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   Helpful news  (30.06.05)

    Peter Curtis of Spellbound Entertainment has been in touch this week
    to share some very helpful news. Spellbound have been enjoying huge
    success with those little wonders from Down Under, "The Koala Brothers"
    who flew in to the Toonhound index this week. In an age where so many
    Pre-school series seem to have been conceived by Suits haggled round
    a business table, Frank , Buster and friends have bucked the trend
    beautifully. They seem to have breezed in to stardom from the Outback.
    There's a laid-back charm to the series that's won over fans big
    and small, around the world. It's now being shown in over 60
    countries - An even more impressive feat when you learn that this
    is Spellbound's very first production (in conjunction with Famous
    Flying Films).

       

    So those same fans will be delighted to hear that a third Koala Brothers
    DVD will soon be upon us. Ned the Pilot and other stories features seven
    more superb episodes, and it's released from July 4th. Spellbound have
    had an incredible 78 episodes commissioned thus far, and with only
    three DVDs released to date, that means there'll still be plenty
    more discs for folks to get their paws upon in the future.

    Peter very kindly passed on the episode details of the 52 episodes they've
    put together so far - listed on the index page - plus he's revealed news
    of a "ripper" Christmas Special that's currently in production. "Frank and
    Buster's Christmas in the Outback" is a 48min special to be shown this
    Christmas on the BBC in the UK and Disney Channel in the US. Now
    that's a present and a half, indeed...

    And speaking of presents, it looks like we can look forward to a
    billabong's worth of licensed apparel too, because deals have been
    inked with Fisher-Price, Corgi and more. I guess it really will be
    a Koala Brothers Christmas for fans, eh?.

                                                More:  The Koala Bros.   Spellbound
   
   

   Cracking strides, Gromit  (21.06.05)

    Brace yourselves, folks, 'cos Wrong Trousers Day is looming large once more.
    This Friday, June 24th, marks the third annual charity event, named after and
    promoted by Aardman Animation's cracking duo, Wallace & Gromit. As the
    name suggests, folks are encouraged to wear ridiculous clothing for the
    day, and to raise money for charity whilst they're doing it.

    

    The beneficiaries in question are childrens hospitals and hospices around the
    United Kingdom, and they are all delighted to receive your contributions,
    big or small, through a variety of means. You can donate directly online,
    for starters. Or you can purchase a selection of special Wrong Trousers Day
    goodies - T-shirts, badges and a puzzle mug. These can be bought directly
    online through the Aardman Aardmarket, or those badges can be bought
    in branches of Barclays Bank, Woolwich Building Society or HBOS.
    To help schools and organisations put on a tie-in event, the charity has
    produced a special fund-raising pack which you can apply for on their
    web site too...

    Lots of famous folk have lent their support to the day, so there's no need
    to feel silly in your pyjama bottoms, scuba wear, or whatever other ridiculous
    get-up you put on for the day. Mind you, I'll probably just be wearing my
    regular clothes. Folks tell me I look stupid enough as it is...
    
                                                               More: Wrong Trousers Day

   

   A piggin' award  (16.06.05)

    Here's some muddy marvellous news from Annecy. It seems that
    little Peppa Pig has gone and scooped a rather big award, in the shape
    of the Cristal for Best TV Production...

    

    Peppa was competing with no-lesser star than SpongeBob Squarepants,
    but the submitted episode, "Mummy Pig at Work", snorted past that old
    Krabby Patty pants to snaffle the prize. Annecy is a jolly important animation
    festival, and that Cristal is a coveted trophy to have on a producers' shelf.
    So hats off to the folks at Astley Baker Davies who must be dead chuffed
    with their award - especially coming so close to Peppa's double win at
    Cartoons on the Bay...

    Peppa's triumph was echoed with the successes of Aardman Animation's
    "Angry Kid: Who do you think you are?" (Best TV Special), that fabulous
    Honda car advert "Grrr" (Best Commercial), a film called "Red Sheep"
    (Educational, scientific or industrial film award), and the short film
    "City Paradise" (Special Jury Award) - Hats off to one and all!

                                                                           More: Annecy

 

   Here to serve  (17.06.05)

    For crying out loud! - Here we are, just a few short months after that
    horrendous computer failure, and everything is coming back on line.
    The site is ticking along with updates and additions, my Inbox is
    buzzing with questions and contacts and news...

    And then my server goes down.

    Well, that's not strictly true. It's not "my" server at all. It belongs to
    my hosting company. But I couldn't care less about the ownership of
    said item or system or whatever may be. I only know that it's the
    fing wot keeps this here web site visible to folks around the world,
    and that I pay good money to keep these pages available to one
    and all, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week...

    But then the sever goes down, or so I'm informed. And that left this
    site and my email unavailable to a rather large number of people
    earlier this week.  On its own, it's not terribly important. Just a
    minor hiccup, or "one of those things". But the trouble is, it's
    not alone. I seem to be encountering numerous "outages", caused
    by this server-thingy, and the failings of my hosting company to
    keep it up and running as smoothly as they should. And that's
    not fun. It undermines everything I'm trying to do here. I bust a
    gut to get a page created/updated/modified, only to find I can't
    post it online, or it can't be seen by folks who have asked for
    it - or - well, you get the picture.

    Now I'm left between a rock and a hard place. I only paid my annual
    hosting fee a couple of months ago. If I switch hosts now that outlay
    will be lost (they don't "do" refunds). Plus there's the technical debacle
    involved, to get the site shifted over to a new host. I dread to think what
    might go wrong there...
    
    I guess I'll just keep my paws crossed for now. Hopefully, these outages 
    have come to an end. Hopefully, I won't be hearing from folks who couldn't
    send me feedback, or view the many new index pages I'm hoping to
    add to the site over the coming weeks...

    Hopefully.

    Till next time!    

             thehound@toonhound.com

 
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