…right here:

Books:

Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parker (Graphix/Scholastic)
Scholastic is really putting their graphic novel foot forward, and this first installment in an ongoing series from writer/illustrator Jake Parker is proof. Parker, an animator at Blue Sky Studios, has created an action/adventure sci-fi hero in Missile Mouse, a pint-sized secret agent who packs a big punch. The storytelling is fairly straight forward  for the genre (good versus evil, inter-galactic war, surprise double-crosses, et al.), but Parker’s illustration work is what really makes this book pop. His background in animation is apparent; with clean lines and solid coloring, each frame looks more like an animation still than it does a comic book panel. The humor is definitely there for kids–which is appropriate since the book is geared toward eight- to twelve-year-olds–but I do wish there was some subtle adult humor peppered throughout.

The Customer Is Not Always Right by A.J. Adams (Andrews McMeel Publishing)
A quick-read coffee table book that collects the best material from the website NotAlwaysRight.com. If you’re not familiar with the site, the gist of it is this: People email in recent on-the-job humor/horror stories, and bored worker bees visit the site daily to remind themselves that they’re not alone. The stories focus on the service and retail industries, as well as any other 9-to-5 where pain-in-the-ass customers are a factor. It’s not a hilarious read–I’d say there are more misses than hits here–but the occasional funny/tragic anecdote does pop up, reminding me of why I haven’t had a “real” job in nearly a decade. If you’re looking for a book to throw in the drawer next to your toilet (after all, that’s where I read it), this is an appropriate title for future sittings.

CDs:

Slug, Murs & Aesop Rock “Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez” (Rhymesayers)
In 2002, Slug (of Atmosphere) and Murs created a sex-inspired love letter to actress Christina Ricci. From that moment on, “Felt” was born. Three years later, in 2005, they returned to the world of love letter writing, this time aiming Cupid’s arrow at the heart of Cosby kid Lisa Bonet with “Felt 2.” And this year, the duo returns with the third installment in what has now become the “Felt” trilogy, now passing the tribute torch over to actress Rosie Perez. For the production of “Felt 3,” Slug and Murs turned to their good friend Aesop Rock for production. (The first “Felt” was produced by The Grouch of Living Legends, the second by Ant of Atmosphere.) But while I’m a fan of this disc’s entire creative team, I feel like something is missing from this third chapter. Or, more accurately, there’s too much. Unlike its predecessors, “Felt 3″ feels very heavy-handed both in what it is saying and how it is put together. Because of this, it’s missing a beat in both substance and style. With that being said, the collective talent of this trio is still worth the price of admission, but having the “Felt” label on the album set up an expectation for me that was never truly fulfilled. Oddly enough, I feel like if they had released this album strictly as a Slug/Murs/Aesop joint side project, sans all things “Felt,” I might have had a very different reaction to it. Instead, I was left thinking, “Is that it?” Guess I’ll have to wait for “Felt 4: A Tribute to that Robot Chick from ‘Small Wonder’” to get my next “Felt” fix.

Various Artists “In The Christmas Groove” (Strut Records)
I’m not really a fan of most Christmas music. Sure, there are a few exceptions to the rule (Elvis, the Muppets with John Denver, etc.) but, for the most part, it’s just not my thing. This collection of rare funk holiday tunes from the sixties and seventies, however, is the exception to the rule. Why? Because unlike most other holiday music, these songs don’t scream Christmas. In fact, most of these songs can be listened to year-round, whether Santa’s coming to town or not. Not all of the songs are A-plus material (Wild Honey’s “Angels Christmas” is laughable, especially when they sing about seeing the angels of Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy), but almost every other song on the disc is good music; the fact that it’s also holiday-themed is just a bonus. If you want a taste, track down “Home On Christmas Day” by Captain Elmo McKenzie & The Roosters.

