Anthropomorphic Animated Features, 2015-2016 – by Fred Patten

by Patch O'Furr

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Yarst! This has gotten really complicated, so bear with us.  These release dates are mostly useless.

Yes, the official American release date of Minions was July 10, 2015, but it was released in Indonesia on June 17 and in Australia (in English) on June 18, and in the United Kingdom on June 26.

Boonie Bears: A Mystical Winter (Xiong Chumo Zhi Xueling Xiongfeng) was released throughout China on January 30, 2015, but most Americans won’t see it until it is released by Warner Bros., dubbed in English, on January 17, 2016. Frog Kingdom – (“Princess Froglegs goes undercover to compete in her father’s Froglympics in order to avoid being married off to a male suitor,” from IMDB) – is a new movie as far as the U.S. is concerned, produced by Grindstone Entertainment in Santa Monica, California and distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment, also in Santa Monica, and released on June 30, 2015; but it was released first in China on December 28, 2013. A Mouse Tale premiered on February 10 as an American direct-to-DVD release; but its theatrical premiere was not until April 7 in Kuwait.   (Interestingly, A Mouse Tale was first distributed on DVD in the U.S. by Lionsgate Entertainment, but it was co-produced by Red Post Animation Studio in Lima, Peru and Vista Sur Films in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was announced by Vista Sur as Rodencia y el Diente de la Princesa http://www.vistasurfilms.com.ar/) Japanese animated features are notoriously unofficially subtitled and available in America on video or DVD within a month or two of their Japanese theatrical release.

All that a release date usually means is that the movie has been released; e.g., is real and should be findable somewhere.

Titles, especially of non-English-language features, are also mostly useless. One theatrical feature about “the animals that DIDN’T make it onto the Ark” was produced in CGI animation by Ulysses Filmproduktion GmbH in Hamburg, and originally released theatrically in thirteen countries between April 9 and August 21, 2015. In the U.S., its release was July 17. In Germany its title is Ooops! Die Arche ist Weg …, in the U.K. it’s Two By Two; in America it was announced with trailers as both Ooops! Noah is Gone … and Two By Two before settling on All Creatures Big & Small. You shouldn’t need translations of its Dutch title (Beestenboot) or Spanish title (¡Upsss! ¿Dónde Está Noé…?). The Japanese feature listed as The Boy and the Beast is actually titled in Japanese Bakemono no Ko, which is literally The Beast’s Child or Son of the Beast (or Monster); who knows what it’ll be titled if it gets an American release? The Spring 2016 Russian feature Volkii i Ovtsi has been announced as coming to the U.S. as Sheep and Wolves. In case you don’t know any Russian, that’s a reversal of the Russian title.

Thanks to Furry Force fans, Orlando’s soccer mascot, vampire squirrels: Newsdump (5/8/15)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Tips are always welcome. 

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Furry Force’s surprising Ursa Major Award.

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Flayrah has the details about all winners.  Furry Force stole an expected win from My Little Pony.  It showed appreciation from targets of the gently teasing “fursploitation” parody.  I suspect two influences made a difference – support from this site (it’s a small site, but the Ursas linked here for voters!) and CollegeHumor’s own video appealing for votes.  There was said to be a rise of 150% more voting over previous years.  It caused some protest, but popular demand for truly funny stuff spoke. I saw a furry fandom founder (SySable) commenting that it was very positive to get more notice for the award.

Fred Patten, Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association Secretary:

The creators of “The Furry Force” have been very enthusiastic in e-mails that they won, and want to know how they can get their trophy since they weren’t at the Morphicon to get it in person. I don’t recall that the creators of “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” ever gave any sign of caring about their win.

Writer Adam Conover told me:

Thanks again for all your support Patch! I am so, so thrilled. 🙂

Furry Force’s animation director gave me a Q&A I can post soon.  He told me:

Amazing!!! I am so happy about this you have no idea. Thanks for nominating us in the first place! I’m so glad the community loves it and glad Smiley Guy was able to be involved. I’ve also been able to animate MLP and FF is way more fun! Adam Conover, rules.  Thank you to the fans of Furry Force!

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Mainstream sightings

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How Weird Street Faire photo by Moop (on the right.) I’m the Husky, of course!

San Francisco’s How Weird Street Faire features fursuiters.

(Look for a longer article about the furmeet soon.) SFGate posted an article with fursuiter photos:

Groups of festivalgoers in furry mascot costumes looked on, seemingly unfazed by the effect of seasonably warm weather on their body temperature inside fuzzy suits.  “No matter the heat, there’s always a big furry contingent. It’s like having cartoon characters here…”

Playboy visits the land of Brony-o.

