Black Comic Books Day: New York Edition Black Indy Artists Hue-Man Bookstore & Café In Harlem Saturday, February 19th, 2011 (2PM - 4PM)

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Reference Links:
Black Comix.com: Black Comic Books Day: New York Edition

Hue-Man Bookstore & Café Official Website:
huemanbookstore.com

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Film Trailer For "Chico & Rita" An Animated Musical Feature Set In 1948 From Havana, Cuba To New York, Paris, Hollywood & Las Vegas

Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment. From Havana to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas, two passionate individuals battle impossible odds to unite in music and love.

THE BOONDOCKS (Animated TV Series)3rd And FINAL Season Trailer

WOW! Final season of Boondocks! It seems a lot of folks are shocked by the news of what will ultimately be a short lived tv series.

A lot of interesting images in the trailer. Personally, I would love to see Gangsta-licious (the homosexual "DL" character voiced brilliantly by actor/rapper Mos Def) come back for a third season (maybe he will), but I didn't see him in the trailer. And I've always, ALWAYS, wanted to see Huey's best friend (from the daily comic strip when it was running in national newspapers) Ceaser who is so qool with his lox.

In any event, though I LOVE the trailer, I, as always, have issues with rappers and their foul language and the use of the "N" word. Anyway, it is what it is, and because it's Boondocks the trailer gets a skate into Nubian Knights Network.



The trailer may get taken down from YouTube, so if you don't see it below you know why.

Kirikou And The Wild Beast (2005) Re-Released On DVD With English Subtitles

Hey Black Family,

I absolutely LOVE the character KIRIKOU because he's a tough, tough little brutha who has heart!! And funny, too!! A definite inspiration for the African Diaspora when you see him in action.

I originally found out or stumbled onto Kirikou when I was looking at a BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) flyer and saw an animated thumbnail of Kirikou. I thought to myself "Oh, this is interesting. An African animated character as a protagonist". So, I decided to go check it and was pleasantly and thoroughly superposed by this gem that I saw. ANd I actually took it to an ADODI summer retreat to show it as part of the ADODI Film Fest that I created and curated some years and t went over very well. Bruthaz responded to the film very favorably. Kirikou is accessible for kids and equally for adults, too!! Trust me!

As a Black kid growing up in NYC during the 1970s and looking at Saturday morning cartoons religiously, I noticed there were very, very few cartoon characters that looked like me or had my dark skin complexion. The only Black characters that come to mind off the top of my head as I type this are Mighty Man from Mighty Man and Yukk and Black Vulcan (pictured to the right here with his qool, qool costume) from the Super Friends tv series. And there was the qool super villain the Moon Man from The New Adventures of Batman cartoon series.

Anyway, the original all French version of Kirikou et les betes sauvages (translates in English to Kirikou And The Wild Beast [2005]) that I currently own on DVD is French spoken and has French subtitles. This version was released by Alliance Atlantic Vivia Films/Remstar and has a running time of 75 minutes.

Even though I couldn't understand what the characters were saying I could still pretty much follow the storyline and what was going on. Because I'm a big Kirikou fan it didn't stop me from buying this version; most English speaking people probably would not have bought this DVD.

Now, Kirikou And The Wild Beast (2005) has been re-released on DVD by Kino Films which is still spoken in French, however, this version accompanies English subtitles with a running time of 95 minutes; that's 20 minutes longer!!! The aspect ratio is 1.85:1 and enhanced for 16:9 television monitors.

You can pick up a copy of Kirikou And The Wild Beast at
Amazon.com for $22.49
DeepDiscount.com for $11.99

I just placed an order with Deep Discount (can't knock their excellent price point) who is a reputable e-commerce website. I have been ordering from them for about 9 years now so they are trustworthy. They also offer FREE shipping as one of their 4 methods of shipment.

The above prices are subject to change / fluctuate at anytime.

NOTE: Parental guidance for children viewing is suggested.Women are shown in traditional attire (sarongs only) and children wear no clothing. I personally don't think it's a big deal for children to see at all (even if I had children), and one has to realize this particular film art is not rooted in American traditions of western values (aka Disney films); but, hey, everybody is different, so just giving you a heads up.

