So we've got this DVD from Lions Gate that has a 1975 adaptation of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Chuck Jones, partnered with Yankee Doodle Cricket. Both run 30 minutes. According to IMDb, these were produced for TV. Anyone know anything about 'em? I'm counting the pair as a combined half an entry of TV content, but I'd be interested to know about their original exhibition just for the sake of knowing.

Just finished watching "Bartok The Magnificent" for my Oldest Animation DVD. I don't know when I purchased what, so I just went by the oldest release date of all my Animation DVDs and as far as I can tell that is the oldest. This was the first time I had seen this actually, and I actually quite enjoyed it. It just goes to show how much better a sequel/prequel can be when the original minds are involved.

I've always enjoyed Don Bluth's work and think he's really very underrated as an animator. There's something about his animation that I very much enjoy; it isn't perfect and is sometimes a little rough around the edges, but I think it can go toe-to-toe with it's distinctive and visually pleasing.

Perhaps it's nostalgia, but I think he has a lot of great animation to his name. His songs were never as good or as catchy as the ones in Disney movies (except for "No Cats In America"), but he created great characters and had some heartwarming stories that were a lot of fun to watch unfold, even if at times they were a bit predictable.

The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go To Heaven are still my favourites though.

There are very few "official" NC-17 films of any genre, let alone animation. The Challenge checklists have always been very forgiving in these rating categories, allowing you to use titles like SP and TA:WP, as long as you watch the unedited versions that would have been NC-17. There are no other options afaik.
I remember them as TV specials, and am especially fond of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a favorite as a kid.

South Park wasn't ever NC-17, at least as far as I can tell since wikipedia is the only source for that.

You can count Team America since it originally was NC-17, according to imdb, before it was edited to an R. So if you watch the unrated version, you can count it.

I actually organized my room/collection/closet this summer before the challenge, so a lot of stuff that would have been the hardest to reach in my collection is not readily accessible.

So for that part of the checklist I watched Futurama: Volume One, Disc One. I actually have the complete series of Futurama in three different forms. The first is the original individual volume releases from back in the day along with the movies in the cardboard packages; the second is the complete series in the Bender Head; the third is the recent re-releases in the Viva Packaging.

The discs in Futurama: The Complete Series in the Bender Head are probably the hardest to reach part of my collection; I have Bender's Head in the original box in my closet behind some other boxes, so to watch the discs I have to move around the boxes, remove the Futurama Box, pull out Bender's Head, open the compartment on the back of Bender's Head, and remove the discs, which is a pain.

So there you have it meatbags!

Thanks!

There's plenty of anime from Japan to choose from. Anything by Hayao Miyazaki (PRINCESS MONONOKE) to start with. Or Satoshi Kon (TOKYO GODFATHERS) and Mamoru Oshii (GHOST IN THE SHELL).

Korea has released a few animated titles. I watched MY BEAUTIFUL GIRL MARI to check off the second foreign language on the checklist. WONDERFUL DAYS/SKY BLUE is a Korean sci-fi animated feature that's worth seeing although I'm still looking for a DVD release. Try Taiwan (BUTTERFLY LOVERS), Hong Kong (MY LIFE AS MCDULL) and Mainland China (PRINCESS IRON FAN, UPROAR IN HEAVEN) also.

Some people like whimsical French animation (TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE). I don't.

Mary & Max is a great recent Australian film, but if you're looking to satisfy the foreign language requirement, that one wouldn't work.

There's a peculiar French film which is a collection of animated shorts called Fear[s] Of The Dark. There's a variety of different animation styles used in the film and the animation is very well done, but none of the stories are especially scary. I enjoyed it the first time I watched it, but think I would enjoy it more the second time with my expectations in check (I was expecting something scary).

I've also heard good things about Waltz With Bashir and Persepolis although I've seen neither. I also want to see the Canadian Animation Express, which is a collection of shorts.

I'd also recommend checking out some Miyazaki but would instead suggest Castle In The Sky, Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind, or Spirited Away as a starting point.

I hated Waltz but thought Persepolis was pretty good. In fact, I first watched Persepolis and then Waltz later that day and Waltz just didn't compare.

I'll recommend Barefoot Gen for my recommendation.

Points for creativity?

For foreign language entry:

lol I think it says film for that part of the checklist, but I imagine if you watched a feature-length amount of Swedish Chef segments it would probably count.

Actually, this brings up a question that crossed my mind last night while perusing my iPod. Do music videos count as short films? For instance, I've got the Muppet version of "Bohemian Rhapsody." (Which, incidentally, is hilarious.)

I watched Bohemian Rhapsody earlier and the Swedish Chef one above and marked them down. I mean you're only talking 3-4 minutes of your 90 minute requirement.

Sure.

I'll second the suggestion for MARI. I watched it for the first time over the weekend and really liked it. The animation is often beautiful and the story unfolds at a nice pace. I think it will be worth watching again in the not too distant future. I also remember liking Persepolis when I saw it.

I spent well over an hour Saturday digging down to the lowest level of the farthest corner of the Video Vault (and putting everything back) but the treasure was worth it. I came up with five VHS tapes from the Disney Cartoon Classics Limited Gold Edition Series. Not only were these hardest to reach, but they're also my earliest purchased animation and should fit into one or two other spots on the checklist as well. It was a lot of work moving all those boxes back and forth but it looks like I have a pretty good shot at finishing the checklist.

I enjoyed Persepolis, but I prefer the source material. There were several segments that were either truncated or outright omitted, and while this is perfectly natural for a translation from one medium to another, I found the film lacked some of the heart of the printed page.

Just watched Ralph Bakshi's Wizards. My wife's stepdad gave it to me about a year ago, insisting I would enjoy it. I appreciated the animation, but couldn't have cared less for the story. The premise, in case you're unfamiliar, is that thousands of years after a nuclear holocaust, an evil wizard makes an army of the mutants created by radioactivity and uses film footage of the Nazis (I kid you not) to bolster them into conquest over faeries and elves, and his good twin brother has to stop him.

Not my cup of tea, but at least it met some Animation Challenge checklist criteria and helped reduce the Unwatched Pile. It's noteworthy for being the first time I can think of hearing the word, "slut" in a PG-rated animated feature. (Ah, the 70s!)

No, it was/is all over the internet. Here's something from Entertainment Weekly:

For my second foreign language selection I watched Porco Rosso with the French dub featuring Jean Reno.

So I'm going over last minute preparations to knock out the final 5 or so things on the checklist and am coming down to the wire on foreign language. I have Persepolis at the top of my Netflix queue set to go out today as my first.

However, I also have The Triplets of Belleville in my queue that's been there forever. Question is, would it count for the Foreign Language category? I'm a tad confused by the details on Netflix. It lists several "Foreign Language" awards it has won and lists a Spanish audio track, but other details say it is a silent film. What gives?

I watched Ponyo, which could count but I watched it with the kiddos so I had to watch it in English.

Huh, I couldn't find anything. Guess the unrated one should count.

I don't think it's silent.

I'm correct in assuming that the two non-English films have to be two different languages, right?

Yes.

I think Wizards is on my pile as well but doubt I'll be able to fit it in this round. Kind of makes me think of Heavy Metal, which seems like good background watching that I wouldn't have to pay full attention to.

It's only 80 minutes (including credits), but I have to say I was checking the time at various intervals. There were some seemingly random moments in the third act that forced a change in plot, but I can't say they made any sense. But, then, maybe others will love the whole thing and won't be bothered by these things.