Wailerama, or How I Lost What Dignity I Had Left To Another Cartoon.

Last year, I wrote a piece about how I liked nothing better than to combine my love of cathartic weeping with my love of The Simpsons, and listed my five favourite weepy moments of the greatest TV series ever made. And indeed, The Simpsons is full of beautiful moments that anyone even half-invested in the show will pick-up on, indulge in, and honk a little bump of Empathy from. But here’s the thing: The Simpsons may be full of moments of depth and great sentiment , but for me, it doesn’t pack anything close to the emotional wallop of Matt Groening’s other animated epic, Futurama. Following the adventures of Philip J. Fry, accidentally cryogenically frozen for a thousand years on New Year’s Eve 1999, the critically-acclaimed Futurama has an awesome cult following, but hasn’t carved out quite the nook The Simpsons has (possibly because it’s a lot more grown-up and … There’s more

Cartoon Exhibition, Sat. 28th November @2pm in Sheridan’s on the Docks

Brian Cowen’s Flood Relief All the info’s in the headline there! Mattie Hynes has organised an exhibition of the cartoons of Joe Boske, Culch.ie’s Allan Cavanagh (moi), Richard Chapman and Tom Mathews in Sheridan’s on the Docks, Galway. We’re opening at 2pm tomorrow. View Sheridan’s on the Docks in a larger map The exhibition will run until just before Christmas.

Competition Closed: Where is the love for the Disney classics?

*** Competition Closed *** *** Congratulations to Yvonne, Jamie and Michael. Thank you to everyone else for taking part and for letting us know your favourite Disney movies. I enjoyed the conversation. *** I would imagine most kids these days know Disney for their big 3D animation extravaganza or maybe for their Camp Rock/High School Musical/Jonas Brothers/Hannah Montana live action films, but is there any love for the old 2D era left? When we were writing this week’s Top Five Musicals, we decided to leave cartoon musicals off the list (the poll decided), but it got me thinking about all the Disney classics from my childhood. I decided I would write a quick post about the early Disney films I loved and talk a bit about their newer offerings. I thought it would be a short post where I would mention Snow White, Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, … There’s more

Quick poll

Hey all, Just a quick question. We’re doing our Top Five for this week. It’s Top Five Musicals. Would you include cartoons in the list? I’m thinking mostly of Disney’s animated movies, from Snow White to The Lion King. Would you consider them musicals? I can see both arguments for their inclusion and exclusion, so I’ll leave it down to the Culchies. [poll id="6"] And also, if you feel there are any musicals that should be included, leave a comment below. Cheers. D&L

Plastic fantastic - Mattel goes to the movies

It would appear that Mattel is anxious to follow Hasbro’s lead and start developing movies based on their popular toy brands. This news is unsurprising as Hasbro has made a small fortune on the back of Michael Bay’s out-landish, effects laden, big-budget blockbuster franchise Transformers, as well this summer’s GI:JOE. Mattel has quite a large stable of intellectual properties which includes Hot Wheels, Battle Force 5, Masters of the Universe and of course Barbie. It is the last two that Mattel is keen to exploit, with news surfacing this week that both will soon be adapted into new live-action feature films. The Masters of the Universe toy line spawned the much loved 1980’s classic TV series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and its spin-off She-Ra: Princess of Power. As a child I could often be found 2 feet in front of a TV screen, glued to the adventures … There’s more

Bugs Bunny on Broadway: rehearsals and interviews

I sat watching the RTÉ Concert Orchestra perform Looney Tunes tunes yesterday. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Those that know me will generally say three things - the first is not suitable for a family friendly site, the second would be enthusiastic and the third is that I’m a big child sometimes. That’s very true. I like to think there’s a wonder, a surprise, a revelation and above all something to enjoy in everything. Yesterday certainly fit into those criteria. I loved Looney Tunes as a child. Never a Disney kid really, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Tom & Jerry, Road Runner and Wile E Coyote were always on RTÉ and therefore always on my to-watch list. I’ll still sit and watch Elmer chase Bugs, watch Daffy try his oneupmanship on Bugs and watch Wile E construct the most elaborate contraptions available from … There’s more

Two Sheets to the Wind: Top Five Animated Movies

Our top fives are usually fought out over a few drinks (hence the title), but with my current abstinence, I wonder should we change the title for this month? Anyway… Cartoons are a staple of Hollywood since Disney first produced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. The animated movie (a phrase which allows adults to talk about them without seeming childish) has gone through many changes over the past 70 years, not least in the last 20 with the advent of computer graphics. From it’s 2D glory days to its decline and then reinvigoration, cartoons have captured the imaginations of children and adults alike. I thought compiling my top five would be easy. I could easily think of a few animated films that I loved and thought I’d just quickly jot down the list. It turned out I had a least 10 that belonged in the top five, … There’s more