It's said that the animation of "A Cosmic Christmas" (1977) was
commissioned.Commissioned,one guesses,from the studio known as
Cinera? I've read that Frank Nissen,the layout artist/animation head
of "ACC", was grinding for Cinera starting in 1972. I feel that it had to
be he who hookt up Hirsh/Loubert/Smith w/an animation crew.If so,
I want to know this: When the hell did these four dudes join forces?
When the hell did Loubert start the "ACC" script,and when did he finish
it? And when the hell did Ken Sobol and Martin Lavut start their
contributions? Did the "ACC" crew come from Cinera? If not,then where
the hell did they come from? How the hell many years was "ACC" in
production? Who the hell designed the characters of "ACC"?:Nissen,
Smith, Nissen/Smith, Nissen and/or Smith w/ the animators of "ACC"?
HOW DID"A COSMIC CHRISTMAS"(1977) COME TO BE?
By LEGENDARY SUPERTOONIST | Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 12:26pm
#1
HOW DID"A COSMIC CHRISTMAS"(1977) COME TO BE?
I know a little about the history of Nelvana....how Laff Arts tried/failed
to perpetrate an animated project,the Hirsh/Loubert meeting in 1967
at York University,how H/L were fans of the B/W WWII Canadian comics....
Don't remember(I haven't read "TGCC"(:St.Martin's Press;(c)1971 Nelvana
Limited) since an early 2000s California State University/Hayward library
visit) if H/L were fans before/after their meeting w/comics historian
Harold Town.If I remember,from reading"TGCC",Smith met H/L in
the capacity of fellow comics fan,then ultimately came to illustrate
"TGCC".(the chapter starts). I was asking if H/L/S got the animation
for "ACC" from Cinera.If Nelvana was a straight up animation studio
already....well!
Circa 71, Hirsh and Loubert wrote a book on Canadian comics and sold a documentary to CBC. Changed their company from Laff Arts to Nelvana after an obscure Canadian comic book heroine. Smith , was first as director, and then Nissen were recruited from CInera. Cosmic Christmas came out in 77 by Nelvana.
I don't know anything about being commissioned by Cinera. ACC's success came after it being run in syndication by viacom. Vaicom even wanted Nelvana to do a series based on the cc charcaters but Hirh and Loubert couldn't agree. The latter wnating to continue to work on high quality specials.If it were inded comissioned by Cinera then Viacom would've approached cinera. I hope that helps a bit.
source: Cartoon Capers by Karen Mazurkewich. Ya don't think I have this on the top of my head do ya?
Hello.
I first saw those films in 1978. Chuck Jones screened it for me and a couple of other people at his studio. We watched THE DEVIL AND DANIEL MOUSE. Chuck always liked the animation and character design and the look of the films...and the fact that they were pretty fully animated. A few years later, in Virginia, I came across 16mm print of COSMIC CHRISTMAS from the Fairfax County Library. Still a few years after that, I saw ROMI-O AND JULI-8. Guess, I never saw the 4th film.
Still, I think it's a wonderful body of work.
Larry
web site
http://tooninst[URL=http://tooninstitute.awn.com]itute.awn.com
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Yup. In the vast wasteland of 70s animation, Nelvana's work is tops. Thw work satnds-up today. I really believe they coulda been a contender had it not been for the Rock n Rule fiasco (production and distribution, certainly never the animation)
I found a commercial tape of Rock and Rule at a local thrift shop. It's amazing how that Uncle Mikey Show that thew Shlepp bros watch on TV foreshadow and looks exactly like alot of Flash animation out there.