John Canemaker
Cartoon Carnival tells the story of the pioneering early days of the animated art-form and chronicles one film preservationist's quest to rescue pre-sound cartoons from obscurity and screen them to new, appreciative audiences.
The unlikely story of 106-year old Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong, and how he overcame poverty and racism in America to become a celebrated modernist painter, Hollywood sketch artist, and “Disney Legend” for his groundbreaking work on the classic animated film, Bambi.
A documentary on the making of Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp created for the 2006 Platinum DVD.
An animated documentary that explores the terrain of father/son relationships, as seen through Canemaker's own turbulent relationship with his father.
Documentary on the making of Walt Disney’s Fantasia.
After learning about pollution a group of creatures called Zwibble Dibbles, decide to throw a party for the Earth to raise awareness.
In 1986, seventeen years after Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s animated conversation about love and six years after the beloved Beatle’s assassination, Ono commissioned independent animator John Canemaker to create a short animated film based on Lennon’s drawings, music, and interviews. Given her penchant for the intersection of art and philosophy, Lennon’s own quirky illustrations, and the odd fact that the couple’s love began in visual poetry long before they met, it was the perfect medium for commemoration.
The short takes as its inspiration Bottom's contemplation on the "dream" he has experienced in the middle acts of Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream", in which his head is transformed into that of an ass and the Fairy Queen Titania is made to fall in love with him. Shakespeare's "Dream" has long been the most visually attractive play to adapt, and the transfer to animation opens up possibilities set designers could only dream of. Canemaker's mastery of the art and his immense creativity make this short quite a ride, exploring a few of the darker undertones in Shakespeare's text that are often excised or simply ignored.
This educational science program features the story of Dr. Alfred Clothear and his discovery of how bears know when to sleep for the winter.
Documentary short on cartoonist Otto Messmer, co-creator of Felix the Cat
The life and career of the great cartoonist Winsor McCay is warmly recalled by his former film assistant, John Fitzsimmons, with clips of classic McCay animated films.
A veritable treasures from the world's archives and archivists, the Association of Moving Image Archivists' Archival Screening Night Roadshow Edition 2 is 20+ astonishing films and videos in 100 minutes! Archival Screening Night has been the centerpiece of every AMIA conference since 1991. What makes Archival Roadshow Edition special is that this members-only event is being made accessible to the public to see the incredible, strange, astonishing, hilarious, and curious treasures from the world’s moving image archives. This cinematic Cabinet of Wonders features films from Mexico, Thailand, and New Zealand, an appearance by Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five, a dancing Bobcat (it's not what you expect!), Baltimore Breakdancing including the Chocolate Boogie, Jack Lemmon's first screening appearance as a helpless soldier, and many more!
Documentary short from Felix the Cat Collector’s Edition DVD
