Cartoons

"Kirikou and the Sorceress" (1998) Michel Ocelot's splendid animated feature tells a sensual, guilt-free fairy tale — a West African fable about the power of original innocence. A tiny baby boy named Kirikou pushes himself out of his mother at birth and rarely stops moving until he defeats the sorceress Karaba, who has laid waste to his village. Most of Kirikou's powers are simple, not super: the bravery of someone who doesn't know his limits, the forceful logic of untainted intelligence, a knack for healing rather than for revenge.

We are appalled at the KAL cartoon published in The Sun on Sunday, April 14. Dr. Ben Carson is a man to be admired, not criticized. He apologized to the gay community for his unfortunate remarks. We need more men like Dr. Carson in this world. He'd definitely have our votes, should he decide to run for any political office. Ronald and Vivian Fortner Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

The promoters of the flip, zesty, 94-minute anthology known only as The Animation Show promise, in their ads, "additional films and surprises." That might be a sure-fire marketing tool in a town overflowing with cartoon geeks, but in most cities they'd be better off letting their sleekest, blackest cat out of the bag. Tim Burton's oft-celebrated, rarely seen 1982 short Vincent is this show's chief "surprise." Though it runs a mere six minutes, it's enough to restore faith in Burton's talents after his herky-jerky Planet of the Apes.

The March 28 edition of the Howard County Times had an editorial concerning the General Assembly's increase in the gas tax. It was noted that the Transportation Trust Fund's "lockbox" isn't very securely locked. The accompanying editorial cartoon indicated that the Times believes that diversion of funds from the lockbox is a question of "when," not "if. " One wonders how long it will before elected officials propose non-transportation use of the funds. Let's see - that would be immediately after passing the bill.

From: Roy ShattGlen BurnieI have been an avid fan of Rob Snyder's cartoons for some time now and would like to commend him on his outstanding work.Every Sunday morning, I flip to the center of the Anne Arundel County Sun first, to see who or what is the subject of his satire.His cartoons are not only humorous but insightful, giving a unique perspective to the current events of our county. They have lent themselves to discussions with our neighbors, family and friends on the current affairs ofAnne Arundel County, as almost never a Sunday goes by without someone saying, "Did you see Snyder's cartoon this morning?"

One of the best things about Cibo Matto's debut album, "Viva! La Woman," is the way it conjures a whole world of people and emotions through its inventive use of sound.Working with a small group of musicians and a whole lot of technology, the duo -- singer Miho Hatori and keyboardist Yuka Honda -- have created one of the coziest and most entertaining havens to be found on disc. From wispy puffs of synthesizer to clanking electronic percussion to whispered trumpet obbligati, the instruments combine in every way imaginable, turning the album into a sort of aural smorgasbord.

LOS ANGELES -- Marvel Productions will produce cartoons for movie theaters that will be shown prior to Twentieth Century Fox releases, the two companies said.The studio said that the cartoons, to be called "Fox Toons," should be ready for Fox summer movies in 1991.The studio's deal with Marvel follows a similar effort by Walt Disney Co., which has packaged Roger Rabbit cartoons with "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and "Dick Tracy."The company did not say how many cartoons Marvel will produce. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Fox said that it will retain rights to the cartoons after Marvel delivers them.

WASHINGTON -- Americans are thoroughly comfortable with what we know well, such as in thinking that the enlightened West basks in the doctrine of free speech while pious Muslims condemn hate-filled cartoons with violent demonstrations. In our post-9/11 world, all is well. But something is amiss. As a person of faith, I found the cartoons published by the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten to be racist, base and grossly offensive. I was again distressed by the level to which anti-Islamic dogma has grown, and kept asking myself the same questions: Why did this paper publish these vile cartoons, and why did some Muslims respond with disturbing violence?

Let us not dwell on the question of whether the Baltimore Museum of Art ought to bring in an exhibit of animated cartoons for 12 weeks, because the answer -- no! -- is simply too obvious. Let us instead consider "That's all Folks!: Bugs Bunny and Friends Present the Art of Animation" (through Aug. 25) strictly on its own terms.Much has been written about the creativity and ingenuity of the Warner Bros. cartoons of the 1930s to the 1960s, the subject of this sprawling show. Steve Schneider, author of the catalog and brochure which accompany it, credits Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones and the other creators of Warner cartoons with giving their works a brashness, irreverence, topicality and sheer speed -- and their characters a multidimensionality -- missing in other products.

