My Toony Valentine
February is for lovers—of animation, obviously. As in, we put a lot of love into this newsletter, which isn't really about the Hallmark holiday.
Forget what T.S. Eliot said: February is the cruelest month, even if it’s been, uh, eerily warm this year. But we’re here to cheer you up…mostly. This month, we eulogize BoJack Horseman, remind you of our classic ranking of cartoon rats and mice for the Lunar New Year, take a look at how The Pagemaster has stood the test of time, and more.
What’s news, pussycat?
The latest pieces published on our site.
The Dot and Line’s Editors on the Legacy of BoJack Horseman
It’s been a long time coming, and BoJack Horseman is finally over (and we’re all blubbery messes). But what’s the meaning of it all, in the end? Editors Eric Vilas-Boas, John Maher, and Sammy Nickalls sat down to discuss the sixth season and all of the things the show did right, wrong, and in-between. SPOILERS!
Judah Mannowdog Is the Man Now, Dog
With the end of BoJack Horseman, the once-terminated assistant of Princess Carolyn is redeemed in hunky, hair-down hipster fashion, as editor Eric Vilas-Boas celebrates.
An Urgent Question About The Pagemaster
It helped to spawn your love of libraries—or at least ours, anyway—but a real question remains: is The Pagemaster still good!? Writer Rebecca Long reads between the lines in this piece to give us the answer.
What Do “Best Feature” and “Best Indie Feature” at the Annie Awards Even Mean?
The Annies are the U.S.’s top award in animation and should be taken seriously—but they could also be doing a lot better at earning their prestige. Editor John Maher has a bone to pick, plus some helpful suggestions.
Who is Winsor McCay and Why is He Such a Big Deal at the Annies?
Each year, the Annies gives away the Winsor McCay Award. Editor Eric Vilas-Boas did the Googlin’ so you didn’t have to and came up with this brief biography of the pioneer of many of animation’s most important techniques.
How Stephen Hillenburg’s Background in Marine Biology Helped Influence SpongeBob SquarePants
Would it surprise you to hear that the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants had an extensive background in marine biology? If you're a marine biology nerd, get ready to say “I’m ready! I’m ready!” for some tidbits Stephen Hillenberg added to the iconic cartoon inspired by his past job. In this piece, writer Nicole Ortiz takes a deep dive into all the fun facts.
But it ain’t me, babe
Great writing and news on toons from sites that aren’t the Dot and Line!
Snapchat’s Bitmoji TV is a New Toon…Starring YOU [The Verge] A new 10-episode season of this special TV show, only available on Snapchat, will premiere soon.
Classic Tex Avery Cartoons Restored and Coming to Blu-ray [Nerdist] Tex Avery was one of the great pioneers of animation’s Golden Age, from the ’30s through the ’50s. Now, it’s all comin’ up HD.
The Oscars’ Frozen 2 Snub Shows Netflix Really is Disrupting Animation [Polygon] The streaming platform’s first two animated films stole the show in the animation category. Should we just let it go?
Netflix to Stream Studio Ghibli Movies Internationally [AnimationMagazine] Count the U.S. out, though. Everyone else gets the Ghibli goodness but us! (You’ll have to have HBO Max here.)
“Toy Story 3 IRL” Recreates Entire Pixar Movie in Stop-Motion Animation [Complex] You can watch the stop-motion recreation on YouTube.
NASA Drained the Oceans Using Animation [Business Insider] They used animation to show us exactly what the earth looks like underneath to highlight its most fascinating features.
Ren & Stimpy Doc Celebrates Animation But Shies Away From Darker Subjects [The Wrap] Sexual misconduct accusations against creator John Kricfalusi have forever tainted the legacy of his pioneering series Ren & Stimpy, but the new Happy Happy Joy Joy documentary avoids that topic as much as possible.
