All That Could Have Been: Hayao Miyazaki’s Little Nemo

John Constantine — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:53:00 GMT

Good old Dr. Knowles posted up a brilliant piece of history today in the form of a 1984 test film for what eventually became Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. What makes this test special is that it was made by Hayao Miyazaki, the world’s most recognized and celebrated Japanese animator. This test definitely points the way to the film that was ultimately made by Masami Hata in 1992 but Miyazaki’s distinct character design and fetish for flight are emphasized greatly in the test. It’s a shame that version never got made as Miyazaki and Windsor Mckay is a literal match made in heaven. Mckay’s early 20th century comic strip and it’s hallucinatory take on childhood flights of fancy is a clear influence on much of Miyazaki’s work, from Laputa to Spirited Away.

Check out the source over at AICN and continue down the internet rabbit hole to Cartoon Brew for a full history on the test film.

“Pinocchio in Outer Space” and Other Forgotten Cartoons

Scott Von Doviak — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Have you seen Mad Monster Party lately? “Featuring the final screen ‘appearance’ of horror icon Boris Karloff, Mad Monster Party was co-written by comics legend Harvey Kurtzman, creator of the original Mad comic books, and featured character designs by cartoonist Jack Davis of Mad Magazine and EC comics — a genius at combining humor and grotesquerie.” Or how about Down and Dirty Duck? “Likely assembled as a quick cash-in on the underground success of Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the Cat, Down and Dirty Duck was put together with the assistance of erstwhile Turtles (and Mothers of Invention) Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (nee Flo and Eddie), who contributed voice, music and plot elements. (The duo’s former employer, Frank Zappa, makes a cameo appearance during a particularly bizarre segment in which his head rises, sunlike, in the sky over the main characters.)”

These are but two entries in Bullz-Eye.com’s eye-opening Animated and Forgotten: Feature Length Cartoons You May Not Remember. (The key words there being “may not.” It’s a fun list, but how could we ever forget The Incredible Mr. Limpet and The Iron Giant?) You can read the whole thing here, but if you want to see video clips from some of these obscurities, you’ve come to the right place:

PINOCCHIO IN OUTER SPACE (1965)

One advantage to being a wooden boy: when you travel to other planets, no space helmets are necessary. But why is that goofy turtle trying to romance him?

MAD MONSTER PARTY (1969)

Little Tibia and the Fibias rock, but what could be more disturbing than a stop-motion Phyllis Diller unwrapping the poor Mummy while he’s trying to get his groove on?

THE POINT! (1971)

The animation in this acid-trip inspired Harry Nilsson musical is a little, how shall we say, crude by today’s standards, but you’re never going to hear a more charming ditty about decomposition than “Think About Your Troubles.”

ROCK AND RULE (1983)

Apparently Mick Jagger didn’t care much for Lou Reed’s performance as “Mok Swagger” in this “post-apocalyptic tale of satanic magic and the rock and roll lifestyle among mutated, extremely anthropomorphic, cats, dogs, and rats.”

LITTLE NEMO: ADVENTURES IN SLUMBERLAND (1989)

Not to be confused with Finding Nemo, this adaptation of the Winsor McKay comic strip is hard to find, but you can watch the whole thing on YouTube starting here:

The Screengrab : little nemo

All That Could Have Been: Hayao Miyazaki’s Little Nemo

“Pinocchio in Outer Space” and Other Forgotten Cartoons