Animators dish on new Disney film

Hey folks, I wrote the below article for The Daily Cougar.

This article is based on a round-table interview that I attended with Disney animators Michael Surrey and Mark Henn.

As someone who grew up with Disney classics and still loves to re-watch The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, I was immensely excited to meet these two legends. I couldn't believe I listening to Mark Henn, the man who bought Ariel, Belle, Mulan and other Disney princesses to life, talk about supposed skeptics of 2-D traditional animation.

Read on to see what they had to say about animating Disney's first hand-drawn film in 10 years.


Disney’s upcoming The Princess and the Frog marks the studio’s return to traditional hand-drawn animation.

Disney artist Michael Surrey described the creation of the film The Princess and the Frog as being “like a high school reunion” Wednesday in a roundtable interview with press.

Surrey and Mark Henn animated characters for Disney’s upcoming traditionally animated feature film, the first entirely 2-D film to be released by the studio in five years.
Both artists were thrilled to be a part of the revival.

Henn was responsible for bringing animated heroine Tiana to life, drawing from his experience as the animator of other Disney princesses such as The Little Mermaid’s Ariel and Beauty and the Beast’s Belle. Surrey animated Ray, a love-struck Cajun firefly.

Surrey candidly recalled his nervousness when he found out late in an already-hectic production schedule that his character was going to get a song — one of many traditional dance numbers in the film.

Both animators fondly recalled traveling to New Orleans for inspiration, watching their characters’ songs get scored and struggling to return to traditional animation.

“There was still some skepticism,” Henn said about the decision to revive the animated Disney musical tradition. “We just had to get the tables back and stock some paper.”

The studio used scanners and computers to place hand-rendered drawings onto digitally painted backgrounds. Surrey said that Ray’s wings were digitally animated, and that computers were used to help create the illusion that the firefly was hovering.

Henn said that the belief that computer animation is easier or cheaper than traditional animation is a myth, and that computers bring their own unpredictable challenges.

“At worst (with traditional animation), I have my pencil break and I can buy a new pencil,” Henn said with a laugh.

Renegade rock story entertains--Pirate Radio review

Hello folks, I wrote the article below for The Daily Cougar, my university's student-run newspaper.

Pirate Radio is a sidesplitting adventure for rock-loving moviegoers.

This underground sensation sets the scene in the ’60s. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other legendary British rock groups have taken the world by storm, but stodgy British laws limit broadcasts of these groups to one hour per day.

Much to the outrage of prudish government minister Sir Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh), Radio Rock evades British laws by dropping an anchor in international waters and constantly broadcasting rock ‘n’ roll from a boat.

Viewers discover the unforgettable ensemble on the Pirate Radio ship through Carl (Tom Sturridge), an awkward high school dropout who is sent by his mother to Radio Rock’s world of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.

The claim of Carl’s mother that life on the renegade radio station will straighten him out is clearly questionable. When Carl says that his father ran away from his socialite mother before he was born, viewers naturally speculate which of the disc jockeys on the boat is his father.

Before the big reveal, Carl endures several hilarious and unsettling scenes where these unsavory, greasy rock ‘n’ roll legends all act as surrogate father figures.

When Carl falls in love for the first time, Dave (Nick Frost), a portly ladies’ man, tries to set Carl up with random groupies. Sex symbol Gavin (Rhys Ifans) hands Carl a condom, and then helpfully suggests that he washes it out when he’s done so that it can be reused.

The ensemble also includes the fantastically gruff, tell-it-like-it-is rock DJ “The Count” (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom), the scraggly Smooth Bob (Ralph Brown) and several other colorful characters.

Audiences bond with them while watching their airwave antics and heartbreaks, making for an emotional finale when the characters must decide to abandon their dream or fight for the freedom represented by Radio Rock.

While a few gags will test audiences’ patience with the characters’ quirkiness, this carefree period piece will amuse as an ensemble comedy about the timeless battle between artists and those who seek to censor their work.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Students in Houston have few late-night study options

Hello folks, below is an article that I wrote about late-night study spots in Houston for The Daily Cougar, my university's student newspaper.

Our regular food columnist needed a week off, so I dove in to answer a question for many UH students: Where do you go when you have a pile of homework, but just need a break from your dorm room?

The good news is that there are officially fewer than 10 class days left until Thanksgiving break, and the final week of the semester ends one week after that. The bad news is that with the approach of the winter break comes an onslaught of exams, final projects and all-nighters.

When your room won’t do as an all-night study spot, it can help to stretch your legs and keep the coffee flowing at one of downtown’s few restaurants that stay open late.

Midnight

South Shepherd Drive and Richmond Avenue have many late night restaurants with free wireless connections.

This reviewer recommends catching a filling dinner at Freebirds World Burrito, which is open until 11 p.m., and then moving to Amy’s Ice Cream next door until it closes at midnight.

Thanks to great food, friendly employees, free wireless and plenty of places to plug in laptops, these places are superb for late-night procrastinators.

The Teahouse on Shepherd Drive and Westheimer Road offers a metropolitan, if over-crowded, study space. Despite the abrasive neon lighting and rowdy early evening crowds, some students may prefer to keep themselves awake with a cup of bubble tea rather than a caffeine-filled espresso or soda.

