fun on mars

[GaryW48]

Sally, thank YOU for allowing this and other videos to be on YouTube. I am not sure, but I always thought the male singer on the video was Rudy Vallee when he was doing his radio show on NBC back in the 1930's. Anyway, the reason why I remember Fun On Mars being on Nickelodeon was that I worked there for awhile at thier transmission uplink in Buffalo, NY. It was used as a filler between programs as back in 80-81 Nickelodeon never ran commercial advertising; but had the mime doing the ID's too.

[laughingsal]

@GaryW48 interesting about Nickelodeon- and the mime! It was Buddy Rogers singing but sounds as if you know that.

[GaryW48]

I remember this!!! It was seen on the original Nickelodeon Childrens Channel back around 1980-1981. Thank you so very much for having made this video over 30+ years ago.

[laughingsal]

@GaryW48 thanks for remembering!

[StormsongK]

Just discovered the other piece of music in this film...Duke Ellington's "The Mooche". Stumbled across it in John Barry's soundtrack from "The Cotton Club".  "I know this!" I thought. Then I realized I preferred the up-tempo (probably sped up) version that starts this off.

Thanks again, Sally, for indelibly etching this in my memories.

[laughingsal]

@StormsongK looking back on it now it was kind of brazen of me to speed up Duke Ellington's "The Mooche" . Thanks for the comment!

[wallofvideo]

i see the influence of busby berkeley @0:06-0:13, 3:15-3:23, &4:09-4:14

[mutantchaos]

beautiful coloring and line work! great advice in the comments too, as a reflective and amorphous person I appreciate someone willing to use the web for mentor-ship!!

[laughingsal]

@mutantchaos thank you!

[TheGameboy1997]

WTF was that!!!

[laughingsal]

the more the merrier!

[DONshomerol]

This video is really good. I have to show it to my friends

[laughingsal]

Dragonholder, there's nothing wrong with starting out with a look that resembles someone else's. Even Robert Crumb started out imitating funny animal comics of the 50's. What changes things is working hard and trying to express something that's specifically you, the soul element, which in turn will also change the look as you keep going along. Or you can try wacky things like drawing everything upside down, just to shake loose a little. Good Luck.

[dragonholder411]

Man, I wish i was as creative as you are. I'm creative, but I have issues being orignal or coming up with my own stuff. I love the Tim Burton style artwork, so that's what I'm trying for, but it's only coming off as twists of his artwork. Do you have any ideas or tips for ways to help me get more creative? What was some stuff you would do? I'd greatly appericate it if you'd help me out, thank you. :)

[laughingsal]

thanks johnroders!

[johnroders]

I love your cartoons

[RealitysTyranny]

I love it!

[jesusmarianstjoseph]

dude, so delightful!

[StormsongK]

I first saw this on HBO when they used to run shorts, way back in the early 80's. I used to sing this all the time after I saw it. I thought it was the most peculiar thing I'd ever seen, but in a good way. Nice to see it again after all these years.

[laughingsal]

I loved reading your comment.

[woofer0doofer]

OF COURSE she followed through this is Sally Cruikshank she has a CV and a wikipedia article and smith is a booshie college for elite young ladies who the phu*k are you??? /jackarm slap

[fredthefrowner]

SWEET LORD! You made this!! I remember seeing this on PBS right before I went to animation school. I am SO glad that I stumbled upon your channel! Your style helped me see past standard issue animation styles.

[laughingsal]

that's really neat. keep on frownin!

[abcdiu]

this is very good, it have all the elements of an excelent art animation.. i would like to do things like this.. i have a lot of good ideas... but i have no idea how to do a simple animation...

[davidswubc]

This is an excellent animated short. It would be interesting to see it on Turner Classic Movies!

[laughingsal]

As funky animation becomes more high style, my early work becomes more acceptable!

[laughingsal]

? yes I followed through- just look at all the animation on my youtube channel. Smith College is in Northampton, Ma. I just took a couple of courses one semester at SFAI.

[TetrisPilot]

This makes me want to cry. But I have no idea why.

[laughingsal]

It's probably the combo of the lovely tenor voice and the orchestra behind him.

[bananiel]

I used to draw similar duck drawings when I was stoned. I'm not saying you must have been stoned, but it does not seem far fetched either.

[laughingsal]

Not stoned, that's the truth. But lately I've been wondering if a badly administered anesthetic during dental surgery, when I was a child, may be behind all of this!

[OtherBrother09]

I wish Mars was this much fun, instead of being a giant red rocky desert. Oh well. Beautiful landscape colors - are they watercolor?

[laughingsal]

Interesting question about the watercolor. Art stores used to see art dyes in little bottles with rubber capped eye droppers. I think they were called Dr. Martin's inks. Just googled and they're still in business.  The colors could be used as watercolors and were supremely intense.

[OtherBrother09]

The intensity shows.

[OffWhiteCow]

Sally Cruikshank rocks! I like the way that you don't hold back. or force being original. This lack of inhibition makes for natural and (su)real originality. We all have it, but you've embraced it. This is the only thing that's keeping me in commission at the moment

[laughingsal]

Hi OffWhiteCow. What a great screen name, and a wonderful comment that you posted. I've been thinking lately that the comments I've gotten on youtube make me very lucky indeed. Never made much money from my work, but reading comments like yours is its own success.