J Dilla “Dillanthology” (Rapster Records)
This three-disc tribute to the late and great J Dilla is a pretty thorough look at an impressive career. The first disc collects thirteen tracks of Dilla’s famous production work, from The Pharcyde and The Roots, to Common and De La Soul. If hip-hop is a genre you’re deeply into, chances are you already own a lot of these songs on full-lengths. If not, this is an appropriate sample platter of what Dilla was capable of in the studio. The second disc collects a dozen Dilla remixes of tracks from Slum Village, The Brand New Heavies, and Busta Rhymes, among others. But for me, the two stand-out tracks are his remixes of Four Tet’s “As Serious As Your Life,” and DJ Cam’s “Love Junkie.” Both songs are a nice break from Dilla’s norm, and it’s refreshing to hear what else he was capable of beyond the realm of straight hip-hop. The third disc collects fourteen tracks of Dilla’s solo work, including songs from his team up with Madlib (known as Jaylib). Again, if you already own J’s solo albums and the Jaylib album, chances are you already own most of this work. But what’s really great about this set is that all three albums are sold individually. So, for example, if you already own most of what’s on the first disc but really want the second disc, no problem. If you are a rabid Dilla fan and already own all of his work, you might want to sit this one out. But if you’re looking for a solid retrospective that touches on each and every facet of who he was as an artist, this set’s for you.

Still getting free stuff,

-Shady

Chris Wedge, que co-dirigiu o primeiro A Era do Gelo ao lado do brasileiro Carlos Saldanha, fechou contrato com a Fox Animation para um novo projeto: ele vai dirigir Leaf Man, uma adaptação do livro infantil escrito e ilustrado por William Joyce intitulado The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs.

A história mostra uma tropa de insetos que tenta salvar um jardim, mas para isso precisa lutar contra uma maléfica rainha-aranha. Os insetos então recorrem ao mítico Leaf Man (Homem-Folha, em tradução livre) por ajuda.

O filme será financiado pela Fox e terá produção da Blue Sky Studios.

The last three weeks of August went by very quickly.  Anime scripwriter Dai Sato was in town along with Ryan Morris, his interpreter, for a couple of weeks to teach Anime Production/Scriptwriting to 25 high school students. Here are some summary videos of the classes he taught during those two weeks. Learn about 起承転結 (Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu) and 鳥獣戯画 (Cho-Ju-Gi-ga), Japan’s oldest manga. It is fascinating!

Also here is a link to Dai Sato speaking about how to create anime characters.

On the last day of the two weeks, the students divided into 5 groups presented their work at the auditorium. Here is a link to the 15 second previews that each group created. The preview was presented along with their story proposals. Dai told me later that he was intrigued that how all the groups had the notion of  fate/destiny embedded in their theme. He also thought that all story proposals dealt with the issues of coping with diversity and different values. He felt that groups made up of Japanese high school students would have come up with totally different theme and story ideas. Dai also had a chance to meet up with his old acquaintance, Justin Leach, also an IN member, who currently works at the Blue Sky Studios as a Senior Pipeline Engineer.  We paid a visit to Blue Sky in Connecticut and Dai was invited to speak about his work and the creative process to the storyboard department staff. Then we all took a tour of the studio.  Dai kept on saying how amazingly better the work environment is for creators like him in the U.S.  It was indeed a beautiful office space with huge windows overlooking a forest outside. There were ping pong tables and pinball machines, too.

Justin Leach and Dai Sato

During the last week of August, the Kyomachiya preservation group was in town after attending a symposium in Boston on historic preservation. The occasion was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of sister city between Boston and Kyoto. It was great to see Fusae Kojima again, a machiya owner and the President and Executive Director of Kyomachiya Revitalization Study Group. She was one of the panelists at the symposium we organized in collaboration with Kyoto Center for Community Collaboration (Machisen) last November at Japan Society. The symposium summary is featured in a new book titled Machiya Revival in Kyoto edited by Machisen. It just came out in July.  As part of the Innovators Network activities, we continue to support the Kyomachiya preservation group’s effort to gain further recognition abroad.

Last but not least, we have some newly edited videos of the Social Design Forum we organized with JIDPO (Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization) back in February.  I highly recommend that you watch Valerie Casey’s video on Design Thinking especially if you are a design student.

Masaaki Ikeda’s video, which touches on the history of  social design in Japan, is also quite interesting if you heard about Michael Linton, who had designed the LETS (Local Exchange Trading System).

(Fumiko)

Titolo originale: The Ice Age 3- Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Regia: Carlos Sandanha

Cast: Voci originali: Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg; Voci italiane: Claudio Bisio, Pino Insegno Leo Gullotta, Roberta Lanfranchi, Lee Ryan,  Massimo Giuliani

Distribuzione: 20th Century Fox, USA, 2009

Guarda il trailer

Il terzo capitolo della fortunatissima serie firmata Fox e Blue Sky Studios vede aria di cambiamento all’interno del branco: Ellie e Manny i due mammuth,  stanno per diventare genitori, Diego, la tigre con i denti a sciabola,  sente di aver perso lo smalto di una volta e medita di abbandonare il gruppo, Sid, il bradipo, decide di assecondare il proprio desiderio di “maternità” accudendo 3 uova di dinosauro trovate per caso. Intanto Scrat, lo scoiattolo, è sempre all’inseguimento della sua ghianda, ma questa volta sulla sua strada troverà un’affascinante quanto pericolosa e combattiva scoiattolina… Questi sono gli ingredienti di base per una nuova divertentissima avventura, condita dall’arrivo dall’ingresso di un personaggio molto particolare, il furetto Buck…

Bellissimo questo terzo capitolo della serie e  campione d’incassi un po’ dovunque nel mondo. Si tratta indubbiamente della pellicola più riuscita dell’intera serie…  Ritroviamo i nostri eroi alle prese con nuove responsabilità e grandi cambiamenti, che non tutti sono pronti ad affrontare: Diego che afferma di non essere fatto per una vita domestica e tranquilla, vuole andare via per vivere nuove avventure, Sid teme di rimanere solo e quindi decide contro il parere di tutti di tenere 3 uova di dinosauro trovate per caso. Questa sua decisione lo metterà in serio pericolo e toccherà all’intero gruppo partire per una rischiosa missione per salvarlo. Essi si ritroveranno infatti in un regno sotterraneo abitato da disonauri e faranno la conoscenza di Buck, un coraggiosissimo quanto folle furetto che si offrirà di aiutarli. Egli un po’ come il capitano Achab di Moby Dick, aspetta lo scontro con Rudy, dinosauro bianco gigantesco che terrorizza gli abitanti del regno sotterraneo, e che gli è costato un occhio ma a cui ha rotto un dente che ora utilizza come coltello.

Il film è una serie continua di battute e trovate divertentissime, soprattutto ad opera di Sid e dei due mitici opossum, “fratelli” del mammuth Ellie, ( il doppiaggio di Lee Ryan , ex cantante dei Blue ora solista, è fantastico!) semplicemente esilaranti, ma anche il nuovo arrivato, totalmente fuori di testa, non è affatto da meno. All’interno di questa avventura non poteva mancare il mitico Scrat assieme alla sua amata ghianda… Ma contrariamente agli altri capitoli, ora l’ostacolo non è rappresentato dalla natura, bensì da una bellissima scoiattolina che ha le sue stesse mire e che è disposta a tutto pur di sottrarre la ghianda a Scrat e di appropriarsene. Le risate sono assicurate anche qui. Da notare che le loro scene si svolgono sempre con  la canzone  You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine di Lou Rawls, in sottofondo,  in varie versioni a seconda del tipo di scena.

Il nostro branco preferito è cresciuto, ha messo su famiglia, ma non per questo ci sono meno risate e meno avventura. In definitiva un film d’animazione davvero esilarante. Da notare nel doppiaggio italiano, la splendida performance di Claudio Bisio nei panni Sid e di Pino Insegno in quelli di Diego, bravissimi entrambi.

Conclusione: Imperdibile.

Voto: 9

Non è una legge universale, ma devo dire che quest’estate si è verificata per ben 3 volte con i film che più erano attesi da gran parte del pubblico che ama il genere animazione e fantasy. Il tutto conferma poi un’altra interessante legge, quella dei sequel: quasi mai belli come il primo film.

Parlo di: Transformers – La vendetta del caduto, Harry Potter e il Principe mezzosangue e infine L’era glaciale 3: L’alba dei dinosauri. Per Harry Potter addirittura un anno di attesa supplementare solo per meri calcoli di interessi e di vendite… coi i 30 trailer che erano giù uniti, praticamente si era già visto metà del film…

In ogni caso, ecco i giudizi del sottoscritto:

 

Transformers – La vendetta del caduto ( regia di Michael Bay – Case di Produzione: Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Hasbro, Di Bonaventura Pictures )

Voto: 5

Le molte scene d’azione e combattimento, presenti fin dall’inizio, risultano fin da subito eccessive e frastornanti (specie al cinema, probabilmente da casa l’effetto è meno sgradevole), il finale piuttosto scontato (risorge il buono – Optimus Prime – che era stato ucciso e vengono così sconfitti i cattivi Decepticon che, non si sia ancora bene perché, vogliono distruggere la Terra… Eppure il loro scopo dovrebbe essere solo quello di potersi ancora riprodurre e dominare tutti i pianeti in cui c’è la possibilità di vita, perché distruggere? Mah…  ). Si salva il tema dell’amicizia e del sacrificio e della lotta per un bene superiore. Ma anche su questo punto il modo in cui viene ad intrecciarsi la storia amorosa tra  il giovane protagonista umano, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf)  e Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) è piuttosto di basso livello. Sembra che per i registi contasse di più far presa sul pubblico con qualche posa avvenente di Megan Fox piuttosto che sottolineare il vero valore del sacrificio…

Harry Potter e il Principe mezzosangue (regia: David Yates – Casa di produzione: Warner Bros)

Voto: 6,5

Ai tagli rispetto al libro eravamo abituati ormai coi 2 precedenti episodi dello stesso registra. E pure a qualche esagerazione degli effetti speciali (ma trattandosi di magia, in questo caso ci può stare). Ma ad un taglio così drastico del combattimento finale di Hogwards i fan della Rowling non credo proprio fossero pronti. Ovviamente è stato enfatizzato molto il tema “love story” del film (presente anche nel libro ma non così marcato) e sui tanto famosi horcrux e sul passato di Lord Voldemort – così importanti nel settimo e ultimo episodio – si glissa parecchio.

La resa è complessivamente discreta, le due ore e mezza del film scorrono tutte d’un botto, ma da un film atteso più d’un anno si ci aspettava davvero un pizzico di magia in più.

L’era glaciale 3: L’alba dei dinosauri (regia: Carlos Saldanha, Casa di produzione: Blue Sky Studios).

voto 5,5

Storia insipida.  Il nuovo personaggio (Buck) merita, ma poi il tema è monocorde e incentrato tutto sul rapporto di coppia, con alcune scene un po’ banali… Il povero Scratt (alle prese con una a dir poco cattiva e diabolica Scrattina) resta un personaggio unico.   Non ho usufruito della visione 3D, ma amici dicono che solo per alcune scene la resa è stata d’effetto, ma per il resto è stato bene non averlo e risparmiare sul prezzo del biglietto.

  Il migliore della saga resta indubbiamente il primo film.    

We took the twins to see their first ever movie-theater movie on Saturday.  We went to the Kinepolis, in Brussels, which meant that we were able to go for (very expensive and very bad) pizza, and were able to spend twenty euros *gulp!* on candies and sweets in the Oceade/Kinepolis/”Mini-Europe” highway-robbery-zone, beforehand too.  (Honestly, with the prices they charge — complete with onsite flat-head clubs and bars — I would swear the whole thing was a mafia operation…)

Anyway…  We all enjoyed the night out very much.  The kiddies had fun just because they got to do, basically, whatever they wanted, and over all, they were really quite well-behaved and happy.  Mom and Dad managed to work in a nice pastis before our (horrible) pasta, so we handled the few mishaps — including Twin 2 wetting his pants at the restaurant — with comfortably-numb aplomb.  (In fact, in dire contrast with the poo-party I had to clean up this morning, the Pizzicato pee-pee accident was a no-brainer.  Today, Twin 2, in a valiant effort to get to the toilet on time, left a poo trail all the way up the first-floor stairs to the bathroom!  Normally he goes right on the floor where he is, so this is a victory of sorts.  Otoh, we have this weft/textured carpet on the stairs which makes clean-up a “challenge,” so let’s say I have mixed feelings….)

Anyway, back to the show…

The movie, Ice Age – Dawn of the Dinosaurs, was really quite a hit.  Besides not being able to convince the twins to keep their 3D glasses on, and them each needing two trips to the toilet during the show (sorry neighbors!) — and, btw, who reinstituted the 10-minute Intermission idea without informing us?! — we enjoyed Ice Age 3 quite a lot.  Without spoiling anything, the animation was terrific, the characters were sweet and pretty “balanced,” and some of the 3D scenes were really, simply gorgeous!  I especially liked the bubbles — but you’ll know what I mean when you see it yourself.

