Ah, Canada, that frozen wonderland to the north, with its lush, rolling fields of moose, beer waterfalls, and socialized medicine. Truly, it is a snow covered Eden. This week’s Saturday Morning Cartoons is (mostly) presented by Canada, featuring animators (mostly) from Canada, or films distributed (mostly) by The National Film Board of Canada. If you are so inclined (and you should be) all of these videos, with the exception of the first, can be viewed in a higher resolution on YouTube.

• The Cat Came Back: From Cordell Barker. Mr. Johnson has a yellow cat, which he is desperately trying to rid himself of. His efforts prove…unsuccessful.

• Last Time in Clerkenwell: Russian animator Alex Budovsky’s follow-up to Bathtime in Clerkenwell featuring more mind bending flash animation and infectious music.

• The Danish Poet: Torill Kove’s 2007 Oscar winning mediation on her birth, and the serendipitous events which led to it. Simple, clean lines lend this one a children’s book aesthetic which works perfectly.

• Ryan: Directed by Chris Landreth, Ryan is an animated tribute to Canadian animator Ryan Larkin. Thirty years ago, at the National Film Board of Canada, Ryan produced some of the most influential animated films of his time. Winner of an Oscar in 2005, it’s a film whose visuals tell just as much of its story as its dialogue does.

• How Wings Are Attached to the Backs of Angels: Craig Welch’s fantastic, creepy, surreal, Gorey-esque little film about a scientist’s quest for knowledge that is, perhaps, reserved for beings other than mere mortals. Cross hatching should be used more often in animation.

• Yellow Sticky Notes: Nine years worth of Jeff Chiba Stearns’s To-Do lists, written on sticky notes, animated with, well, sticky notes. Trust me, it works.

• Harvey Krumpet: I’m a big fan of Australian animator Adam Elliot’s work, having first seen his shorts Brother, Uncle, and Cousin through The Animation Show. Harvey Krumpet, narrated by Geoffrey Rush, continues the tradition of Elliot’s intimate storytelling; detailing the life of Harvey Krumpet, from his birth in Poland to the end of his life in Australia.

Saturday Morning Cartoons XXXIX: Oh Canada (Mostly) [YouTube]

A meaty treat for you to sink your teeth into this morning, loyal viewers. Consider this more of a brunch than a breakfast if you will. To celebrate the stupendous event of the release of the first season of the outstanding Freakazoid! we present four, crazed episodes. Nestled in between these delectable treats lies a surreal, French delicacy: La Planète Sauvage (Fantastic Planet). If you have any questions about your meal, the waiter will be happy to answer them:

• Freakazoid!: “A Matter of Love”, in which Cosgrove gets himself a girlfriend; a girlfriend who may not be what she seems. HUGGBEE!

• Freakazoid!: “The Wrath of Guitierrez”. Guitierrez zaps Freakazoid into a video-game world in order to destroy him.

• La Planète Sauvage (Fantastic Planet) René Laloux’s amazingly bizarre science fiction classic set in a future where human, called Oms, have been taken by the gigantic Draag to their home planet and kept as pets; but the the siren call of freedom is strong and rebellion is fermenting among the Oms. Fantastic Planet is one of those films whose effect on me has not been lost, even after multiple viewing. It remains just as strange and wonderful as it did when I first saw it.

• MUSICAL INTERMISSION Thanks, Evil Jim!

• La Planète Sauvage continues, everyone take your seats.

• Freakazoid!: “The Island of Dr. Mystico”. Freakazoid is entrusted with transporting the city’s top villains to the remote country of France. Oh crap, is that Candlejack in that pic-

• Freakazoid!: “Virtual Freak”. Picture this: In a normal mall, in a normal arcade a game is being assembled by two men named Bob who both share a secret desire to date Agent Scully of the X-Files. The game is rumored to be neato torpedo. OR IS IT!?

Saturday Morning Cartoons XXXVIII: Fantastic Sandwich [YouTube]

untitled uploaded by ????? (Sorry, WordPress seems unable to display Asian characters.) [Flickr] : FFFFOUND!

Work, Workspace, More Work [Friend or Foe : Drawn!]

After careful consideration Randy decided that his master could afford to purchase a new ball and that this particular game of fetch was over.

