Whenever you're working with an existing IP, there's always the question of how you're going to translate and adapt, right? Because it's not a one-to-one sort of interpretation.
Drawing on childhood memories, folk art, and nature, the London-based illustrator and model maker creates expressive sculptures and puppets that inhabit dreamlike realms. Invoking historical costumes and cartoonish and emotive faces, Johnston's otherworldly cast seems both familiar and strange, as if children's book protagonists have sprung to life or converged with a strange dream.
We photograph people obsessively, but we rarely capture the everyday spaces where life actually happens. And when those spaces disappear, something profound goes with them. The furniture was never just furniture—it was the stage where decades of family life played out. Every scratch, stain, and worn patch told a story.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed lays fair claim to being the earliest animated feature film in existence. If we do grant it that title, it beats the next contender by more than a decade. While Prince Achmed came out a century ago, in 1926, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, whose production was presided over by a certain Walt Disney, didn't reach theaters until 1937.
Mickey Mouse is more than a simple animated character. He represents a particular emotion that most people experience before they have a chance to process what they've seen. From Mickey Mouse's two black dots for his ears, his round-shaped head, his big doe-like eyes, and his expressionless smile, it is clear that one can understand Mickey Mouse without being told anything about him.
We might be exposed to more ads and commercials today than ever before in human history, but the idea of advertising itself is certainly not a new concept. According to Instapage, the first signs of advertisements actually appeared in ancient Egyptian steel carvings from 2000 BC. Meanwhile, the first printed ad was published in 1472, when William Caxton decided to advertise a book by posting flyers on church doors in England.
Jackie Smook has spent years crafting characters and props for "Dilly's World," her whimsical web series and touring theatrical show about a girl confronting big issues with the help of some puppet friends. Her life's work was stolen early Monday when thieves swiped a shipping box containing many of her puppets from outside her Beachwood Canyon apartment. Among the missing are Angus the bassist, Phyllis the mail-delivering puppet, Holstein, who was holding an intricate saxophone prop, and Dumont, who had a television stand.
hitting a big red reset button, which turns out to be just what the franchise needed. Executive-produced by Seth Rogen, this Muppet Show plays like an episode of the classic variety series, which premiered 50 years ago, right down to the theme song, the practical effects, and Statler and Waldorf heckling about its very faithful rebootiness: "If it ain't broke -" "They are broke! That's why they're doing it!" Har har har!
Through the tiny window of short clips on Instagram and TikTok, Mary's world seems enchanting and vast. Bree's work exudes melancholic emotion and ethereal femininity, painting the surfaces of Mary's world in the vibrating style of stop-motion animation, dappled with sparkling light and computer-generated surfaces so convincing it feels like you could pose the model with your own hands. O'Donnell sat down with us to talk a bit about her process creating textures and her life's work making magic real.