![]() In this cartoon, Ralph transforms his classroom into an imaginary arena of action and adventure, driving his teacher to distraction in the process. So many aspects of the designs that I did drew upon his stylings." Betty in many ways captures the spirit of Chuck Jones' famous daydreamer Ralph Phillips, who starred in the 1954 Academy Award-nominated short From A to Z-Z-Z-Z. We really wanted to use the Chuck Jones timing and we wanted to get a touch of anime, at least as far as the pacing during the action sequences." Casalese agreed: "I was heavily influenced by Chuck Jones. One of our goals is to stay true to the 'classic' style of animation while combining it with today's sensibilities. We all brainstormed the specific details and the final colors. Eventually we decided on the basic character we now have."Īccording to Bentley, "At Atomic we try and develop our shows in an open, 'everybody throw out some ideas' kind of environment. Mauro initially sketched out a few designs and Rob threw a few in there as well. After the initial style of character was set, Mauro and Rob did the bulk of the character design. All four of us worked in a developmental capacity on Betty. As I remember it, Rob coined the name - it was a reference to a surfer/mountain biker term for a girl who tears it up. The concepts for the overall idea behind the show developed quickly. "We were still at our old space when Rob (Davies) and Mauro (Casalese) first came up with the concept to do a show about a little bundle of energy. ![]() "The first drawings of Betty were done in mid-2000," recalls co-creator Trevor Bentley. The conquest began soon after Atomic Cartoons was established. Co-founder Olaf Miller informed Playback magazine (4/5/99) that, "The goal of the shop is to move into the proprietary production arena, developing shows for other studios and developing its own concepts." Here were new worlds - and galaxies - to conquer. The Atomic team also launched a popular series of Web Cartoons, Dog in a Box With Two Wheels (which initially premiered on the Honkworm entertainment Website). In less than a year the young studio turned out pre-production on over 100 hours of TV animation including work on Milo's Great Adventure, Edd, Ed, 'n' Eddy, and Courage the Cowardly Dog. In February of 1999, Casalese, Miller, Bentley and Davies founded Atomic Cartoons in Vancouver, British Columbia, and by mid-2000, Atomic was one of Canada's busiest animation studios, providing services to such prestigious clients as Film Roman, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Among other projects, the foursome worked up the online series Space Cadets for Studio B Productions. Mauro Casalese, Olaf Miller, Trevor Bentley and Emmy Award-winner Rob Davies spent their formative years working their way through various jobs at Warner, Disney, Nelvana and DIC. If young Betty is a dreamer, she follows in the footsteps of her creators. Commander-in-Chief Admiral Degill of the Galactic Council must depend on Betty and crew to defend 4556.33 worlds against evil menaces such as Supreme Emperor I-Q of Lynxia - well, at least until Betty's curfew kicks in. She may spend her time lost in daydreams or the pages of a sci-fi novel, but whenever galactic peace is threatened she answers the call as - Atomic Betty! Rocketing through the universe in her star cruiser "Blinky," Betty, along with her companions Sparky the Martian and her faithful Robot X-5, fight for justice. ![]() "Intergalactic Rocket Jockey" and "Legendary Defender of the Universe" might not seem like titles one would pin on a small, red-haired moppet from Maple Street, but this sweet little girl is not what she seems. A superhero for our times: Betty as dreamy student by day Defender of Justice against all evil until bedtime. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |