1938 War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast in Toy Animation

I am on a roll of discovery tonight! Here’s the perfect film to kick off the Halloween season for 2010. This is a recording of the legendary 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater. But Toyman Studios has animated the entire thing with toys! Toy sets, toy people, and amazing toy battles! It’s beautiful. This is just the perfect way to tell this story now. I want more from Toyman Studios!

Super-Secret Artist Banksy Defaces The Simpsons

Emerging in utmost secrecy from his well-hidden fortress of urban art, Banksy has brought his/her unique brand of urban art-terrorism to The Simpsons. Last night’s episode featured an opening sequence directed by the incognito artist. We see the Banksy logo painted across a billboard and then the sequence suddenly takes us into what looks like an asian sweatshop of animators working on Simpson’s animation and making Simpsons toys. My favorite part is the suffering unicorn.

Most people are caught completely unaware by the artist’s secret nocturnal visits to leave behind images that provoke.  However, I can’t imagine that the producers of The Simpsons were unaware of Banksy’s activities.  The only person who seems unaware is some mid-level Twentieth Century Fox employee who keeps taking the videos down from YouTube for copyright violation.  Would it be permissible for someone higher up at Twentieth Century Fox to take said employee into the parking lot and run over that person’s mouse hand with a Humvee?

Update: The higher-ups at the studio appear to have listened and graciously disabled the meddling fingers of whoever was deleting the video from YouTube.  So posted above is the Simpsons opening in all its glory.

Animation: Bill Plympton Interview

Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film has an interview with fiercely independent animator Bill Plympton.  I met him once back in 2003 at a film festival in Chicago and he was the most engaging and approachable guy in the entire place.  I attended one of his talks and enjoyed the spectacle of him selling his various wares out in the theater lobby.

He’s got an excellent web site where you can spy on him as he animates and see a wonderful trailer for his latest feature film, Idiots and Angels.