Also, below is a 10 minute clip so you can get a feel for the film. I LOVE Kirikou! You go boy!

African CG (Computer Genereted) Animation: The Zambezia Trailer And The Khumba Trailer

Hey Black Family,

WHOOOOAAA! I have to share this with y'all!

Embedded below are promo trailers to two African CG (Computer Generated) animation films produced by Triggerfish Animation called Zambezia and Khumba. I tell you... just watching these trailers just brought out the inner child in me so much. I haven't been this HAPPY about watching something from the animation genre since I discovered Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998) and the sequel Kirikou And The Wild Beast (2005) a few years ago.

These new, Zambezia and Khukma, that I discovered via ShadowandAct.com (my one and only favorite film website that I LOVE to visit for it's African Diasporic appeal) are examples of everything Hollywood is NOT in terms of ethnic and cultural diversity. In other words, these films are un-American and have their own flava which is so refreshing and needed!!! Though I will say I did enjoy the Hollywood made Madagascar series of animation films, but though they have some Afrocentricity to it (some settings in Africa and the characters are voiced by some African-American talent such as Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett-Smith), they're really dumbed-down Afrocentric presentations which is not surprising as they need to appeal to a white audience; they can't be TOO ETHNIC or TOO BLACK, know what I mean??? The Madagascar series short films are qool, but they don't hold a candle to the Kirikou films or these two new African gems.

Anyway, you can check out the clips below FIRST (both trailers run about 8 or 9 minutes total) and then you can head over to ShdaowandAct.com and read the whole backstory. Both Zambezia and Khumba are due for release in 2011.

Wheeeeeeeee! Qoolness!... just the little boy in me!

ME (Little ROD) Back In The Day


Zambezia Synopsis:

On the edge of an enormous waterfall, in the heart of Africa, lies the bird city of Zambezia. Famous for its impregnable defenses against egg predators, it has become the breeding sanctuary for birds from throughout the river valley. With half of its massive Baobab shell gone, Zambezia City is the ultimate tree house, humming with birds on every level, from its roots at the base, to the platforms high in the leafy tops.

Aero, a young Taita Falcon from a remote outpost, is the protagonist of the story. He dreams of flying on the prestigious River Watch. When Aero’s father is captured by the treacherous Marabous, he is forced to abandon his outpost and flee to Zambezia. However, Aero soon finds himself at the centre of a deadly plot concocted by the Marabous – who have joined forces with giant, egg-eating lizards – to overthrow Zambezia and return things back to “every bird for himself”. If Aero is to save Zambezia, he will have to learn that not all battles are won with fast and fancy flying.

Website: zambeziamovie.com

Zambezia from Triggerfish Animation on Vimeo.

Khumba, Synopsis:

Khumba, the story of a half-striped zebra, born into an insular, isolated herd obsessed with stripes. Rumors that the strange foal is cursed spread and, before long, he is blamed for the drought that sets in. When his father, the leader of the herd, blames him for the lack of rain and the subsequent death of his mother, the outcast zebra leaves the confines of his home knowing that he cannot survive in the herd without all his stripes.

Khumba Trailer




Sopo (short film)
A Triggerish Film Project

Black Panther Animated TV Series A Marvel Comics Superhero Coming To BET Starring Kerry Washington, Alfre Woodard, Jill Scott & Djimon Hounsou

ShadowandAct.com
On Media Of The African Diaspora – Emphasis On Cinema
By Tambay, on January 26th, 2010

From my inbox… As was announced last year, Reginald Hudlin, & BET Networks have been working on bringing the Marvel Comics’ Black Panther superhero series to your TV screens.

Eight episodes have apparently already been produced, and begun airing last week in Australia. Is there a strong Black Panther following amongst Australians that I’m just not aware of?

No word on when the series will come to the USA, but I’d guess it’ll be very soon.

Below are the opening credits to the cartoon series which features the voice talents of Kerry Washington, Alfre Woodard, Jill Scott and Djimon Hounsou as T’Challa, the Black Panther.

Black Panther Animated Intro


ALSO,
Black Panther Animated Series: 2 Minute Sneak Preview