Thanks to everyone who pinged Ectomo on Valentine’s Day, it made Eliza’s puckered tear ducts moist with joy (or rage, I can never tell)!

The severing of a number of undersea communications cables have elicited claims of sabotage. Edward points to one of the more plausible theories.

The beautiful story of a young woman and the intimate relationship she shares with her speakers. Thanks, Tristion!

What happens when someone with a high speed camera takes video of insects being pelted with various liquids and miniature pies? Mable invites you to find out.

I do not know what is going on in this video but it is NSFW. Looks of disgust should be aimed at ithidet.

Thanks to nicoptere for the image.

Update: The ever lovely and erudite Suzanne points out that the above image is by two Swiss collagists, Plonk & Replonk, and is part of a set of postcards which can be seen here.

Narcissus by Vanni Cuoghi.

Vanni Cuoghi: The Golden Age [Galleria Sansalvatore] : Bunnylicious

Harma Heikens’s work combines mutant babies, prepubescent girls, pigs, and Hans Bellmer to create sculptures that elicit admiration for the imagination on display as well as feelings of acute discomfort. Of course, they might also just elicit a cry of “What the fuck!?”

Artist’s site may not be safe for work.

Harma Heikins [Artist’s Site] : who killed bambi?

I find Claude Verlinde’s paintings simply stunning. They are surreal and modern with a painterly, Renaissance quality to them; featuring bizarre landscapes, human/animal hybrids, and beautiful, lithe nymphets. Prints are available at what was, at one time, the affordable price of seventy-five euros which, no doubt soon, will be the exact equivalent of one wheelbarrow full of my near worthless American dollars.

Careful fellow office drones, there be those most offensive of objects, female breasts, in that gallery.

Claude Verlinde [Galerie Michelle BOULET] : Phantasmaphile : Little Hokum Rag (Amy Crehore)

Barnaby Whitfield’s work is akin to taking a tour of hell as illustrated by a seven year-old girl with a severe case of coulrophobia. It is a credit to his abilities that he manages to so perfectly juxtapose the hideous and macabre with the hilariously absurd. Certainly when one first espies the portrait of an Oompa-Loompa, gazing lecherously at the viewer, or a lipstick smeared maiden riding a purple Pegasus, one realizes that they are in for a special kind of perverse magic, however it is only a taste of the bizarre scenery that lays ahead. Beware: may not be safe for work.

Barnaby Whitfield [Artist’s Site] : Phantasmaphile : traveling with the ghost

If you’re wondering why there are no new episodes of The Maxx you may blame Viacom who, at some point yesterday, swept through YouTube and removed them. Ah well. There is plenty of strangeness left to fill the void. Witness, and be entertained:

• First up is Paranoia Agent, the television series from anime filmmaker Satoshi Kon. If you have never seen any of his work, do not let the seemingly nonsensical opening throw you off, this is one of the most mature and intelligent series done in the past few years. Beware the boy with the golden bat…

• Ah FLCL, also known as Fooly Cooly, a series that was decidedly nonsensical. There are few ways to describe this short, six episode series, that would give you any impressions of it other than “Whaaaa?” which is, most likely, the same reaction you’ll have after having watched it.

• Musical Interlude! If you are uninterested, now would be a good time to refill your bowl of Cocoa Puffs or use the restroom. Our show will resume momentarily.

• Two episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog, “Cabaret Courage” and “Freaky Fred”, which follows a long tradition of worthwhile cartoons by appealing to adults as well as children, without frightening/confusing/boring the latter. “Hello, new friend, my name is Fred. I said, my name is Fred; the words you hear are in my head. I say, I said, my name is Fred and I’ve been very NAAAUGHTY.”

• The Real Ghostbusters, the first episode, entitled “Knock Knock”, written, as many of the first two seasons were, by J. Michael Straczynski. Before the series lightened up in the third season, in order to appeal to a wider and younger audience, this show was, at times, genuinely scary and always brilliantly animated. That quality of animation is especially apparent here.

• Grande Finale!

Saturday Morning Cartoons XIV [YouTube]

1. Potapych: Bear Who Loved Vodka
Why is it easier to make friends than keep them? The fable of Potapych and his pet hobo teaches us to be good, drink milk, and think of Russia.

