The blog of Richard Thompson, caricaturist, creator of "Cul de Sac," and winner of the 2011 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

What I'm Reading


When I really should be drawing. My favorite story in it so far is about an animated feature that never was, an aborted collaboration between Walt Disney and a young Roald Dahl about Gremlins. That would've been something to see, as I think of Disney's and Dahl's sensibilities as being pretty dissimilar, though both had a good sense of the dark side of a story. Heck, Dahl's stories are about as dark as children's literature gets, and about as funny, too.

I hear that Wes Anderson is doing an animated version of Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox. That might be something to see, too. I wish someone would do George's Marvelous Medicine. And if you're going to animate Dahl, it'd be great to see it done in the style of his long-time illustrator, the great Quentin Blake. His is another name I meant to add to that list of those who inspire me.

Now I gotta go draw, after I read the next article in Hogan's Alley.

8 comments:

Mark Heath said...

If I recall correctly, they'll be running an interview in the next issue with a fine cartoonist too modest to mention it while praising the magazine.

Mike Rhode said...

Yeah, Hogan's is just always chock full of fun. Craig Yoe's got a brief interview with editor Tom on his Arf lovers blog.

Ponto said...

There's an edition of "The Gremlins" available with illustrations by Disney artist Bill Justice:

http://tinyurl.com/ytb4tf

I have a copy - it's very nice.

richardcthompson said...

Mark, I was afraid any mention of that might depress sales, and even keep it off newssstands.

Mike, yup, and I added a link to Yoe's site because it's so chock full of fun, too.

Ponto, I think I've seen that book listed in a catalog. I've got a similar one on Disney's abandoned Jabberwocky project. Didn't I hear that aviators hated the name Gremlin applied to a car?

Ponto said...

Yes, Richard, you did hear that once. According to my records, you heard it on September 23, 1982, at the Tastee Diner in Bethesda. You nodded in a distracted sort of way and continued to gorge on scrapple. I'm surprised you remember it!

richardcthompson said...

Well, scrapple IS brain food. Also kidney, spleen, lower gi tract and anything else that's left.

Mike Rhode said...

Nah, The Gremlins book is not like the other Disney Archives books. It's published by Dark Horse in a vertical format and the other two (?) were published by Disney's Hyperion in a horizontal, children's book format. There was a Jabberwocky and an Emperor's Nightingale. Any others?

Mark Heath said...

speaking of scrapple, I was watching a Simpson's christmas episode and I finally saw a cow-noise maker in action. Maggie was playing with it. She rolled her eyes when she shook the wrapped package and heard the moo. No doubt the sound reminded her of scrapple.