What the hell is a Brony? Playboy investigates.  Their visit to a convention made a warm, positive article:

“Don’t people make fun of you guys for being so genuine about your love of a little girl cartoon show—and how you dress up like ponies?”

As they remember people making fun of them, I feel like an asshole for even asking the question. There’s an awkward silence.

Dave says, with a hint of sadness, “Honestly, people do make fun of us outside of here.”

I recover. “Well, dude, I’m super-impressed by how genuine everyone is. It’s pretty fucking cool. Bronies are kinda like punk rock but with pink ponies.”

Kingston, the Orlando City Soccer Club mascot, gets a furry facelift.  

Wolfy, the Incredible Secret – movie review by Fred Patten

by kiwiztiger

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Wolfy, the Incredible Secret. Directed by Eric Omond. 82 minutes. December 18, 2013 in France; March 17, 2015 in the U.S. (DVD).

 Loulou, l’Incroyable Secret was the winner of France’s César Award – “the French Oscars” — in 2014 for the Best Animated Feature shown in France during 2013; not just the best French-produced animated feature of 2013. It competed against the American animated features shown in France during 2013, which was probably all of them. It was also shown at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Berlinale’s Crystal Bear, selected by a Children’s Jury as the Best Children’s Film entered in the Festival, animation or live-action.

Loulou, l’Incroyable Secret is based upon the French children’s book series by Grégoire Solotareff, with hand-drawn animation in Solotareff’s art style. Solotareff, born as Gregory El Kayem in Alexandria, Egypt in 1953 of Lebanese parents, has lived in France since 1960 and been an artist of children’s books since 1985. He has written & drawn over 150 children’s books to date, winning ten awards. He began the Loulou books in 1989, about the friendship between Loulou (Wolfy), an orphaned wolf cub, and Tom, a young rabbit, in the Land of the Rabbits. The series has been favorably reviewed for promoting friendship amidst nonconformity. It was first animated in March 2003 as Loulou et Autres Loups … (Wolfy and Other Wolves …), a 29-minute featurette directed by Serge Elissade. Loulou, l’Incroyable Secret is an original story, not based upon a book, with the screenplay, dialogue, and art design by Solotareff (and others).

Wolfy the easygoing wolf cub and Tom the pessimistic rabbit are now adolescents in the Land of Rabbits, with Wolfy adopted into Tom’s family. Cornelia, a mysterious gypsy (the audience sees that she is more than just passing through) tells Wolfy that he is not an orphan as he has always believed! His mother is a princess in Wolfenberg, the Land of Wolves. Wolfy insists on going there to find her. Tom goes along, despite his misgivings. They arrive at the height of Wolfenberg’s Carnifest/Meat-Eaters’ Festival, where everyone assumes that Wolfy has brought the teenaged rabbit to be added to the menu.

Inflatable bunnies, street fairs, Furry Fuel – can we have it all together? Newsdump (4/24/15)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Tips are always welcome. 

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Mainstream sightings

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BBC’s “The Why Factor?” will air a Furry story.

“Why do we project our emotions onto animals?” gives a 4-minute clip.  Flayrah has air times for the 18-minute piece.

Growing community of ‘furries’ finds acceptance on campus.

USA Today does “not THOSE furries” apologism.

Meet the Club: The furries.

A 10-member club got a short notice in the student newspaper of Washtenaw Community College in Michigan.

San Francisco’s How Weird Street Fair is this weekend.

The promo vid flashes furries at 0:59, 1:17, and 1:25.  For several years, fur meets at this cool event have marked the start of street fair season in the SF Bay.  It’s the best occasion for my favorite thing, street fursuiting.

On the same day as the fair… Blow-Up: a gallery show of inflatable art.

Not a big news item, but I was taken by the pink bunnies. Artist Momoyo Torimitsu gives a down-to-earth statement on her site.

Interview in Splitsider, and CollegeHumor’s message. Last day to vote for the Ursa Majors!

by Patch O'Furr

Last week I interviewed Furry Force writer Adam Conover.  The story was covered by Sydney Parker, writing for comedy industry magazine Splitsider. They interviewed me – but I didn’t tell them to call me a “popular furry blogger!”  (Is that like being a cool trekkie gardener – an amazing ren-fair knitter – or a fabulous metalhead stamp-collector?)

How the Furry Community Embraced CollegeHumor’s Furry-Lampooning ‘Furry Force’.

 

CollegeHumor followed up with a message:  “Thanks so much for your support and for the great post/interview with Adam!”  They shared a video to encourage you to vote for Furry Force to get an Ursa Major: