The criminally underexposed HBOMax/Cartoon Network Latin America exclusive, Frankelda’s Book of Spooks, is getting a prequel movie with Cinema Fantasma bringing it to Annecy.
We can finally make it official! It's with great excitement that we tell you that the sequel to #Frankelda is... a movie! Get ready to learn the story of "Frankelda and the Prince of Spooks," which we've been working on for a year and a half. Also, we are honored to be selected in WIP on Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy where we will be giving a presentation to show, exclusively and for the first time, some behind-the-scenes footage. It's an honor to represent Mexico at the most important animation festival in the world. Thank you so much to all of you for supporting Frankelda, Herneval and all the scares!. HBO Max
Still no word on a proper release of the original show outside Latin American territories, but this should hopefully get more eyes on it.
2023 Villainous' (especially the eng Dub) got me hooked on black hat. I love watching the moment in "The VVV" when e laughs at Mascara Macabra (on Valentine). It's such it's such a wild laugh it almost sounds like screaming, paired with a bizarre expression it just hits a spot in my brain dude. Just unbridled laughter dude.
Even by the third sketch I think Black Hat's eyes widen out ( vertically) more, it's all just a bit more stretched out and wilder,, but I'm satified. Freakin' love what they're doing with Vilainous. It combines an era of morally flawed heroes (Invincible, The Boys) and that dramatic toothy stylized charm that I think Vivsiepop mastered and popularized with her Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss series.
(Archive) Animated short film of the day: Down to the bone (Hasta los huesos, 2002)
Originally posted: January 2nd, 2023
Yesterday I mentioned a few important figures, but one of them might elude you: René Castillo. Taking a look at it's small but remarkable filmography may clue you in why he was part of the project, for he is a master of the craft of Stop Motion. More than that, however, his body of work is so overtly Mexican it's nigh impossible to think it was done elsewhere. And really, what's more Mexican than Día de Muertos?
The visuals here are quite eclectic to say the least. Uneven on it's shapes, vibrant in color with some chiaroscuro, a little raunchy in humor (through mostly through visual innuendo) and generally speaking having slight sense of irreverence, it's representation of the afterlife is a lot more influential than you would be lead to believe. Coco (2016) is an obvious one, but this short came out before Corpse Bride (2005) started principal photography, Tim Burton admitting having taken cues from here. It's not hard to see why either: it captures the festivity and energy of Mexican celebrations in ways Disney never dared to.
And yet, the story doesn't shy away from the weight of mortality being the center of the celebration, the sobering epiphany that comes with the holiday that some day we're gonna leave someone behind. In contrast with the black comedy reigning Castillo's first short film Sin Sostén (Without a Bra, 1998), amongst the humor of this one lies a simple but striking character arc, a man coming to grips with the fact he's no longer among the living and has to say goodbye to them as much as they are to him.
Between the music by Café Tacvba, the singing of Eugenia León and all the references to the Mexican Revolution, a lot of singificant figures and imagery from the country may inevitably fly over your head. Regardless, those aspects that are universal within manage to make it a strong contender for the best Día de Muertos animation piece ever made.
everything is silent, everything is wild V & everything is silent, everything is wild I by maría fragoso jara, 2021, colored pencil on paper 22 × 22 in
Mexican free-tailed bat! Really interesting little beasts! Pups roost all together in the highest parts of the colony’s cave, and mothers have to be able to find their own pup to nurse out of many thousands of baby bats. The densest concentration of this species is in Bracken Cave in Texas, with over 20 million individuals.
[ID: an illustration of a tan and dark brown bat flying to the left on a textured, teal-tinted cloudy sky background. End.]