced Bale channeled his wizard voice for Batman. I hate that voice regardless.

Batman voice begins.

My favorite characters: Heen and Turnip Head.

Who doesn't love a short-legged, asthmatic dog with a yellow hair tuft? And Turnip Head was such a considerate fellow. He also prompted Ali and I to wonder what turnips taste like. Is that wrong?

I should probably watch the Japanese version, if for nothing else, so I stop laughing at Howl's voice. I should also watch Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, but I only have so much animation attention span.

Howl: "Wow, Sophie, your hair looks just like starlight! It's beautiful!"

Dad, who is silently browsing the Internet in the corner of the room, starts laughing: "I'm sorry."

Me: "You should try that line on Mom."

More chuckling from the peanut gallery.

Lost Things

A short stop-motion film called "Lost Things" by Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths starring Alison Sudol and the music of A Fine Frenzy.  It makes me smile. :)

Neko Case - People Got A Lotta Nerve

I've been enjoying some Neko Case of late.  I love the knitting in the beginning of the video for "People Got A Lotta Nerve" and of course, the elephants. :)  The animation is by Paul and Julie Morstad.

An Elephant-Puppy!

Aaawww, a baby elephant-puppy!  In this Danish short film pilot, Hugo's a kid who's blind as a bat and thinks his friend Holger, the elephant, is a dog.  I hope Teddy Kristiansen and company get enough support to finish the film.  Super cute!  I especially like the part where he drags the poop bag to the trash. :)

Hugo And Holger Pilot from Teddy Kristiansen on Vimeo.

St. Patrick

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here's a clip from Brown Bag Films' Academy Award nominated short film Give Up Yer Aul Sins in which an adorable Dublin school girl explains the story of St. Patrick.

新年快樂

Happy Chinese New Year! 2011 is the "Year of the Rabbit." Bring on the creepy giant bunnies!

A rabbit sculpture of 30,000 porcelain plates in Jingdezhen, East China's Jiangxi Province.

A 12-foot rabbit with living-plant "fur" at the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Las Vegas.

A very rotund rabbit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

I DO NOT like the red eyes of these Beijing bunnies.

A giant rabbit lantern at Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai.

Giant rabbits being prepped in a lantern factory in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province. (They look like they're going to eat her.)

A rabbit lantern from the River Hong Bao carnival in Singapore.

In all seriousness, to learn more about the story of Chinese New Year, watch the following:

Groundhogs Good for Something

Happy belated Groundhog Day! I'm a day late, but uh, I had stuff to do yesterday. :P It's a silly holiday and I'm no fan of groundhogs, but as a Pennsylvanian, I feel a modicum of loyalty to Punxsutawney Phil. As happens every year, I forgot to make my first words of the day, "Happy Groundhog Day," which according to my neighbor, is good luck. Ah, well, at least Phil didn't see his shadow (early Spring!) like the groundhog in this 1930 Disney short film entitled Winter.

Star-Crossed Lovers

I'm kinda in love with today's discovery, animator and illustrator Kirsten Lepore.

In Bottle, snow and sand have a love affair via messages in a bottle. Also, be sure to check out Sweet Dreams for some cupcake-squash action.

And Guess Who is one of my favorite games! :)

"A cold is nothing to be sneezed at."

Goofy, err Mr. Geef, I feel your pain. Oh, the drama! By the way, I want to join Mabel's bridge club, or any bridge club for that matter. :)

Godiva -- Chocolate and Naked Ladies

As I sat here stuffing my face with Godiva Gems, I started thinking about the Anglo-Saxon legend of Lady Godiva; a noblewoman who supposedly rode naked through the streets of Coventry, England in protest of her husband's oppressive taxation of his tenants. She's a cool chick, even if the story's not supported by history.

On that note, I found a lovely 2004 animated short called The Legend of Lady Godiva from Belarusfilm that competed in the 2005 Open Russian Festival of Animated Film in Suzdal.

Director & Screenwriter: Irina Kodyukova
Painter: Dmitry Surinovich
Animators: Irina Kodyukova, S.Strotseva, Natalia Hatkevich
Operator: Galina Gireeva
Composer: Elena Frolova
Sound: Andrei Volkov

Back to the chocolate, I found part of a Godiva advertising campaign by Christopher Wilson that tickled my fancy: "Think of us as chocolate bling." He also has a Cowboy photography portfolio. I ♥ cowboys.

I Wanna Be a Goldfish Princess When I Grow Up

"Fish with faces that come out of the sea cause tsunamis!"

Ali and I just finished watching the English version of Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo. Sōsuke's mom could be the poster child for reckless driving and the prehistoric fish kind of gave me the creeps, but otherwise, fantastical and adorable!

Pink Bunny Power!

This makes me giggle. It's a French commercial for batteries by ad agency Ogilvy Paris.

Executive Creative Director: Chris Garbutt
Creative Director: Nick Hine
Art Director: Antoaneta Metchanova
Account Team: Kim Ball, Anne Karcher
Agency Producer: Caroline Petruccelli
Production Company: Chuck & Lulu, Paris
Director: Pleix
Executive Producer: Edward Grann
Line Producer: Katharina Nicol
Post Producer: Sebastien Gros
Post Production: Digital District, Paris
Music: Apollo Studios, Montreal

Kells for this Belle

Now that I'm an old fart, I find it more difficult for my attention span to handle animation. However, The Secret of Kells is certainly worth a gander with it's spectacular imagery and music. It made me yearn even more for a return trip to Ireland. And who doesn't love a movie that emphasizes the importance of books?

"If there were no books, all knowledge would be lost, for eternity."

Mom, Ali, and I saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College Dublin a couple of years ago. I must say, it loses something when observed through glass with dozens of people invading your personal space. That's pretty much how I felt when I saw Stonehenge too. Alas, there's a price to pay for preservation.

Mama and me on campus.

Directions to the library.

Hedgehogs FTW!

Hedgehogs are adorable and I wish they were a natural part of North American wildlife. Can we trade groundhogs for them?? Hedgehog in the Fog is a 1975 Russian animation short film by Yuriy Norshteyn based on a story by Sergei Kozlov. I also like the rhyming title. I'm easy to please. :)