Cartoon Modern

Through the end of August, the Tobey C. Moss Gallery (7321 Beverly Boulevard, LA, CA) has on display a show of animation artwork by Jules Engel. It’s a fairly small selection of artwork but includes pieces from Engel’s work on Disney’s Fantasia, UPA and Format Films color keys, and drawings from his personal short films. This Thursday, August 2, I’ll be doing a signing of Cartoon Modern in conjunction with the show. We’ll also be doing a short screening that highlights his UPA work and includes rare interview clips with Engel. Brew readers who’d like to attend can rsvp by tomorrow either by sending an email to tobeymoss [at] earthlink.net or calling the gallery at (323) 933-5523.

If I had to choose some ‘desert island’ Fifties shorts, Ernie Pintoff’s 1957 Terrytoons cartoon Flebus would definitely be among my selections. It embodies the “cartoon modern” aesthetic as well as any film from the era: fearless design values, a personal style of storytelling that matches the visual experimentation, and animation (by Jim Tyer) which exploits the film’s unique designs. More is written about Flebus in the book. As far as I know, it’s never been released onto home video or dvd, which is a shame, so here’s a copy of the film that we can all enjoy online.