The new Arj and Poopy episode has arrived! We’ve been sitting here by our computer ever since Congo Windfall (which took 7th in the Flash Animation 10) released, and our wait has finally ended. Episode 11, titled Poetreet, was written by comedian/actor Arj Barker (who plays Dave on Flight of the Conchords) and directed and animated by ex-Disney feature animator Bernard Derriman, who has been interviewed here not once (in 2005), but twice (again in 2008). Derriman, who has used Flash a great deal in the past, created this episode using Toon Boom. Lastly – Adam Phillips helped out with the lighting and Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille) provided the voice of the street poet.

Want more? Then pick-up a “What will they do next?” t-shirt over at the Arj and Poopy store.

The 2007 Flashforward Film Festival winners were announced last Wednesday night, and a couple familiar faces took home rubber arrows. Bernard Derriman’s Arj & Poopy episode Congo Windfall took home the top prize in the Cartoon category, while Laith Bahrani snagged the trophy in the Art category for his Flash-animated music video Creep. The final award given that night was the audience choice, which went to Adam Phillips, for his innovative 30 Shorts in 30 Days project. Phillips is no stranger to Flashforward rubber arrows, having won in 2003, 2005 and twice in 2006. Below are some clips from the event:

Thanks to Lynda, Toby and Christoph for the invite. I had a blast. And congrats to all the nominees.All three of these artists above have been interviewed here at CHF:

Bernard Derriman
Adam Phillips
Laith Bahrani

Arj and Poopy are back! In this 10th episode, Congo Windfall, Arj finds himself in receipt of an incredible offer from a mysterious source. We also get to meet the latest edition to the Arj and Poopy cast – Bouncy the Dog. Bouncy is a neighbor in Arj’s building, and his voice might just sound familiar. Bouncy is played by Johnny Brennan, one half of The Jerky Boys, who has also worked his way into the cast of Family Guy.

But hold onto your hats – there’s a musical surprise in Congo Windfall that contains some of the most likable animation I’ve seen in a long time. Bernard Derriman, the animator and co-creator of the series, displays the animation skills that landed him a gig at Disneytoon Studios Australia many years back.

Derriman has been logging the production on the Arj and Poopy blog, where you’ll find his write-ups on storyboarding, backgrounds and the voice records. For more on Derriman and his illustrious career, head over to the 2-part CHF interview.

Congratulations to Bernard Derriman, whose film ‘Unlucky in Love,’ took home the Netsurfers Award. The short is part of Bernard’s series called ‘Arj and Poopy.’ The short was written by Bernard’s US-based partner Arj Barker, a comedian who will be appearing on ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ later this month.

Last year, Bernard also walked home with the Netsurfers Award for a previous episode of ‘Arj and Poopy’ – ‘Long Distance Relationship.’

CHF interviewed Bernard back in August of last year, and the Flash-animated nominees were catalogued in a post from last month.

The 2006 Annecy International Animated Film Festival announced their selections last month. For those not familiar with Annecy, it’s the world’s biggest and some say best animation festival, held over 6 days in Annecy, France. One of the things I like about the festival is that their selection of nominees is large and diverse.

This year, the ‘Internet Films’ category boasted several Flash-animated shorts, including some surely familiar to those frequenting this site. The category is split in two – ‘Short Films for Internet’ and ‘Series for Internet.’ My personal selections are below, but please visit the site to see them all.

SHORT FILMS FOR INTERNET

‘2-0-5: A JibJab Year in Review,’ is a short I have a personal bent towards as I work at JibJab, but it’s also a tight, vibrant satire. As with most of JibJab’s shorts, this one was made by a small handful of people, but mostly Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, the founders of JibJab.

‘Bendito Machine’ is one of a couple films in the category focusing on our capacity for hate and war. This 4:30 minute Flash-animated short is animated in silhouette, and it appears as if Jossie Malis did almost all of the work here. ‘Bendito’ is out of Spain, and is credited to a studio called Zumbakamera.

‘La mia migliore amica’ or ‘My Best Friend,’ hails from Italy, and was directed by Stefano Buonamico. The film centers on a Pakistani girl in a refuge camp, and her friendship with someone more fortunate. It appears as if the film was created for the humanitarian organization in Rome known as Medici Senza Frontiere. It was produced by a studio named Gordo, who animated ‘The Tribe,’ which is also well worth watching. Make sure you select your language preference before the movie starts, as they offer subtitles.

‘Le due cose preferite dagli esseri umani’ or ‘Two Things Human Beings Really Love to Do,’ also takes on the topic of war, and this time from the perspective of an alien race. I’d say this film is the most uniquely animated short in the selection, with bouncy scene builds and transitions, and the most engaging subtitles I’ve ever watched. Audio plays such a big role here, and I really enjoyed the sound effects and alien language. Luca Frattini, an Italian, directed, wrote and animated the short.

‘Sad Dog’ is a short Flash-animated film out of the Netherlands, created by ckoe. It’s a melancholic story about a misunderstood dog who loves birds.

I’m happy to see ‘The Mustache Contest,’ amongst the choices for this year’s festival. I really enjoyed this short, and wrote it up back in February. It’s a 4 minute film about a group of sea creatures who decide to have a mustache growing contest. It’s the creation of Mike Hollingsworth and Brittney Crump, and I really feel this one could easily slip into a long-running series.

SERIES FOR INTERNET

Adam Phillips is nominated at Annecy for ‘littleFoot,’ and I just heard from him that he’s going to the event. He’s up against a fellow Australian and good friend Bernard Derriman, who is nominated for his Arj and Poopy short ‘Unlucky in Love.’ Bernard was nominated last year for his music video ‘Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me,’ and he won the Netsurfers Award for another Arj and Poopy film ‘Long Distance Relationship.’ Good luck guys!

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite online. Head over to the Annecy website and mark your selection for the best Internet short before June 9th. The winners will be announced on June 10th.