Cat and Pizza

Don't tease your cat. They'll always get the better of you. This is the latest from Simon Tofield. 

 

The Cobweb Hotel

The Cobweb Hotel is a 1936 Fleischer Studios cartoon. It's full of spiders, and darn creepy. 

The Return

Things that loomed so big in our memories look so very small when we return to them later. That doesn't mean we love them any less. This award-winning film by Natalia Chernysheva illustrates that feeling. (via Nag on the Lake)

A Stop Motion LEGO Waffle

Tomosteen is the stop motion artist who brings us videos of Mr. Bones in his small businesses,  dancing cat pen rests, and LEGO cooking. 

He has all the steps down. First, mix the wet ingredients,  the separately mix the dry ingredients, and then mix them together with... your hands? What is going on? I've never seen a waffle made with dough instead of batter. So I looked up Belgian waffles and found that it was the Brussels style that was brought to the US, made with batter, and there's also the Liège waffle which is increasingly popular in Belgium, and is made with dough. Who would have thought you could learn so much about cooking from a LEGO animation? (via Laughing Squid) 

The Parody That Ruined the Original

Remember when you found out that Foghorn Leghorn was a parody of a human radio character that would have been familiar to the original audiences of the 1940s? That was just one of many pop culture references in Warner Bros. cartoons that eventually lost connection with its source material because those cartoons still hold up almost 100 years later. 

The one comedy impression that was used more than any other, however, came from a classic novel. So many students read Of Mice and Men in high school and said, "Wait a minute, this is a cartoon character!" Even more so if you ever eventually watched the 1939 film version starring Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney Jr. Your cartoon experience made it hard to take the tragic story seriously. And even if you knew that, you might not be remembering the same cartoon character as the next person, because it was used so much, from 1940 up to the '60s. 

Just Do It!

DEVO co-founder Gerald Casale brings us the new single "Just Do It!" The animation is dense with references, so you may have to watch more than once to catch them all. It's from his upcoming solo album Wetiko, but still quite DEVO, as Josh Hager and Jeff Friedl play on the song. (via Boing Boing) 

Fire in Cardboard City

The New Yorker brings us an adventure set in a very flammable location -a city made completely of corrugated cardboard! When a vehicle ignites, it's panic time. Fighting this fire is a dangerous proposition, because even the fire hose is made of cardboard. The story is a mixture of funny, terrifying, and dumbfounding. What kind of dumbass opens a fireworks shop in a city made of cardboard? (via Metafilter)

Long Legged Larry

Long Legged Larry is a bullfrog with a talent for jumping high. Follow along with this song from Aesop Rock as Larry saves the day over and over. (via Laughing Squid) 

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur

In the 1939 short Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur, a caveman does a Jack Benny impersonation as he and his dinosaur named Fido look for a delicious duck dinner. That's Daffy. This is the first Daffy Duck cartoon drected by Chuck Jones. (Thanks, WTM!) 

The Fridge

Somewhere between Veggie Tales and Sausage Party, there is The Fridge, a short film by Coby Palivathukal. Food comes alive in a weird animation style that soon becomes unimportant as we get to know the residents of the refrigerator. They realize that their time is limited, but meanwhile they deal with romance, betrayal, nihilism, and the hope of better days to come. Ted the carrot loves Rachel the tomato, but he's also a player. Beefster wants to escape, and Tot the potato is there to help him. So what does he think is going to happen to him if he gets out? Jake the cucumber falls for newcomer Sophie the avocado. Meanwhile, they get advice from Master Mayo, who knows things because he's been there forever. 

They all learn life's lessons in a hurry, because refrigerated food is nothing if not ephemeral. The story requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, because what is a potato, a tomato, and an apple doing in a refrigerator in the first place?  (via Nag on the Lake) 
 

Screen Grab

Simon's cat and the kitten accidentally discover the TV set. Unfortunately, it's a modern flat screen. Unlike the old CRTs, these are visible to cats and will draw their attention, depending on what's being shown. They are also lightweight, fragile, and balanced on one tiny leg. The flat screen in my office has a substantial base with four legs widely spaced, and the one in the living room has a heavy weight holding down the base. After all, I have cats. 

The Psychedelic Bicentennial

In 1976, when the US celebrated 200 years, this video aired everywhere. It was made with a grant from the federal government. Groovy! 

o28

If you enjoyed those old Looney Tunes cartoons in which all rules of logic were suspended to build chaos, then you'll love o28. A German couple on vacation ride on the well known Tram 28 (Eléctrico 28E) to see the historic sections of Lisbon, Portugal. Except he is more interested in a magazine than the sights, and she is occupied by taking pictures for Instagram. But once the streetcar goes completely out of control, their attention is focused. The driver is gone, and the brakes are broken. On top of it all, there's a baby on board with a pronounced unibrow.   

The film o28 was made by a group of students at Rubika, an animation school based in Valenciennes, France. There are cultural references and easter eggs throughout the video that you might miss the first time around, and are pointed out at Kuriositas. 

Game Changer

A little girl at an arcade wants to take a toy wrestler home. He does not want to go live with a mere girl. Can he stop her from earning enough points to win him? This short film is from Aviv Mano of the Ringling College of Art and Design. (via Tastefully Offensive)

Simon's Cat in The Snip

The kitten just got back from the vet, still under the influence just a bit. He's just been neutered! What's even worse, he tells the cat what happened. No doubt the cat has forgotten all about when it happened to him long ago.

Raccoon and the Light

A cute animated story of a raccoon finding a flashlight shows what forest creatures do in the dark. (via The Kid Should See This)

Nametags for Nameless People

Bill Wurtz shares another nonsense song, this one about name tags. Are they important? No. Are they invasive? Could be. Are they a joy? Only in this universe. (via the Awesomer) 

Cummulus & Nimbus

Every gag about clouds you can fit into a 45-second video is here in this cute animation from German producers we think things. (via Laughing Squid)

Tiny Grandma

Tiny Grandma is a stop-motion Korean woman who's about six inches tall. She's usually cooking full-size food in her videos, but here she takes a break to enjoy cookies and coffee with her cat. In this video, Tiny Grandma gathers dandelions to make kimchi. And we meet her family. 



See all of Tiny Grandma's video at YouTube. You can also learn more about her inspiration and creators, and check out her recipes. (via Boing Boing) 

Pit: A Short Film About Human Nature

This video is supposed to be about human nature, but where are the humans? Instead, we get fantastical monsters fighting to the death over a piece of food. But are they really fantastical monsters? It doesn't matter; you're too caught up in the violence and creative animation. But then it takes a sharp left. You're wondering if this is really a comedy. Okay, maybe, or maybe it's just a story with some funny parts. But which part is about human nature? Actually, all of it, but you'll need to stay through the credits because there's a whole new scene afterward. I guess you could call it a punch line. (via Memo of the Air)