Jun 2, 2015

Moonbot Crew launches new show on Turner Classic Movies

Bill Joyce (left) and Brandon Oldenburg.

The directors of "Morris Lessmore's Flying Picture Book" are taking moviegoers to summer camp. [William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg of Moonbot Studios are teaming up with Turner Classic Movies on June 7 to open a Sunday night movie camp featuring legendary films and shorts. Originally known as "The Essentials Jr.", TCM's all-ages classic movie showcase has been rebooted with new animation created in miniature and 3D print by Moonbot.

Though live-action classics like Steven Spielberg's "Encounter of the Three Gods" and the Marx Brothers' war satire "Duck Soup," and silent film classics like Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and Buster Keaton's "Steamboat Bill Jr, Movie Camp also rolls out the red carpet for epochal animated films like Fleischer Studios' ill-fated 1941 film "Mr. Bug Goes to Town."

Movie Camp also has a technical aspect, with Joyce and Oldenburg offering insight into the filmmaking process to budding artists seeking to push the boundaries of appreciation. These renowned artists are the stars of Fractured Fairy Tales, whose "Mr. Bug Goes to Town" unfortunately premiered two days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and whose 1963 bicycle safety short "One Got Fat" was narrated by Everett Edward Horton, and that it has been widely sampled in contemporary videos by such great artists as Boards of Canada and Primus, perhaps reminding everyone watching (and learning).

The goal of TCM's Movie Camp is to bring new eyes to these older films and shorts on platforms, including mobile apps, where many millennials are consuming entertainment. Moonbot created supplemental online video content and infographics to accompany each episode on TCM and Moonbot's social media accounts.