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  Quacked up  (19.03.07)

   Goodness, here's another Mad March DVD for us to "ketchup" with.
   This time, the folks from Fremantle Home Entertainment are presenting us
   with "Count Duckula: Series Two", which does exactly what it says in
   the title, and includes all 19 episodes of the quacked-up Count's
   second series on a two disc set. You can pick it up from UK stores
   from March 26th (RRP £17.99).

     

   Duckula is a top drawer Cosgrove Hall creation, of course, but it's his
   sidekicks who steal the show. Igor the manservant is a wondeful, droll
   foil to the Count's effervescence. And Nanny is just plain bonkers.

   Actually, Fremantle must be rather bonkers too, because, hot on the
   heels of their Wind in the Willows Giveaway, they've handed over a
   Duckula double: Two copies of series two, and two of the first for you
   to win here at Toonhound. Just pop by the Double Duckula Giveaway
   to get your name in the hat!...

 

   BOD for you  (16.03.07)

    Look over there - Here comes BOD... And PC Copper... And Aunt Flo,
    and Farmer Barleymow and Frank the Postman in a wonderful series
    of giclee prints for sale at Lollipop Animation!

    BOD's a Toonhound favourite, of course. The Hound has talked to Lo Cole,
    and kept abreast of all things BOD-ified over recent years. The books,
    series and stories have a marvellous simplicity to them. Does all that
    talk of strawberries and cream and holes in the ground have some
    deeper meaning? - Who knows. But there so much pleasure to be
    had in deciphering it all...

    

    ...And now we can look long and hard at the best of BOD on our wall.
    There are 13 prints in the range, with each design limited to just 250
    numbered editions. And all are signed in person by Lo Cole. They're
    joyful things indeed. It's going to be very difficult choosing a favourite,
    although "BOD and the Grasshoppr" (above) is particulary good.

    Oh, but Lollipop aren't making things any easier for us, because they've
    also just released lovely new prints starring Paddington Bear and Rupert.
    Those Paddington prints are particularly appealing, and some are to be
    signed by Michael Bond, which makes them so very tempting.
    And there's more to come soon, I'm told. Goodness, will we have
    enough wall space available?!...

                                                             More: Lollipop Animation

 

   Just dabbling...  (14.03.07)

    Spring is in the air at last. And what could be better than taking
    a rowboat out on the river and drifting down to Ratty's riverside
    home, to dabble with ducks, to partake of High Tea and scones
    with Moley and Badger, and then, when fully refreshed and revived,
    to steal yourself away to Toad Hall where the owner will regail
    you with his stories about poop-pooping motor cars and
    wicked weasels...

     

    Well, thanks to Fremantle Home Entertainment you can do just that,
    because the complete First Season of that Cosgrove Hall gem
    is at last coming to DVD on March 26th. Goodness knows, we've
    waited a long time for this. We've had tasters of course, courtesy
    of the original film, and last year's seasonal compilation. But here,
    finally, folks in the UK can get their paws upon all 13 episodes of
    that premier season

    There have been many versions of Kenneth Grahame's classic
    tale. But no one has captured the simple pleasures of the Riverbank
    quite like Cosgrove Hall. The beauty's in the detail of Mole and Ratty's
    home. It's in the seasonal landscapes, the twitching hawthorn and
    blackberry bushes. It's in those perfectly realised models, and the
    exquisite way in which they move and interact with one another.
    This series is more than twenty years old, but still it holds itself
    head and shoulders above the crowd...

    Yep, this particular Riverbank is well worth revisiting. And better
    still, you have the chance to win a visit for free. That's because the
    folks at Fremantle have passed on two fab copies of this DVD set
    for The Hound to give away...

    So what are you waiting for? - Go enter the Giveaway!

 

   The art of Robert Nixon  (11.03.07)

    Trevor Metcalfe has dropped us a line recently, in regard to his
    late friend and colleague Robert Nixon. As most folks who visit this
    site will know, these two chaps were responsible for some of the
    very best comic strips that Fleetway and DC Thomson had to offer,
    over the years. And they were, quite simply, the best of buddies:

    

    Ah, yes. Robert Nixon brought us the glories of Frankie Stein, Roger the
    Dodger,  Kid Kong, Little Plum, Lord Snooty, The Buytonic Boy and so
    very many more. But he wasn't "just" a cartoonist, of course, and Trevor
    is keen to remind us that he also continued to paint and illustrate his
    own standalone pieces, alongside his bread and butter employment in
    the comics world. And what better way to highlight this work than via
    a web site?

    If you drop by the new Robert Nixon art site you'll find a very intriguing
    mixture of art samples on display. Some of the fantasy art paintings are
    fascinating. Those Narnian wardrobes, stuffed-to-busting with oddities,
    or those perculiar tree houses. Very Oriental, but also very Seuss-like.
    And what a contrast to the soft pastels of his landscape art, and those
    cutesy pixies in the kidsart section....

    As well as the artwork to view, and in some cases, to buy in print form,
    There is also a handy biography page, with a trio of early art samples,
    and we're promised more to come across the site, in due course.
    This is definitely one to watch, and a fitting tribute to a master artist
    and cartoonist...

                                             More: Robert Nixon  Trevor Metcalfe

 

   New for ewe  (05.03.07)

    It's taken two and a half years, but Shaun the Sheep's fantastic new series
    is finally going to air on CBBC. It actually starts this afternoon, 5th March
    at 3.45pm on BBC1 with the footballing episode "Off the Baa!". And it's
    a cracker...

     

    "Shaun the Sheep" is, of course, a spin-off from that Wallace and Gromit
    classic A Close Shave, where he was brought to life by Nick Park and the
    folks at Aardman Animation. Now director Richard Goleszowski holds the
    Aardman reins and he and they have airlifted Shaun out of West Wallaby
    Street to a rather splendid country farm. Shaun remains a sheep of few
    words, but he's now top of the flock with his bleating pals, and they
    can all run rings around the farmer and his whistle-blowing dog Bitzer.

    Seriously folks, this is unmissable stuff. There are lots of little Aardman
    flourishes in the background details, in the reactions of the characters
    and the interplay. And the timing is so pefectly precise. The episodes
    play out like a silent movie, accompanied by a tumbling banjo, lots
    of bleating and some increasingly frustrated whistle blowing...

    If this show doesn't win awards, The Hound will eat his hat.
    Tune in each weekday, on BBC1 at 3.45pm.

                                                              More: Shaun the Sheep

 

   March Madness  (19.03.07)

    Giveaways are rather like buses, aren't they? - You wait ages for
    one and then three come along at the same time.

    Wait up. Did someone say "three"? Well, so far this Mad March,
    we've had a Wind in the Willows Giveaway and a Double Duckula
    event, thanks to the folks at Fremantle. But there's also a third
    fabulous giveaway arriving any moment, which should really
    raise the "tempo" round here...

    Did you get the hint there? - Well, even if you didn't, this mighty
    fine freebie will be launching very, very soon. And there may well
    be a fourth forthcoming too!

    Crazy, innit? - But it's just that time of year. The DVD distributors
    have come out of their shells for Spring and they all want to promote
    their exciting new releases. Like March Hares fisticuffing in the fields,
    each is spoiling for the best position in the market. Which means,
    our cup overfloweth with competitions and prizes...

    So what are you waiting for? - Get those entries in!

    Till next time!

              thehound@toonhound.com

 
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