Happy birthday to toons
Every day brings another oppor-toon-ity for another classic’s anniversary.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is 15
We present to you…all the pieces from our Waterbending and Firebending week packages. It’s time to do some nostalgia readin’, folks.
The Secret Hustle of the First Dexter’s Laboratory Short
What a Cartoon! turns 25 this month! And Dexter’s Laboratory was perhaps its biggest success. Here’s how it got made, as explained by animation executive Fred Seibert to editor John Maher.
More anniversaries: American Dad! and Robot Chicken are 15 • What a Cartoon! is 25 • Pinocchio and Tom and Jerry are 80.
Throwing it back
Revisit some favorites from our archives.
15 Cartoon Rats and Mice, Ranked from Worst to Best
These rodents know how to party. And cook in fine French restaurants. And investigate. And… torment pigs? Check out the rankings, as posited by the editors.
Why Harley and Ivy’s Love Is Love Is Love
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a reminder that Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are costumed villainy’s ideal couple from writer Siena Koncsol.
What are we watching? What are YOU watching!?
The editors (and readers!) dish on their latest obsessions.
John is watching…Ace of the Diamond
I spent my first eight years on this mudball in football-obsessed Pittsburgh—Steel City, City of Bridges, the seat of Allegheny County and the Cradle of Quarterbacks and, above all, Steeler Nation—during the 1990s, when the Pittsburgh Pirates had already long sucked, so I never really quite got into baseball. But I’ve always admired the idea of the game, even though I hated playing it growing up, and I also love the idea of paying less attention to bloodsports and more attention to, uh, just sports. Thank the gods of games, then, that S.M. Balding’s terrific piece for us from a month ago made it clear that I could learn all about baseball from anime. Now that the Super Bowl is in the rear view and spring’s baseball preseason is just around the corner, it’s about time I sat down and learned some of the finer points of the game by doing something I already love: watching cartoons.
Eric is watching…Silver Surfer: The Animated Series
Created by Jack Kirby, the star-wandering Silver Surfer has always been one of Marvel’s most philosophical heroes. Though he was burned by Hollywood along with every other Fantastic Four character in the mid-’00s movies, his eponymous ’90s cartoon, created by writer Larry Brody and now available to stream in full on Disney+, is one of the more faithful adaptations of his story, as well as a commentary on anti-colonialism and multiculturalism seen through the lens of a meditative do-gooder interacting with tons of different races across the cosmos. Your Sunday binge could be worse.
Sammy is watching…Carole & Tuesday
At the very start of the year, John found out I still hadn’t seen Carole & Tuesday and was like, “OK, we’re fixing this immediately,” in a tone befitting a cardiac surgeon. He showed me a few episodes and I was hooked. I’ve been finishing up the season—its politically trenchant second half hit Netflix on Christmas Eve—on my own, and I can’t stop listening to the soundtrack. Plus, QUEER UNDERTONES GALORE.
Elly is watching…Pachamama
This movie is about a 10-year-old boy who wants to become a shaman and goes on an adventure with his friend and her pet llama, the best llama since The Emperor’s New Groove. On top of a beautiful storyline, it pays tribute to indigenous communities and explores the idea of the earth as something rich, beautiful, and worthy of worship. And you can watch it on Netflix—in only an hour and change!
Marley is (re)watching…Daria
Since the entire series is on Hulu, I couldn’t resist. Watching through makes me realize how perfect, funny, and quintessentially ’90s this series is. (It also AMAZES me that both Daria and King of the Hill are spin-offs from Beavis and Butthead. Shout out to Mike Judge!) The characters are cynical yet endearing, and I can’t wait to see what the reboot, Jodie, is gonna be like.
Aaaaand…that’s all, folks!
Thanks so much for reading our newsletter, which is produced by Elly Belle! If you have any notes, feedback, or tips on what to watch next, email us at thedotandline@gmail.com. And if you like what we do, forward this to your friends and yell in their faces until they forward it to all of their friends. Until next time!
Love,
The Dot and Line