[Selinawoman]

I had typos!

OMG! can you forgive?

S

[laughingsal]

Hands off the keyboard! Right now!

[Selinawoman]

Yes! Hahahaha! I have the best toes!

[xagcx]

I could swear I saw this on television long ago!

[laughingsal]

you may have seen it on tv-- it was licensed a couple of times.

[GaryW48]

@xagcx Nickelodeon 1980-81.

[labmue]

beaituful

[laughingsal]

tanks

[doctorkazoo]

I just came back to watch this again on a dreary, gray, Thursday afternoon. This insane excursion into extreme weirdness never gets old! I feel so inspired now! WONDERFUL!

[laughingsal]

you make me feel young again!

[doctorkazoo]

Thanks but with THAT type of imagination you're young forever.

[HalieHomicide1]

puhahahhah XD ill deff try that ;D

i wish it were that easy lol.

[laughingsal]

So do I!

[HalieHomicide1]

laughingsal? can you PLEASE answer this??

How do you make a animated film?im really intrested in this department.

[laughingsal]

Get one of those usb cords- put one end in your ear, the other end in the computer, close your eyes and think REALLY WEIRD THOUGHTS.

[SIMPFANN]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if that really worked?

[trog1212]

I haven't seen this is 25 years!

They used shorts as filler on the PBS station after Dr. Who. There are a few others that I'm still hunting:

> The gods give man fire and he destroys the world ("Next time we give fire to the woman!")

> A little boy imagining all sorts of terrible things in his room (such as a pendulum!)

> The Banana Boat song ("I don't like spiders, man!")

> A stick figure running from a spider-like doodle, saved by the film breaking?

Anybody know where to find these? TIA:)

[steveasat2]

@trog1212

Those shorts you desribe are "Hot Stuff" by Zlatko Grgic, "Good Grief" by Mike Jittlov, "The Calypso Singer" by Paul Glickman, and...hmm, kinda sounds like Alan Becker's "Animator Vs. Animation", but that's pretty recent. All excellent pieces, but "Fun On Mars" has them beat by a mile in the fun department. Also the Mars department.

[trog1212]

@steveasat2 Thanks! I've since found 3 out of 4 on YouTube, but not the last one (I searched "Kick Me" as suggested below).

I thought of a couple more seventies or early eighties shorts, thought I'd see if it rang a bell with you or anyone else:

> The story of Prometheus

> A primitive man is kept captive in a cave, and the only sights he ever knows or sees, are shadow puppets performed by his captor(s).

These were both more on the "educational" side, I guess, but I thought I'd ask! :)

[trog1212]

@trog1212 Answering half of my own question: "Plato - The Allegory of the Cave"

[djtide]

that was great:) are those duck martians?

[djtide]

n/m i read the info on the side. nevertheless great video:)

[laughingsal]

yes, ducks on mars.

[laughingsal]

People assume if you show an unusual imagination you must be on drugs. Wrong.

[laughingsal]

or one other option: buying the dvd from me the artist! (shameless sal) Thanks for your nice comments. Most artists are scared of putting their work on youtube but I am glad to get a new audience.

[Hachachachachacha]

Sally, every time i cross paths with something you've done it continues to amaze me

[laughingsal]

thanks, hacha...- I really enjoyed exploring your favorite videos.

[galador42]

How did this end up on Nickelodeon? I've spent years looking for that song and finally found and fell in love with the original Maurice Chevalier version. This is wonderful!

[laughingsal]

I'm hoping Nickelodeon paid me, but in the 16mm days distributors were going belly up before the residuals ever got distributed. Maurice Chevalier does a great version of the song, yes.

[LukeWehner]

Sally's take on classic Tex Avery style cartoons!

[laughingsal]

hi khrysserx-- thanks!

[khrysserx]

wonderful, sally - i just got back from vacation and checked to see if there was anything new. i saw this at a talk/screening you gave back in the early 80's, and had forgotten it! thank you so much for uploading it.

charles 'buddy' rogers was great in 'wings'!

[quartzy]

This is retro in the best possible way.

[laughingsal]

Thanks!

[LoveTHYconan]

this is great! and i love the music! :D

but does my brain decieve me? or is that captian kirk at 00:26?

[laughingsal]

It's Harold Lloyd, in a worked over image.

[doctorkazoo]

Strange and beautiful! Thank you SO much!

[laughingsal]

Thanks, marazm1, when I come back from vacation in three weeks, I'll try to remember to do that. Right now I'm pretty busy getting ready, and it takes quite a few steps to put these things on youtube>After Effects for edit, then Windows Movie Maker to shrink file size.

[marazm1]

is this the first film that started the whole duck obsession :)

[laughingsal]

I made one before called, hmm, "DUCKY"! It's very primitive.

[marazm1]

please do upload it! :)

[mllequinn]

awesome! I love the music and the "tourists" are hilarious