PARIS -- French and German newspapers republished caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad yesterday in what they called a defense of freedom of expression, sparking fresh anger among Muslims. The drawings have divided opinion within Europe and the Middle East since a Danish newspaper first printed them in September. Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet to prevent idolatry. The cartoons include an image of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb and another portraying him holding a sword.

The editorial cartoon in the Jan. 24 editor of the Columbia Flier, "Tuning up Symphony Woods," makes no clear statement, except one against its quality. The being pictured "tuning up" a music note lacks any features identifying as a creature of this planet. Its face lacks a mouth, eye or nose. It seems to be the end result of a gorilla-rat love affair. The unidentified species seems to be using a tuning fork to tune the contents of a musical note. This does not portray any coherent message at all. Is the Arts District trying to make all trees in Symphony Woods be in tune?

A daddy blogger wrote this month that the Halloween video "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" should be retired from viewing by this generation of kids because its title character is bullied and harassed throughout. Charlie Brown's friends call him a blockhead, and even the adults are mean to him - while the other kids get candy in their treat bags, Charlie Brown gets rocks. "My boys are 5 and 2. Young kids," said Buzz Bishop, the writer behind DadCamp on Babble.com . "They're at the age where words like "stupid" and "dumb" are as bad as a four letter word that rhymes with fire truck.

Cortly "C.D. " Witherspoon, a Baltimore minister and activist, has been scoping out convenience stores that sell products such as "Scooby Snax. " The glossy package features a picture of a dazed-looking cartoon character, Scooby Doo. A sticker advises that the contents have a blueberry flavor, though the package contains dried herbs, not candy. The minister's mission has been to get such products out of the hands of Baltimore's youth, who are smoking the stuff in hopes of getting high.

Publishing KAL's most recent cartoon was in very poor taste. He singles out both Joe Paterno and the Catholic church for ridicule in the same breath. Unless he had somehow shown the entire Penn State community collectively, he was way off base. The Catholic Church collectively is not at fault for the sins of a minuscule few, and of course the same can be said for Penn State. Richard L. Lelonek, Baltimore

Cartoonist Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher's highly-slanted cartoon about the economy got the causes of the ballooning deficit and financial collapse all wrong (June 3). The second panel should have shown Bush giving the Democratic-controlled Congress in 2007 - two years before Barack Obama became president - a Dow that closed at 12,621.77, a GDP growth of 3.5 percent and a 4.6 percent unemployment rate. At that time there had been 52 straight months of job growth. You can thank Democrats Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd for the meltdown starting with upward of $5 trillion in toxic loans being dumped on the economy.

I just decided I don't like the Orioles new smiling bird on their hats. It's a smiley cartoon bird face for kids only. The team wants to look and play tough, be grown-up. But their symbol is a laughable beakface. Let's name the Bird "Smiley. " George J. Samuels

PHILADELPHIA -- The uproar in the Islamic world over Danish cartoons lampooning the prophet Mohammed reminds us that much of that world misunderstands what democracy means. A Danish newspaper published the 12 cartoons in September. One showed the prophet with a turban made of explosives; in another, he greets a line of suicide bombers in heaven with the words, "Stop, stop, we have run out of virgins." The drawings have inspired protests from Muslim presidents, Arab boycotts of Danish goods, Pakistani demonstrations that torched the Danish flag and calls by Gaza imams to sever the hands of the artists.

The Orioles break out the cartoon bird logo, and all of a sudden they're unbeatable. Coincidence? Well, yeah, almost certainly so. But it's hard to deny there are some good vibes reverberating through the city right now. Camden Yards has a new rooftop bar in center field, that adorable grinning bird is everywhere you look, and the team actually appears competitive. Think back to 1997, when the Denver Broncos changed their logo and uniforms. The next thing you knew, John Elway was windmilling into the end zone in the first of two Super Bowl victories.

Glenn's cartoon needs a caption. That's where you come in. Send us your wryest one-liner for a chance to win a copy of the cartoon and see your caption printed in a future edition. E-mail your submission to lastlaugh@patuxent.com by April 12. Remember to include your name, address and phone number. On April 16, finalists will be posted on our website, www.HowardMagazine.com, where readers can cast a vote for their favorite until April 23. A winner will be named in the June issue.