Remember ‘Habbosodes?’ These 3-minute linear animated shorts were discussed here in April and July of last year. Assembled by some of the best animation studios in the world, these shorts were commissioned by Habbo Hotel, a massive online community created by Sulake Labs.

Neptoon Studios, fronted by Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton, have released a sneak preview of their Flash-animated short. Great stuff, guys! Discuss in the message boards.

If this is all sounding a bit confusing, watch this short clip below of a Habbo community in action.

Back in February, you might have spotted a post here about ‘Camp TV,’ a new Flash-animated series from the creators of ’6teen.’ The project has officially borne fruit, and they’ve also got a new title – ‘Total Drama Island.’

The talented folks at Neptoon Studios, which is headed up by Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton, recently posted a link to their animated promo.

With artists like Jared Deal and Joel Trussell on board, it’s no wonder this thing looks and moves so well.

Next up – 26 episodes for Teletoon, due out in 2007. Production starts in June.

The creators of 6teen, the Canadian show that recently sold to Nickelodeon, have begun working on their next project. Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch of Fresh Animation have created a new project called ‘Camp TV,’ and they’ve put their project in the capable hands of Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton at Neptoon Studios. It’s being billed as a reality show send-up that dumps a group of teens at a dingy camp in Canada.

Joining Todd and Mark on this Flash-animated project are some big names in the Flash community, including Jared Deal and Joel Trussell, the man behind the amazing ‘War Photographer’ video.

They’re producing a 2-minute promo, and then Todd and Mark will stay on to direct 26 episodes for Teletoon. Follow the production over at the Neptoon Studios blog – great looking stuff, guys.

Last week I posted the first half of my interview with Joey So and Todd Kauffman, creators of ‘Sidekick,’ which is currently running on YTV’s Funpak block.

AS: What, if any, advancements would you like to see in the next version of Flash?

TK: Quite honestly, I love Flash the way it is – it’s so intuitive. But if I had to suggest something, it would be better editing capabilities. I animated and edited the 30 second opening for “The 9th Life of Sherman Phelps” and found that he program could only handle the 30 seconds and not much more before crashing…but that could be the fault of my limited understanding of Flash.

JS: I would like to see more animator friendly tools. They could improve the way the swfs export so that they are more suited to broadcast standards rather than just for web. The biggest one, being able to edit symbols that have been flopped! (editor’s note: to see the list of all lists pertaining to this topic, check out Eddie and Lili’s Fwak blog)

AS: What animation DVDs have you two recently been watching?

TK: ‘Strawberry Shortcake,’Barbie’ (any incarnation), ‘Care Bears‘ and just about anything with a pink theme. What can I say, I have two little girls. When I do get a chance I love to throw in one of my many unwatched DVD’s and put on the commentary. Nothing better than getting the directors point of view while your watching his or her vision unfold right before your eyes…it’s brilliant.

JS: ‘Iron Giant’ and ‘The Incredibles.’

AS: Would you say that TV animation is on an upswing, or a slide?
TK: Upswing for sure. You’ll always have the classics in one edited version or another. Then there’s the old favorites being reincarnated for new generations to enjoy and the shows we all loved as kids being brought back with a fresh more relative twist.

And now we’ve got great programs like Flash in the hands of the creators, giving them the freedom to create as they see fit, no holds barred…it can only get better…right? Well I’m an optimist. Let a kid dream.

JS: I think there is always a place for animation on TV in some shape or form. It’s hard to define upswings and downswings when you are in the middle of it. I really try to not worry about that too much and focus on doing good work.

AS: Do you two watch any web-based Flash shows?

TK: Not as much as I would like to. I have caught a couple that I really enjoyed, ‘Making Fiends,’ ‘Happy Tree Friends,’ ‘Homestar Runner.’ Stuff like that is just silly and cracks me up to no end.

JS: Not too much. I try to catch shorter stuff that floats around but I don’t actively seek it out.

AS: If you could pick one animated show to remake in your vision, what would it be?
TK: Oh boy! I’d love to take shot at Rankin/Bass’“The New Adventures of Pinocchio”. That creepy little show was one of my absolute favorite shows as a kid. I also wouldn’t mind playing around with H.R. Pufnstuf.

JS: Transformers. I’m a sucker for the half hour commercial format.

AS: What’s the trick to pitching a show?
TK: Confidence, humor…and oh yeah…a kick ass idea that you’ve convinced them audiences can’t live without. Be sure of yourself but be flexible and open to suggestions. Remember people like to feel like they are participating in the creative process.

