Presto: Animated Short from Pixar

Here's a very nice little animation from the Pixar group at Disney. I like it. It looks good, it moves quickly, it's funny, and it's short. It concerns a magician's rabbit who is hungry for a carrot just before a magic show. He wants that carrot pretty badly and will stop at nothing to get it.




This blog entry comes from CandlelightStories.com

How to Hook Up Your Home Theater: A Goofy Cartoon From Disney

Here's a new cartoon from Disney starring Goofy. It's about all the excitement of going out and buying a brand new television and setting it all up to perfection as only Goofy can. It's also the first Goofy theatrical cartoon since 1961. The film was made entirely without paper as an experiment by Disney to see if they could make a film with the look of a 1940s animation, but using computer drawing tablets. I think the experiment turned out well for them and perhaps it will give the company a welcome alternative to the Pixar computer animation they have been so inexplicably attached to.



Remember that if you click the video to visit the YouTube site, there may be material there that is unsuitable for young viewers.


This blog entry comes from CandlelightStories.com

Star Trek Comics for Free Online

Star Trek comic books from the 60s and 70s are available for free viewing on the Wowio.com site. The Planet of No Return was published in 1967, during the original run of the TV series. It is about an encounter with intelligent and hostile plant life forms.

The series was originally published by Gold Key Comics.

Have a sci-fi blast!

Star Trek Comic: The Planet of No Return

This blog entry comes from CandlelightStories.com

Oktapodi: Animated CG Short

Oktapodi is a French student animated short from the Gobelins school. It was directed by Julien Bocabeille, FX Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier and Emud Mokhberi. It moves very quickly and has a gorgeous seaside town with winding streets for the action to happen in.

It won Best Animation at the Imagina Awards 2008. At the Annecy festival it won a Family Award for Best Graduation Film. There's a web site for the film here.

Remember that if you head to other sites there may be content there that is not suitable for young viewers.

Watch Oktapodi (60 meg Quicktime movie)

This blog entry comes from CandlelightStories.com

The Danish Poet - Animated Short On YouTube

YouTube is showing The Danish Poet in their brand new Screening Room which is a showcase for independent films. This film won the 2007 Academy Award for best animated short. Torill Kove directed it and Liv Ullman provided the narration. It is beautifully animated with a flat cartoony style that is more complicated than it looks. The story is a gently moving one and I highly recommend this.

Remember that if you head over to YouTube there may be content there that is not suitable for young viewers.

Watch The Danish Poet

This blog entry comes from CandlelightStories.com

The Mole and the Music - Czech Animation

Here's a 1974 Czech animation about a mole and a mouse who go looking for some good music. It was made by Zdenek Miler.



Remember that if you click the video to visit the YouTube site, there may be material there that is unsuitable for young viewers.


This blog entry comes from CandlelightStories.com

Phoenix Lander Finds Water on Mars

NASA announced today that it has found water ice on Mars! The Phoenix Lander scooped up some martian dirt and took some photos of the hole. In one shot you can see some chunks in the lower left corner of the hole. In the next shot they are gone. That means that the clumps melted and evaporated. Because of the temperature at that location scientists know that it can only be frozen water.

This is a great discovery and takes us a long way in our search for the building blocks of life on other planets.


Nasa's Official Announcement of Water on Mars

This blog entry comes from CandlelightStories.com

Barack Obama Clinches Presidential Nomination

Today, June 3, 2008 is one of the great days in United States history. Barack Obama has clinched the democratic party nomination by winning more than 2,118 delegates to the Democratic Convention. This day must rank with the ending of the Civil War, the end of World War II and landing on the moon for importance in our national history. An African American has just become a candidate for President. This has been long overdue and it is a very welcome development. I hope all parents are allowing their children, no matter how young, to watch these events unfold. I can think of few things that would be so inspiring to children. It is incredible to watch Barack Obama achieve something so important to the entire nation. Congratulations to him and to our country.

This blog entry comes from CandlelightStories.com