You’ve wandered into the topsy-turvy world of Tulgey Wood, the blog of writer and historian Jim Fanning. Tulgey Wood celebrates artistry and creativity (and sometimes just plain madness): movies, animation, TV, books, comics—and of course Disney, lots and lots of true-blue, through-and-through Disney, including D23 and Disney twenty-three Magazine, and Sketches Magazine and the Walt Disney Collectors Society. Tulgey Wood is so fun, fascinating and full of frolicsome photos and facts, it’s scary. So wander through the wonder of it all, and enjoy.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Oscar-Winning Birds

Brad Bird won an Oscar tonight (technically last night as of this posting) for Ratatouille as Best Animated Feature, but at the 1970 Academy Awards (held that year on April 7), another bird took home the golden statuette. Disney’s It’s Tough To Be A Bird won the Oscar as Best Cartoon Short Subject of 1969. This 22-minute cutting edge featurette employing collage, live-action, and animation, was directed by the ever-eclectic Ward Kimball. The fun, pun-filled poster reflects the short’s “mod” status. I especially enjoy how the traditional “Technicolor” credit (complete with the registered trademark symbol) is portrayed as a tattoo on the yellow cat’s forearm. Poor M. C. Bird is given short shrift even on his own poster: by design, he’s practically the smallest image on the poster and of course he’s inside the mouth of the delightfully designed feline. Anyhow, congratulations to Brad Bird for another Pixar triumph. (And Chris Buck, all I can say is, I wish you had won. I’m sure your acceptance speech would have been much better.)

No comments: