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A salute to Monty Python animation? This blogpost most assuredly is SPAM
The joy in celebrating Monty Python's brilliant high-jinks is not dead yet. All this week, IFC has been saluting the comedy troupe's 40th anniversary by airing the swell new six-part docuseries, "Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)"...
By Michael Cavna | October 23, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (0)
'Riffs Picks: From the Nobel's Nervy 'Tude to a TV Superstar in the Nude--Today's Catchy Cartoons
THE SATURDAY MORNING QUICKIE: From Marge Simpson in the buff to Obama's Nobel guff, today's most eye-catching cartoons culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. The Nobel Obama cartoons came forth like a hard rain. Perhaps one of the...
By Michael Cavna | October 10, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
'Riffs Picks: From Superman to Letterman, Today's Cartoon Contenders
THE SATURDAY MORNING QUICKIE: From Superman to Letterman, Comic Riffs's favorite five cartoons today, culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. IF YOU DON'T GET IT, YOU DON'T GET IT: Every now and again, even the Trained Professional...
By Michael Cavna | October 3, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
'Family Guy' Satirizes Post Political Cartooning -- But Toles Truly Makes Us Laff
Because we here at Comic Riffs are absolute Pavlovian suckers for anything in pop culture that combines the words "Washington Post" and "cartoon," we laughed at this "Family Guy" aside over the weekend -- even if it bears no...
By Michael Cavna | September 30, 2009; 05:55 PM ET | Comments (0)
Tonight's 'Cleveland Show' Debut Marks McFarlane's Domination
"THE CLEVELAND SHOW" TRAILER: Fox TV bills its new Sunday night lineup as Animation Domination, but tonight's debut of "The Cleveland Show" more truly marks a new phase: McFarlane Domination. And tonight's premiere (update: to view the full episode,...
By Michael Cavna | September 27, 2009; 03:05 PM ET | Comments (9)
From Tom DeLay to Mickey Mouse, Our Five Fave Cartoons This Minute...
THE MORNING QUICKIE: From Tom DeLay's cha-cha to Steamboat Willie's whistle, here are our fave five cartoons this minute, culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. DANCE AS A BIPARTISAN THREAT: With all the verbal gusto of Judge...
By Michael Cavna | September 24, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
Morning Quickie: Presidents Garfield to Obama, Our Five Fave Cartoons This Minute...
THE MORNING LINE: Our five favorite cartoons this moment, culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. TV AS Rx: CNN! CBS! Oxygen? To peddle his health-care reform plan, President Obama is visiting more networks than Emmys host Neil Patrick...
By Michael Cavna | September 23, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Riffs Interview: Mila Kunis ('Extract' & 'Family Guy') Succeeds Through Genre-Hopping
Before getting to the Q&A portion of this post, there are Twelve Things you should know in advance about starlet/actress/voice actor MILA MARKOVNA KUNIS. In no particular order: 1. She is quick. A verbal Federer, she often anticipates with...
By Michael Cavna | September 4, 2009; 02:20 PM ET | Comments (10)
Lasseter Celebrates 'Ponyo' Creator Hayao Miyazaki
The Great Hayao Miyazaki-san & the men of Disney/Pixar. Immediately to the right of Miyazaki is Pixar founder John Lasseter. (Michael Cavna/The Washington Post) When the legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki took the stage last month at cavernous "Fanboy...
By Michael Cavna | August 14, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
'Family Guy': Scenes From an Off-Color 'Table Read'
'Family Guy': Peter, Lois (with Stewie), Meg (on ground), Chris & Brian. (AP Photo/FOX) Wednesday night in Hollywood, the much-ballyhooed event was the "table read" of a "Family Guy" episode -- which shall remain unaired -- that deals with...
By Michael Cavna | August 14, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
'District 9' to 'Ponyo': What New Film Will You Catch First?
Apartheid extraterrestrials? Shape-shifting goldfish? Suddenly, the notion of a mere time-travelin' hubby sounds relatively plausible given the other mind-bending film offerings this Friday -- one of the year's more crowded weekends for fans of fantasy. The South African-set "DISTRICT...
By Michael Cavna | August 12, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (10)
The Top Five 'SpongeBob' Episodes: We Pick 'Em
As "SpongeBob SquarePants" celebrates its 10th anniversary this month -- marked partly by tonight's VH1 documentary "Square Roots" -- Comic Riffs discussed some of its favorite episodes with creator Stephen Hillenburg and Tom Kenny, the voice behind the sponge....