Two big downers though:

1.  The “plot” was non-existent.  I appreciate that the guys at Blue Sky Studios are a class-act — Scientific American just did a three-part podcast about them:  One guy is a Nobel prize laureate in physics or something, for goodness’ sake!  But I think they still need to learn that a good movie depends upon a good story.  So, perhaps with all the brains in the house, there’s no-one over at Blue Sky who’s really creative enough to write a decent plotline.  Not at all saying that being a geek means you can’t be creative too — ahem.  Looks like they could just handle bringing on a few more of those very special geek/creative types over at Blue Sky, is all I’m saying…

2.  And they could apparently use more women — who are appropriate role model material I might add — too!  That would apply to the staff of Blue Sky, I guess, but certainly to the movie.  Nothing personal, Queen Latifah (and, yes, you are the queen — I’m not disputing that), but your role, “Ellie” (the female Hairy Mammoth — pleeease?!!), unfortunately, serves no point in the movie except to move the weak plot along in a very predictable way:  Ellie is the pregnant, but determined, wife of Manny (?!), and ends up giving birth (did I spoil anything?!) right at the climax of the movie.  Go figure.  And naturally, she ends up being “rescued” — and the rest of the dénouement disasters just averted — by the herioc acts of all the male characters in the line-up, just before The End.  Whew.

The other two female characters in the movie are:  Scratté (oui, avec un seul accent aigu, je suppose?!), who is the “feminine,” of course, of the rodent/squirrel/rat, “Scrat,” of previous Ice Age fame; and “Momma Dino,” whose name I just came to learn by looking up it up on the movie website.  How clever.

Unfortunately, these woman characters are as uni-dimensional and exploitative of female stereotypes as their names imply:  Ellie is as already described.  Scratté is first adversary, then romantic interest, then nagging housewife of Scrat.  And “Momma Dino” is — you guessed it — a roaring, menacing, over-protective and, yet sensitive and caring, single-mom of three troublesome, little T-rex baby dinosaurs (and wouldn’t you then be all those things too??!).  Unfortunately, although Momma Dino’s character shows the most promise for development as a “non-traditional” female role model, her appearance in the movie is limited to predictable, cameo-grade roaring and menacing.

So, now (finally!) viewing movies from the perspective of being a Mom-with-a-Daughter, I was deeply, deeply disappointed that all the exciting and adventurous characters-with-daring-do in Ice Age, The Dawn of the Dinosaurs, were male.  It makes me think the movie title is appropriate in more ways than the writers could ever have imagined.  “Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” indeed.  With woman relegated to being sex objects, child-bearers, and nagging housewives, the thinking behind this movie is disappointingly pre-historic.

To end on a positive note — and, as I said, the movie was really quite enjoyable, despite these huge shortcomings — we were also treated to a very nice fireworks display by Mini-Europe just as the movie was letting out!  (Btw, why is their site in English, Dutch, French, German and—Castellano??  What did I say about “mafia”?!?    But now I’m stereotyping!)  Already being appropriately impressed with the Atomium, the movie (theater), the playground, and all the sweets, the kids were awestruck with this surprise ending to a really fantastic evening.  It was truly the “icing” on the cake (har!) which helped make the twins’ first trip to the movies an event that they, and we all, will remember for a very long time.

Blue Sky Studio’s (BSS) newest film “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is just about to make its way onto the big screen for another round of the sub-zero on July 1, 2009, or maybe not so sub-zero this time, and is exciting the crowds. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha for his second time for the series, and Mike Thurmeier as co-director, and the full cast  including some newbies to the roster.

Here’s a synopsis written by Theshapeshifter from the International Movie Database:

After the events of “Ice Age: Meltdown”, life begins to change for Manny and his friends: Scrat is still on the hunt to hold onto his beloved acorn, while finding a possible romance in a female sabre-toothed squirrel name Scraette. Manny and Elie, having since become an item, are expecting a baby, which leaves Manny anxious to ensure that everything is perfect for when his baby arrives. Diego is fed up with being treated like a house-cat and ponders the notion that he’s becoming too laid back. Sid begins to wish for a family of his own, so he steals some dinosaur eggs which leads Sid ending up in a strange underground world where his herd must rescue him, while dodging dinosaurs and facing danger left and right, and meeting up with a one-eyed weasel known as Buck who hunts dinosaurs intently.

Here are worldwide release dates as well:

July 1, 2009    

 Argentina

Australia

Belgium

Brazil

Canada

Denmark

Egypt

Estonia

Finland

Germany

Hong Kong

Iceland

Netherland

Norway

Portugal

Russia

Singapore

Sweden

Turkey

UK

Ukraine

July 2, 2009

Czech Republic

Hungary

Israel

Mexico

New Zealand

Spain

July 3, 2009

France

Romania

July 25 & 28, 2009

Japan

Italy

In other words, in theaters worldwide July 2009.