Local darling Té House of Tea at Fairview Street and Woodhead Street always has chocolate crepes and teakettles ready for late-night cramming sessions. However, frantic crammers should head elsewhere during their lively Saturday swing dance lessons and popular open mic nights Mondays.

2 a.m.

Agora at 1712 Westheimer Rd. has the best lighting of most Houston late-night eateries.

Rather than the blaring fluorescent lights of certain dives, Agora is well lit by soft candlelight and lamps. With free wireless and several quiet retreats where students can read notes on their laptops for hours, this café is one of Houston’s best late-night study spots.

However, be sure to avoid this place on crowded weekend nights and Wednesday nights when the belly dancers arrive.

All Night

All-night study spots in Houston are hard to come by.

While grabbing snacks at beloved favorites such as Late Nite Pie, Chacho’s, Bebe’s and House of Pies are practically rites of passage for university students, most of these places are crowded with loud clientele by the end of the night, particularly on weekends. These places are engineered to be social spots where friends can gather after a long night of reveling.

However, should your room be completely out of the question as a place to concentrate on your final deadlines, there are two late-night eateries that come to mind.
Katz’s at 616 Westheimer Rd. is usually crowded, but it is one of the few places in Houston that truly never closes. Students who would rather snack than fill themselves with coffee can keep up their energy on a steady diet of fried pickles and cake.

Students should steer clear of the 24-hour Starbucks located at 2521 Post Oak Blvd. in the Galleria area. While this Starbucks does provide comfy couches to sit and drink coffee, this reviewer has never seen the place look less than overwhelmed with procrastinators who all swarmed one of the few 24-hour locations in downtown. Plus, clients have to pay to use the wireless.

Paying to use wireless in a noisy fluorescent-lit room seems like a poor deal when the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library has a 24-hour lobby open with wireless available for free to all students and vending machines full of soda and snacks. As a side note, the entire M.D. Anderson Memorial Library will open its doors all night during finals week.

Surprisingly, finding a cozy study retreat is difficult in Houston. The Heights and Montrose have plenty of undiscovered cafés and nooks that could be great hideaways for students.

The trick is to visit these places after their regular crowd leaves and ask about their schedules to ensure that you don’t attempt to read a week’s worth of homework during an open mic night.

Rabbit Rescuers

Hey folks, I wrote the article below for The Daily Cougar, my university's student newspaper.

I read about Bunny Buddies, a local organization that shelters abandoned pet rabbits, and knew that there was a story here. The plight of these rabbits has really tugged at my heartstrings and I'll be ready to foster one or two after I graduate and move out of my dorm in May 2010.


Bunny Buddies foster owner Carla Porter saw her foster rabbit Waffles go to a permanent home Sunday. Bunny Buddies serves as a shelter and adoption agency for surrendered rabbits in Houston.

Bunny Buddies introduced customers and onlookers to abandoned rabbits Sunday at the River Oaks Petco.

“Rabbits are the third-most popular pet, so they’re the third-most abandoned,” Bunny Buddies Board President Les Wood said.

Wood said that most animal shelters do not have space for small animals. To save abandoned rabbits, Bunny Buddies provides shelter, food, spaying and neutering services, and even temporary foster homes.

Bunny Buddies foster owner Carla Porter provides temporary homes to some of the rabbits in the shelter until they are adopted. Her latest orphan is Waffles, a black rabbit that has been abandoned twice.

“People say, ‘We just didn’t have time’ or they’re moving,” Porter said.

Wood said that the Bunny Buddies shelter and crew of foster owners are at maximum capacity, currently housing 40 surrendered rabbits with more on a waiting list.

However, several people were interested in giving loving homes to the homeless rabbits Sunday.

Ten minutes after the event began, Waffles was adopted by a mother with two little girls.

“Waffles will be their second rabbit. These are experienced rabbit owners,” Porter said as she gave Waffles one final cuddle. “They know what they’re getting into.”
Community junior Olivia Wade came to find a companion to share her new home.

“I used to have (a rabbit) until I moved into the (Moody) Towers,” Wade said. “I want a pet. Something that’s comforting.”

Wood said that many of the people in the organization fell in love with rabbits for their curiosity and individualistic personalities.

“People tend to picture a rabbit in a little cage in the backyard and that’s boring, because the rabbit is probably bored to death. When you bring them inside and start playing with them, you see how they relate to you and their environment,” Wood said.

“They’re extremely curious. Whenever I’m working on something at home, they’re right under foot or under hand, ready to help.”

Wood said that rabbits can be trained, taught their names, and are very fond of stacking toys and food bowls, calling them “little architects.”

“You can’t help but fall in love with them when you find out how intelligent and unique they are,” Wood said.

From 2 to 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of every month, Bunny Buddies brings rabbits in search of new homes to the Petco at 2110 S. Shepherd Dr. from 2-4 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month, the group is at Citizens for Animal Protection at 11925 Katy Fwy.

For more information on the organization and taking care of rabbits, access the Bunny Buddies Web site at www.bunnybuddies.org.