Lord of the 'Boards

Just a quick post to flag up this little gem on ex-DiC Get Along Gang storyboarder Jim Smith's blog. No not the big bloke with the axe and a slight anger management problem, brilliant though it is. Scroll down a bit... no just a bit further... there, yes that one. (Phew! You readers are such hard work at times.* )

It looks to be from "Get Along Gang Minus One"**, where Bingo "Bet it All" Beaver finds out he's moving house but can't convince his buddies that this time it's the truth and not just another scam...



*Yes, both of you.
**If anyone knows different feel free to comment.

Five Things I Hate About the G.A.G. Pilot Episode

I agree with the majority, that Nelvana generally did a great job of animating The Get Along Gang TV special. However, there are still a few elements of it I'm glad DiC didn't use in the series proper:

1. Your mileage may vary over DiC's Montgomery Moose but at least he didn't sound like Foghorn Leghorn. On Helium.

2. Making Leland Lizard part chameleon was a cool idea. Making him more irritating than Scrappy Doo, Jar Jar Binks, PeeWee Herman and a ton of itching powder combined? Not so much. That trilling, gargling sound he makes instead of actually speaking doesn't help...

3. Bingo "bet it all" Beaver. Yes, its the voice again. Nails down a blackboard or rusty gate hinge? You be the judge.

4. We're the Get Along choir, hi how are you
enjoying the show?, now it's our job to
Add a totally unnecessary running commentary
to what's happening on screen
despite the fact that you can see

It perfectly well, thanks all the same
and by about now we really can't blame
You for getting mad and wishing that we'd fall under a bus
'cause there's few things quite so grating
as intrusive voice-overs

5."Bing bang bong..." No, Dotty Dog, that's just rubbish. Here, take this stack of foolscap and a biro and write out "I will not make cheers that suck harder than a bagpipe powered vacuum cleaner.", twenty thousand times. Then go stand in the Naughty Corner, next to the person who did the voice casting.

The Traducers

A common charge brought against characters like "The Get Along Gang", is that they preach "The Complainer is always Wrong, the Group is Always Right" thanks largely to the screen/comic writing colossus and generally decent bloke that is Mark Evanier posting this and this on his website.

Alas most, if not all online talk about the show seems to be dominated by those keen to brag about how "individualistic" they are and how resistant they were to the programme's alleged message. None appear to have taken Evanier's advice about thinking for yourself and not always doing what everyone else is doing just because everyone else is doing it.

Here's a mad idea, instead of following the herd and blindly parrotting someone else's opinion of the cartoon, why don't all you "individualists" out there check out a few episodes for yourselves and form your own!

Nobody's Fool

Paul Newman, 1925-2008

Let's De-Motivate!

Find more here , including the above, and make your own at Despair.com .

Stuffed

Partly inspired by Cornelia Parker's "Breathless" .

Toy Time

When I was sick and lay abed
I had two pillows at my head
And all my toys beside me lay
To keep me happy all the day

Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 - 1894


Ilkley Toy Museum