By Michael Cavna | July 14, 2009; 02:05 PM ET | Comments (3)
The Interview: 'SpongeBob' Creator Stephen Hillenburg
Stephen Hillenburg (Reuters/Luis Enrique Ascui) Tom Kenny, who voices the character of "SpongeBob SquarePants," says the show's creator, STEVE HILLENBURG, is a prime lesson in the importance of following your passions. Hillenburg was working as a marine biologist, but...
By Michael Cavna | July 14, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Interview: 'Ice Age' Director Carlos Saldanha
Scratte (left) and Scrat in "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." (Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox) "Coraline," "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "Up" have all delivered brilliant 3-D effects this year -- each offering its own visual strengths -- yet...
By Michael Cavna | July 1, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (1)
Heart of the Matter: A Memo to DreamWorks Animation
It's all too clear to see: For its next project, DreamWorks Animation should consider rendering the wizard of Oz. That's because L. Frank Baum's character could gift the studio's next 3D cartoon with the one thing it might just...
By Michael Cavna | June 3, 2009; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Buzz Is Back: 'Toy Story 3' Trailer Toys With Our Expectations
With "Up" ruling the box office over the weekend, Pixar/Disney has been savvy enough to begin ratcheting up awareness of its next film, "Toy Story 3," which is still a full 12 months away from landing at your local...
By Michael Cavna | June 2, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
As 'Up' Tops Box Office: We Pick Our Favorite Pixar Films
"Up" (REUTERS/Walt Disney Co/Pixar/Handout) "Toy Story" (DISNEY PIXAR) As Pixar studio's 10th feature film, the 3D balloon-questing "UP," descends on theaters this weekend -- and easily tops the domestic box office at an estimated $68 million -- Comic Riffs...
By Michael Cavna | May 31, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Interview: 'UP' Animator Bob Peterson of Pixar
Bob Peterson arrives at the premiere of Disney Pixar's 'Up' in Hollywood on May 16. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) As Pixar's balloon-questing movie, "UP," lands in theaters today, it represents just the latest cinematic adventure for its writer and co-director,...
By Michael Cavna | May 29, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Interview: Animator/Filmmaker MIKE JUDGE (Pt. 2)
Mike Judge (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) In the interest of full transparency, Comic Riffs and animator/filmmaker MIKE JUDGE share many of the same influences. Not just some creative ones -- Terry Gilliam, Chuck Jones, Harvey Pekar and Charles Schulz, to...
By Michael Cavna | May 28, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Interview: 'Goode Family' Creator Mike Judge (Pt. 1)
MIKE JUDGE, co-creator of the Fox series "King of the Hill," poses in front of an illustration of the animated character he voices, Hank Hill, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ric Francis) As animator/filmmaker MIKE JUDGE nearly wraps up his...
By The Reliable Source | May 27, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Interview: 'SNL' Writer/Animator Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel: The man behind "Ambiguously Gay Duo" and "X-Presidents." (Gino Domenico/AP File Photo) Tomorrow night, "SNL" wraps an especially stellar season -- from Tina Fey's Sarah Palin to Justin Timberlake's charismatic hosting -- and Sunday night, NBC will...
By Michael Cavna | May 15, 2009; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (2)
The Interview: 'Monsters' Animator Phil 'Captain 3D' McNally
The leap from studying furniture design in London to becoming an animator on a multimillion-dollar 3-D film in Hollywood can sound like a doozy. But PHIL McNALLY, a Northern Ireland native who legally adopted the middle name "Captain 3D" even...
By Michael Cavna | April 7, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Interview: Animator Bryan Brinkman
Thanks to a stunt earlier this month on Jimmy Fallon's late-night NBC show, New York animator BRYAN BRINKMAN not only gained more than 30,000 followers on Twitter. Two weeks later, his raised profile continues to draw fans to his work....
By Michael Cavna | March 23, 2009; 03:30 PM ET | Comments (0)
The Interview: Pixar Animator Angus MacLane
The Pixar film "Wall-E" is beginning to scoop up critics' awards, but it was a much smaller film that I hotly anticipated when the "Wall-E" DVD recently hit consumer shelves. I'd heard about this short called "Burn-E," based on a...
By Michael Cavna | December 11, 2008; 12:45 PM ET | Comments (1)
The Interview: HBO Animator Steve Dildarian
Rising HBO animator STEVE DILDARIAN has never feared sacrifice in the name of gainful employment. He has toiled over scalding asphalt. He has been locked in a cage. And he has voiced a talking toilet. The man is fearless, if...
By Michael Cavna | September 19, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Interview: 'Boondocks' Creator Aaron McGruder
"I'm way too invested in" this presidential election, says "Boondocks" creator Aaron McGruder. (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Television, Kyle Christy) Let the record show that The Washington Post, on occasion, withheld Aaron McGruder's now-defunct syndicated strip "The Boondocks" back in...
By Michael Cavna | July 22, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (10)