From Variety:

Fox, Blue Sky drawn to ‘Rio’

Studio greenlights 3-D digital animated film

By TATIANA SIEGEL

Twentieth Century Fox Animation is heading south for its next bigscreen project from Blue Sky Studios.

Studio has greenlit the 3-D digital animated pic “Rio,” which centers on a nerdy macaw who leaves the comforts of his cage in small-town Minnesota and heads to Rio de Janeiro.

To read the whole article click here.

Design: Gino Verna

Produced and Distributed by: Inkworks, Morrisville, NC

From the Academy Award® winning creators of the global blockbuster hit ICE AGE comes the visually spectacular world of ROBOTS. Inkworks brings the clanky, loveable characters and story from the film to an amazing collection of trading cards.

In the film, you’ll meet memorable robot Rodney Copperbottomä, a young genius inventor who dreams of making the world a better place; Cappyä, a savvy executive robot at Bigweld Industries; the evil corporate tyrant Ratchetä who locks horns with Rodney; Bigweld,ä the majestic inventor who inspires Rodney and all bots to “Shine No Matter What You’re Made Of”; and a group of ragtag bots known as the Rusties. Experience ROBOTS’ magical characters and their incredible world.

IMDB says: Horton the Elephant struggles to protect a microscopic community from his neighbors who refuse to believe it exists.

This movie was great.  Blue Sky’s best so far.  With its spunky voice acting, wonderfully snappy 3D animation and amazing 2D animated sequences, this film was not only full of laughs, but thought-provoking as well.  One of its themes in regards to the cosmos and its infinitesimal size runs deeper than a child’s understanding which is perfect for adults.  It was great to see lush environments and beautiful character design that was fresh, yet still stayed within the recognizable world of Theodor Seuss Geisel.  Blue Sky is an amazing studio with amazing talent that has a style all its own and this movie is proof of that.    (view the trailer)

Todas las hembras son iguales…

Aunque lo de los machos también tiene delito.

Click on the image below:

I’ll be participating in this bit of tom foolery… check it out should be fun.  Click on the image above for the blog.

Out of Picture, Art From The Outside Looking In, Volume 2,is the anthology series companion to, you guessed it, Art From The Outside Looking In, Volume I. The title is explained on the clever inside flap that tells you that the “Out of Picture” expression is a film term meaning literally on the cutting room floor. Now, I know we want to see the origins of everything these days thanks in part to good documentaries, History Detectives, and The Criterion Collection’s classic foreign film preservation kick, but as demonstrated by the Apocalypse Redux fiasco (sorry Frances) sometimes painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa’s cool for about the first five minutes-but that’s it. That’s kind of what you got here: page after beautiful page of vibrant, flowing, dazzling, in-your-face art with… mustaches illustrating middle-of-the-road tales. The kind of work that’s first placed on a project meeting table and then managed by scores of others into something great and wonderful on the shelf.

From the same folks at Academy Award® winning Blue Sky Studios (Ice Age, Robots, Horton Hears A Who) Out of Picture 2 just falls a tad short of their overall vision: “to pioneer creatively superior photo-realistic, high-resolution, computer-generated character animation for the feature film, television and entertainment industries.” This is an anthology series, with lots of pretty pictures and light on the text and plot. C’mon already. Who wants to compete with Frank Miller (The Dark Knight) Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets) and Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night) forgeddaboudit. Right? So it’s really an art book perfect for, um, each one of the talents to, um, show-off to their friends and family.

Don’t get wrong,  it really is lovely cover t’cover, fun to look at, but nothing can survive the missing copy, y’all. There’s just too much going on out there that you better serve-up a big healthy serving of groundbreaking. And it’s not all that. And that’s just too damn bad. Because there certainly are a lot of great ideas here. Solid beginnings, some righteous middles, and no ends in sight. I mean, I kept turning the pages saying, wow, this would’ve made a great film or a nifty graphic novel or anything but a big fat book full of unfinished themes and plot fluffer-ru. God, I’m going t’hate myself in the morning for that… but I really wanted to fall in love with Out of Picture, Art From The Outside Looking In, Volume 2. But alas I must decline. But keep the box of candy and the flowers too. No, no, really. I’m flattered that you asked.

One saving grace of Out of Picture 2, however, is the Development Gallery in the back of the book. It’s hot. Seeing the sketches and all the rest of the illustrated innards was a lot more fun then sifting through the ton of glossy tree bark. I dug it the most. And the freakin’ weighty thing’s almost worth it for that alone. Um…gulp…almost.