Portal:Animation

The Kwik-E-Mart is a fictional chain of convenience stores in the animated television series The Simpsons. It is a parody of American convenience store chains, like 7-Eleven and Circle K and represents many myths and stereotypes of them. It is notorious for its high prices and the poor quality of its merchandise. The operator of the Springfield branch is an Indian-American named Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. It was first seen in the episode "The Telltale Head" and since become a common setting in several episodes. In July 2007, eleven 7-Eleven locations in the United States and one in Canada were transformed into Kwik-E-Marts as part of a special promotion for the The Simpsons Movie. For a limited time, 7-Elevens across North America also sold various Simpsons products, such as "Squishees", "Buzz Cola" and "Krusty-Os cereal". Also in 2007, a gift stores named the "Kwik-E-Mart" was opened in Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, where they will be a companion to the upcoming "The Simpsons Ride".

• ... that the French animated film The Summit of the Gods is based on a Japanese manga series?
• ... that although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
• ... that the Tuca & Bertie episode "The Jelly Lakes" employs a paper-cutout animation that helps to depict abuse in a way that centers the victim's story?
• ... that Paul Dini was a writer for both the animated television series Batman: The Animated Series and the video game series Batman: Arkham?
• ... that, for the animated film Us Again, director and writer Zach Parrish considered a video of an elderly couple dancing to be visceral and ideal inspiration?
• ... that Raoul Servais invented a new technique for combining animation and live action for his short film Harpya?

Steven Ross Purcell (born 1961) is an American cartoonist, animator and game designer. He is most widely known as the creator of Sam & Max, an independent comic book series about a pair of anthropomorphic animal vigilantes and private investigators, for which Purcell received an Eisner Award in 2007. The series has since grown to incorporate an animated television series and several video games. He performed freelance work for Marvel Comics and Fishwrap Productions before publishing his first Sam & Max comic in 1987. Purcell was hired by LucasArts as an artist and animator in 1988, working on several titles within the company's adventure games era. Purcell collaborated with Nelvana to create a Sam & Max television series in 1997, and briefly worked as an animator for Industrial Light & Magic after leaving LucasArts. He is currently employed in the story development department at Pixar. His main work for the animation studio has been with the 2006 film Cars and spin-off materials such as shorts and video games. Despite his employment with Pixar, Purcell has continued to work with comic books and came together with Telltale Games in 2005 to bring about new series of Sam & Max video games.

The first season of the animated comedy series Family Guy aired on Fox from January 31, 1999, to May 16, 1999, and consisted of seven episodes. The series also aired on Fox Family on January 5, 2000 to February 16, 2000. The show features the voices of series creator Seth MacFarlane (pictured), Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Lacey Chabert in the roles of the Griffin family. The executive producers for the first season were David Zuckerman and MacFarlane. The series premiere, "Death Has a Shadow", was broadcast directly after Super Bowl XXXIII and was watched by 22.01 million viewers. The series received praise from most critics, particularly "I Never Met the Dead Man" and "Brian: Portrait of a Dog". However some critics disliked the themes of the episodes. The Volume One DVD box set, including all seven episodes and the second season, was released in Region 1 on April 15, 2003, Region 2 on November 12, 2001 and Region 4 on October 20, 2003. The series has since been released in syndication.

• ...that the first Filipino full-length animated film, Adarna, was created by Gerry Garcia in the late 1990s?
• ...that American voice actors "kept slipping into a Jamaican accent" when voicing Malaysian characters in Kampung Boy?
• ...that Bruce Timm, the producer of the animated film adaptation Batman: Year One, said that adapting the comic story arc was straightforward since the original story was already cinematic?

Films released

• 1925 - Felix the Cat Trips thru Toyland (United States)
• 1926 - Alice's Monkey Business (United States)
• 1940 - Window Cleaners (United States)
• 1940 - Popeye Meets William Tell (United States)
• 1941 - All This and Rabbit Stew (United States)
• 1941 - Notes to You (United States)
• 1946 - Lighthouse Keeping (United States)
• 1952 - Rabbit Seasoning (United States)
• 1969 - Injun Trouble, the final original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, ending a run which had lasted since 1930.

Television series and specials

• 1997 - X-Men: The Animated Series, an American animated television series based on Marvel Comics superhero X-Men finishes airing on Fox Kids
• 2003 - Lilo & Stitch: The Series, an American animated television series begins airing on Disney Channel

Births

• 1920 - Jay Ward, American animator (d. 1989)