JS: Lying. Try to lie as much as possible, promise the moon and figure out how to do it later.

AS: What materials do you guys usually bring to your pitch meetings?

TK: I’ll bring everything I’ve created for the project to the pitch session. I won’t necessarily show all of it – I don’t want to overwhelm them with content. I let the flow of the session dictate the amount of content I offer. If they seem receptive to the idea they’ll want to see more…and I’ll be prepared. Most likely they’ll suggest the type and quantity of materials they would like to see.

JS: (I bring the) standard stuff, like bibles and various development art to really sell the idea.

AS: What’s next for you guys?
TK: Keep pitching till something sticks.

JS: I’m currently animating on ‘Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Kids’ which airs on Nick Jr.

AS: Well that it, guys. Thanks for the great interview!

Now check out clips from ‘Sidekick,’ which is currently airing on YTV’s Funpak block. And don’t forget to visit the site and vote!

Next time you’re stuck in traffic with your carpool buddy, get a pen ready – your next big illumination might be only a few lights ahead. Joey So and Todd Kauffman’s rideshare brainstorming ended up paving the way to a side-splitting new Flash-animated series on YTV’s Funpak block. It’s called ‘Sidekick,’ a series of 5 shorts chronicling the adventures of Eric Needles, a sidekick in search of his superhero. It’s half insanity, half laughs and a whole lotta fun. So buckle up and settle in for a short trip to the minds behind ‘Sidekick.’

AARON SIMPSON: When did you two first team up?

JOEY SO: We were (at Sheridan College) together and we’ve been at the same studio for the last couple of years.

TODD KAUFFMAN: We’d commute together from Oakville, Ontario to Toronto. We’d share a lot of ideas during the drive and we found that our humor really complimented one another. I guess it was a partnership just waiting to happen.

AS: How did the idea of ‘Sidekick’ first arise?
TK: I actually take time to just sit and think of scenarios for pitches. I had this rough premise floating around in my head for quite some time. It wasn’t until I brought it to Joey that it started to take shape. We worked out all the bugs together, making sure there was proper character development, fleshing out premises for series ideas, creating the backdrop they would be living in and such.

JS: Todd came by with a little doodle on a post it note. He asked me if I wanted to partner up and develop and pitch this idea. I agreed only if there wasn’t going to be too much work. Little did I know…

AS: How many episodes have been produced so far?
TK: To date, there are five shorts completed with many other premises we didn’t have the budget to develop further.

AS: Who designed the characters in ‘Sidekick? ‘
TK: I designed the characters and took care of animation direction.

AS: Had you two worked with Flash before teaming up on ‘Sidekick?’
TK: I was just wrapping up on my first Flash show, Nelvana’s ‘Jacob Two-Two’ doing character design when I started on ‘Sidekick.’ I believe Joey was supervising on his first Flash show as well – Nelvana’s ‘Max and Ruby.’

JS: I was the designer for Max and Ruby. It was designed and animated in Flash with imported Photoshop painted BG’s.

AS: Your series is peppered with Mr. T jokes and references to 70s David Bowie songs. Are you two intentionally trying to pull in an adult audience alongside their kids?
TK: Most definitely, you really have to take it down a few notches when you write for a younger audience. I had a great time trying to find interesting ways to skirt around the more adult themed subject matter but my sense of humor is more geared for nonsensical primetime fair and I find that I’m more comfortable not having to censor myself.

JS: Yes, we were. Also kids are way smarter than people give them credit for. I don’t think any of the jokes will be lost on them.

AS: Was ‘Sidekick’ always planned as a Flash production?

TK: As far as I knew, the original mandate of the company was to do these shorts exclusively in Flash – for budgetary reasons. It wasn’t until later that I discovered this to be false and that we could’ve done our show in a numbers of ways. Joey and I decided to stay with Flash and keep it in-house for quicker quality control throughout the project.

JS: Yes, with our experience in Flash previously it was the natural and economic choice.

AS: How big was your animation team, and how long were you in production?
TK: Our team was bare bones. A small group of incredibly devoted and talented friends who tirelessly worked around the clock for eight months – not taking into account all the pre-production Joey and I did.

AS: What other software did your team use to create the shorts?
TK: Our art director, Don Gauthier used Photoshop to paint the backgrounds for ‘Sidekick’ and later would convert them to PNG’s which would be imported into Flash and used to flesh out the world our characters call Splitzville.

Check back soon for part 2 of my interview with Joey So and Todd Kauffman, the creators of ‘Sidekick,’ playing on YTV’s Funpak block. And in the meantime, enjoy these episode clips.