Rigel's stories

Anthrocon 2002 Invention Fair
Sat 2 Mar 2002 - 16:49

In keeping with the theme of this year's convention, Anthrocon will hold an INVENTION FAIR to showcase the creative talents of our members. Entry is quite simple: design a novel device, implement, article of clothing, system, etc. that fits one of the following categories:

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The Tao of the Coca-Cola Polar Bears
Wed 20 Feb 2002 - 13:06

From The Independant:

Polar bears get away with a lot because they're so nicely dressed. Apparently they're every bit as grumpy as grizzlies. You wouldn't want to leave your children near them because they'd probably be eaten in seconds.

But polar bears are good in commercials, so their private life has been hushed up by the studio publicity machine. In advertising, bears are winsome and funny. In the Coca-Cola commercial – the latest in a campaign that's been running for several years now, on and off – the polar bears are great family people too. These bears – Mum, Dad and three cubs – live in a spacey blue-white right world, like the moon with added snow, round a pool with pixilated currents. The computer animation is so sophisticated that their white fur ripples and shines convincingly. You can see every hair, just as if they'd been using an expensive Victorian hair oil.

For the full story, click here:
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/story.jsp?story=120387

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"Schnozz," from the producer of "Shrek"
Wed 20 Feb 2002 - 09:55

From Yahoo News:

NEW YORK (Variety) - "Shrek" producer John H. Williams will develop a computer-animated feature based on "Schnozz," a British cartoon canine romp.

The picture concerns a crossbreed mutt and the coterie of rejected animals he meets as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of his famous police dog father. "Schnozz" was created by U.K. illustrator and character designer Gary Chapman and written by Jordan Katz.

The project marks one of the first to be developed by Williams' Vanguard Animation after it recently secured a $100 million indie production fund. Williams just produced the Jackie Chan picture "The Tuxedo" at DreamWorks.

Chapman designed the characters and story for "Junk," an animated musical in development at Warner Bros., and he designed the characters for Vanguard's upcoming production "Valiant," a parody of "Top Gun" portraying carrier pigeons serving in WWII Europe. Katz's credits include "Assault on Norway," a WWII thriller set up at DreamWorks.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=600&u=/nm/20020215/film_nm/film_schnozz_dc_1

The Lion King 3 And More Disney Sequels
Tue 19 Feb 2002 - 13:35

Yahoo News reveals more Disney sequels and their profitability factor, including The Lion King 3, Tarzan 2, Piglet's Big Movie (The Tigger Movie sequel), and Mulan 2 & 3 among others.

At least they're making more talking animal movies...

Follow the link below:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020219/film_nm/film_disney_dc_1&cid=600

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Get rid of that stupid dog and those meddling kids!
Sun 17 Feb 2002 - 10:26

Text from cartoonresearch.com:

A petition to get rid of SCOOBY DOO!

Think the CARTOON NETWORK runs too much SCOOBY DOO?

Here's your chance to be heard. Petition Online.com has a "Request for the Reduction of "Scooby-Doo" Programming".

It may be too late - with a live action feature film due this spring, a new animated series in production for this fall - and more direct-to-video movies in production (not to mention Scooby's continued high ratings on Cartoon Network) - someone out there must like the show.

If you've had enough Scooby Snacks to last a lifetime, click here to sign your name to this petition.

Zoinks!

http://www.petitiononline.com/Scoo/petition.html

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Jungle Book II, Dumbo II
Sat 16 Feb 2002 - 13:23

Money is money. References are made to further sequels to Disney classics in the works in this article from Yahoo, which also covers the mouse's other recent animated forays:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=493&u=/ap/20020213/ap_en_mo/wkd_disney_sequels_2

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The Baltimore Oriole cartoon
Sat 16 Feb 2002 - 10:08

From animationblast.com:

Get Ready For The Fun Bird. Baseball's Baltimore Orioles will be adding a cartoon logo to their uniform and jacket sleeves for the 2002 season, the club announced yesterday. The character, called the "Fun Bird," was created in 1997 for the Orioles' "Dugout Club" kids program. Fun Bird was designed by Ken Mitchroney, an animation artist who has many TV credits and was a story artist on TOY STORY II and MONSTERS INC. So to all you out-of-work animators, here's a new potentially lucrative line of work: sports team cartoon characters. Think of all the possibilities - MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL, and all those minor league teams too...

http://www.animationblast.com

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M-I-C-K-E-Y M-A-Y-O-R
Fri 15 Feb 2002 - 20:06

Text from animationblast.com:

The 73- year-old mayor of Hurricane, West Virginia is a Mickey Mouse fan...make that a BIG MICKEY MOUSE FAN. For starters, he's got a Mickey lamp, stapler, clock and tissue box on his office desk and over a dozen Mickey watches. Read the CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL for all the mousy details.

http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2002021425/

A healthy breakfast of Mickey
Fri 15 Feb 2002 - 12:08

From Yahoo News:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cereal giant Kellogg Co. is relying on a little magic from Walt Disney to help counter a slump in U.S. cereal sales.

Kellogg, the country's No. 2 maker of breakfast cereal, unveiled Wednesday three new cereals based on Disney characters Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear from ``Toy Story.''

For the full article:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/020214/14/1gdun.html

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Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie
Tue 12 Feb 2002 - 12:45

From the NY Post:

The movie version of "SpongeBob," Nick's top-rated kid's show, will likely hit theaters in late 2003 or early 2004 and will be produced by Paramount, sources say.

Details are sketchy at this point, but there's a chance that SpongeBob and his pals could even leave the safe environs of their underwater home, Bikini Bottom - and venture elsewhere during the course of the movie.

For the full story: http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/41124.htm