2. Gnap-Gnap
The power of foley sound grants flight to an inflatable monster, who bears his Moebius-inspired master aloft.

3. Sam and Max Hit the Road: Intro
The animated lead-in to the classic LucasArts adventure. I desperately miss these voice actors.

4. Sam & Max: Our Bewildering Universe
A more recent Steve Purcell short, done in his inimitable style and perfect pace.

5. Sam and Max Episode 13
“Nice wedding so far!”
“I think the commissioner would support our decision to employ rubber ammo and tear gas at this point, ha ha!”

6. The Running Man
A short from Liquid Television that made an immense impression on me as a child. I still couldn’t give you a reliable synopsis, however.

7. Ergo Proxy: Episode 1
A newish anime that has more style and grace than anything I’ve seen since FLCL. After the first three episodes, it devolves into typical anime mush and become unwatchable, but until then it’s brilliant. The plot revolves around a wireless virus that impregnates androids with self-awareness. In a society built on the tireless backs of ubiquitous service drones, programmed into selfless slaves, a taste of freedom is civilization-threatening. Pay special attention to the costume designs and sound effects, which even on YouTube, have real panache.

8. Memories: Magnetic Rose
A crew of freelance space salvagers stumbles on what looks like a lush haul. I think saying a ything more would endanger the horror and sensitivity of what follows. You can thank Stickypig for this. This is part of a full-length anime with three different stories within, only one of which, this one, have I seen. And it is positively some of the best science fiction currently on film.

A short film by Trevor Cawood in which a man is stalked doggedly by a creature composed of concrete cylinders who just wants to dance. For those who do not wish to have their eyes assaulted by the compressed horror of YouTube, a higher quality version is available here.

TERMINUS [YouTube] : Neatorama : I Am Bored

In the dim history of my mumblings there are mentions of a property called, intriguingly, Ranklechick and His Three-Legged Cat. I first read this and wrote about it back at Table of Malcontents, mentioning it in a post on comic book MBQ. The post earned me to scorn of an entire generation of American manga fans (”white, fat, mousy-haired, wire-framed and lacking in personal hygiene”), and perhaps was not the best venue in which to introduce Rankle.

Allow me, instead, to quote from creator Rosearik Rikki Simons:

Ranklechick and His Three-Legged Cat is about a child Ghoul named Ranklechick. Ranklechick lives near Jupiter’s moon, Europa, within a sentient space station called the Europan Zoo. He lives with his three-legged cat, Pumpernick. Since birth, Ranklechick has been accused by his father of murdering his mother and now the sad little Ghoul thinks he can make everything right if he can just talk to his mother’s ghost. This is Ranklechick’s obsession, and every Ghoul on board the Zoo must have an obsession in order for the Zoo to survive. Being that he is of the inventor class of Ghoul, Ranklechick invents an absurd collection of devices in his quest to speak to his mother, like his Bliss Extractor, which he uses to try to get an autograph from the ghost of Charles Dickens, or his Sphere of Belligerence, a spacecraft propulsion system that literally insults physics. All Ghouls are social idiots trapped in a society that thrives off of absurdity, like a vast population of Asperger’s patients. Ranklechick spends his time living in the densely populated Europan Zoo, building necrotic communicators when he isn’t being interrupted by the the strange and unnatural — and he has many interruptions: running from handshaking lessons, avoiding being made into candy by the evil android Nathan Burblepinch, getting repeatedly decapitated, suffering the company of oniomaniac children, being possessed by the Spirit of Failure, suicidal disembodied brains, melancholic ham, a sardonic talking three-legged cat for a best friend, and all the while Ranklechick continues to believe he is becoming a comic book character. When all is quiet and he has time to think, he wonders if he’ll ever get to tell his dead mother that he loves her. This is a comedy.

I was so taken with Ranklechick’s cast and setting that I penned two pieces of fanart, something I never, ever do, one of which can be seen to the right. That is Sister Toovibohnes (I’m iffy on the spelling), a straight-laced space nun that lives aboard the Europan Zoo with the rest of the gang.

Ranklechick has been generously made available for free on Simons’ website, along with Super Information Hijinx: Reality Check! (which I have not read, but I believe it involves catgirls and also “the internet”).

Ranklechick and His Three-Legged Cat; Reality Check [Studio Tavicat]