Forum Admin
Posted:
Mar 27, 2008, 1:16 PM
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Funny Face Characters Return To Small Screen
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Loud Mouth Lime, Jolly Olly Orange and Goofy Grape are poised for a comeback in show business.
Renegade Animation has obtained the rights to the Funny Face characters, originally featured on Pillsbury drink packets in the ‘60s and ‘70s from Boston-based Carson Creations to produce an animated television series based on their wacky shenanigans. The animation studio is currently producing a pilot episode while seeking distribution and licensing agreements. Renegade Animation is best known as producer of the Cartoon Network series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and The Mr. Men Show.
The Funny Face television series will be aimed at kids from 6 to 11 and will recall the animation style and the spirit of classic, theatrical cartoons such as Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes. “It’s a delightful opportunity to be funny in a way that is missing from the cartoon landscape right now,” said Renegade’s Ashley Postlewaite, who will executive produce the series. “These characters are perfect for that style of comedy.” Darrell Van Citters will direct the series. “I can’t wait to get back to the kind of flat-out physical comedy that insired me to get into animation in the first place!” says Van Citters. Michael Giaimo is heading up visual development on the series.
Carson Creation partners Jack Brady and Mike Lewis had been seeking an animation studio whose artistic sensibilities were a good match for the wacky characters. “As soon as I met with Renegade and saw their work, I knew they were a perfect fit for how I envisioned Funny Face,” Brady said. “Maintaining a retro feel while employing that wonderful brand of humor is key to this project and they flat out got it right away.”
Pillsbury’s Funny Face drink mix was introduced in 1964 as a challenger to market leader Kool-Aid. The silly, smiling faces of the characters featured on the product packaging made them instantly popular with the target market, school age kids. Spurred by the characters’ appearance in television commercials and a clever promotional campaign where kids could mail in the empty packets for premiums, the brand developed into a full fledged craze. Plastic mugs, backpacks, finger puppets and other products featuring the characters remain popular collectibles to this day. At the height of their popularity in the mid-70s, the Funny Face characters were the subjects of books (“How the Funny Face Characters Got Their Names”) and even songs (“Goofy Grape Sings”).
Renegade Animation plans to produce the series using its proprietary “paperless” animation pipeline with all phases of the animation process being completed at its studio in Glendale. Renegade is the only animation studio that produces animated television series entirely with U.S. talent.
The Mercer Group out of New York is representing the property to broadcasters and potential licensee partners. “One of things that got me so excited about this project is the chance to bring back slapstick animated comedy while combining it with today's kids culture language,” said The Mercer Group founder Hamp Hampton. “The series will be truly targeted at kids 6-10 which appeals to many broadcasters the world over".
Renegade Animation is located at 116 N. Maryland Ave., Lower Level, Glendale, CA 91206. For more information, call (818) 551-2351 or visit www.renegadeanimation.com.
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Directing Animator / Contributor
Posted:
Mar 27, 2008, 1:32 PM
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Re: Funny Face Characters Return To Small Screen
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Sounds great in a nostalgia vein...The health food watchdogs would probably wince, though.
Kool-Aid Man should get his own tv show. Ohhhh yeah.
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"The Stones...I love The Stones...I can't believe they're still doing it all these years...I watch them whenever I can...Fred and Barney."- Steven Wright
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Directing Animator / Contributor
Posted:
Mar 27, 2008, 8:47 PM
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Re: Funny Face Characters Return To Small Screen
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Perhaps I'm just being short-sighted, but isn't this the same basic idea as The Mr. Men Show? Brightly-colored sillies having wacky misadventures?
Also, it goes without saying that in order to be Politically Correct, they'll have to create some female Funny Faces (and of course, leave out Injun Orange and Chinese Cherry-going with Jolly Olly Orange and Choo-Choo Cherry instead).
-So, are the Otter Pops going to get their own show, too?
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Rock is dead. Long live paper and scissors.
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Key Animator / Contributor
Posted:
Mar 28, 2008, 5:47 AM
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Re: Funny Face Characters Return To Small Screen
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Lead Animator / Contributor
Posted:
Mar 28, 2008, 7:28 AM
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Re: Funny Face Characters Return To Small Screen
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What? No Loudmouth Lime? Was Jim Carrey under contract elsewhere? 
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Research Guru / Moderator
Posted:
Mar 28, 2008, 12:27 PM
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Re: Funny Face Characters Return To Small Screen
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'Cause you won't see 'em on TV again... here are Injun Orange and Chinese Cherry in one of the first Funny Face commercials!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuUlWnYkYtw
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"Oh boy." -- Allan Sherman
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