Archive for the ‘anthropomorphic’ category

Furries, International!

July 19, 2012

– – The furry movement is sweeping Mexico…well, perhaps not sweeping, and I don’t mean cleaning the streets, but at least gaining followers.  While certainly not every fan is a fursuiter,  one Mexican notes that “When I have the suit on I feel like I can do things I otherwise wouldn’t.  I can be friendlier, more affectionate.  I think people think its more acceptable like this than if I didn’t have the costume on.” 

We note this here because the furry fandom boasts an international following that may conservatively be estimated to be in the thousands.  While this blog is not exclusively furry, it does aspire to draw furries, as well as those interested in animal influences in popular culture and scientific or speculative information related to animals.  Something that always awes me in examining the demographics of this blog is that we draw readers from around the world!  While the majority of our readers do hail from the United States, we regularly draw viewers as well from the United Kingdom, India, Canada, Poland…fully 14 countries other than the U.S. as of yesterday!- –Yay!  We must be serving some interests and purpose here, and when I figure out what it is, I’ll pass the information on.

Anyways, the presence of each and every one of you is welcome and appreciated!  <group hug>

Ted, the Movie…

June 19, 2012

– – Imagine your favorite plush childhood companion coming to life and maturing with you into adulthood, and you have the premise for Ted, a live action/CG movie written, directed, and produced by Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame.  Ted the bear is voiced by MacFarlane himself, and sounds much like his Peter Griffin character would sound like if reincarnated as a teddy bear.  Ted, however, is both outrageous and foul-mouthed; this is not a movie for the kiddies!  Ted is rated “R” for language and content.

Problems arise when the 35-year-old bear owner played by Mark Wahlberg becomes serious with his girlfriend, causing the man to have to wrestle with the consequences of his childhood wish as the bear refuses to leave his side.  The trash-talking furry is coming from Universal Pictures June 29th…

“Touchdown” Snackin’ With Sasquatch Commercial…

June 15, 2012

– – In the past,  Jack Links Beef Jerky has regaled us with commercials featuring the legendary cryptid Sasquatch (aka, “Bigfoot”) in the “Messin’ With Sasquatch” series.  A common theme of these was jerky eaters  pulling sophomoric pranks on the big guy, for which the jokers would receive well-deserved and usually physical retaliation.  They’re still making these spots, as in one where the classic “snakes in a can” prank is pulled on Sasquatch; he retaliates by throwing an enormous real snake through the window of their camper in a clear case of what goes around, comes around!

Additionally, Carmichael Lynch now has a new “Snackin’ With Sasquatch” campaign out in which the former tormentors are now making nice with Sasquatch but still getting their lumps.  In the “Touchdown” spot, Sasquatch is actually sitting on a couch in the living room of two apparently twenty-something guys who are watching the big game.  When a touchdown occurs, the two guys enthusiastically jump to their feet and give a “bro” hug to one another.  Caught up in the spirit, the towering Sasquatch grabs one of the two guys and hoists him up; too bad that the ceiling isn’t high enough to accomodate this gesture!- – Feed your wild side!

The Gecko and Looney Tunes…

June 13, 2012

– – In a recent series of Geico commercials, the gecko is traveling across America, his journey leading him in this installment to the American Southwest where he runs across two iconic figures from the Looney Tunes world, none other than Wile E. Coyote  (Super Genius!) and The Road Runner.  An anvil impacts with the Earth first, embedding itself deeply, followed by a piano…then the Road Runner himself screeches to a brief halt by the gecko, but obviously soon must be off, leaving the gecko to consider the meaning of, “Meep meep!”   Wile E. Coyote follows, and we are privy to his thoughts where he envisions the gecko as dinner…

…but not to worry!  A large safe smashes down on top of the coyote, the brand on such product being, of course, “Acme”…and the gecko is again free to continue his journey, pondering “What a strange place!” as he walks off. – – It’s all vintage Chuck Jones stuff in this worthy crossover effort!

Jack and Foxy on Frontier Airlines…

May 25, 2012

– – The course of true love did never run smooth, especially if your intended is of a different species than yourself, and a predator to your prey.  Such is an on-going story on Frontier Airlines ads, where Jack the rabbit has been hitting unsuccessfully on Foxy the fox.  In an offering airing recently, Jack asks other “spokesanimals” what his breath smells like (answer:  carrots…”Good, that’s what I was going for!,” responds Jack), and then inquires of the winsome vixen if she’d like to have dinner with a rabbit…

…”No,” replies the red fox, “I’d like to have a rabbit for dinner!”

“Waiter, check please!,” reconsiders the hapless rabbit…

FedEx’s “Enchanted Forest!”

May 22, 2012

– – The Enchanted Forest as envisioned by Psyop in a recent commercial is a wondrous place indeed, filled with sprites, smiling trees, and a variety of dancing, costumed anthropomorphic animals.  There’s even a fox, a remarkably tall and slender specimen wearing shorts and a top hat!  It’s essentially an environmental plug for FedEx clad as a fairy tale, and when those conventions are stripped away, we’re then left with electric trucks, recycled shipping materials, and lower-emission planes as FedEx’s contribution to the environment. 

The spot is 80% live action and 20% CGI at the onset, with an actual forest having been filmed in Washington state on the northern Pacific Coast.  The look is magical but not overly cartoonish, with a sing-songy soundtrack composed by a musical collective called Human which would be “perfectly at home in a 1950’s-era animated film,” according to the spot’s Senior Creative Director/Copywriter.  The animated characters are all fully CGI, and a wealth of fine detail may be seen in successive viewings of the spot, such as the fox character modestly covering himself when his outfit is taken away…

MiO “Croc Block” Commercial…

May 12, 2012

– – In yet another MiO Energy Drink commercial staged at the legendary Watering Hole bar, we are shown a lemur trying to make time with the giraffe girl previously seen in another commercial of the series.  With the world’s worst timing, the lemur’s efforts are ruined by the unwelcome intrusion of the hapless, unlucky-in-love crocodile character, who ruins the set-up by commenting that he thought he smelled the lemur in there, and asking the primate if he’s still living with his parents

…”You just totally croc-blocked me!,” complains the irate lemur.  “Oh!,” responds the clueless crocodile, who upon close inspection may be seen to be wearing a Lacoste shirt!  I live for stuff like that…sad, isn’t it?

MiO “Naked Mole Rat…”

May 10, 2012

– – I, for one, prefer not to see naked mole rats, especially when they’re in an obvious state of intoxication.  Strange sights are known to appear with some regularity at the Watering Hole, however, a bar or pub frequented by anthropomorphic animals in a series of MiO Energy Drink commercials.  

In this brief segment, previously-seen Rhino and Zebra characters are discussing how convenient the small water additives are to carry anywhere when the mole rat appears, naked but with certain mole rat, err, parts tastefully pixillated out.  The mole rat slides up onto the bar, wearing a checked hat and little red sneakers, and proceeds to shake his booty.  Where does the mole rat carry his MiO, asks the Zebra…the Rhino prefers not to think about it.- -One can hardly blame him!  Other characters from previous episodes such as the Cheetah are seen in the background…

Dairy Queen Bears…

May 5, 2012

– – Bears are sociable, party animals who enjoy indulging in a good Dairy Queen Blizzard…or so we might think from a DQ commercial which opens with a kid’s softball team called (- -what else?) the Bears who are in celebratory mode at a Dairy Queen following an apparent team victory.  They hold aloft a trophy in testimonial to this, and moments later we are shown a trio of bears who are likewise indulging in the same treat…

…these bears, however, effortlessly hold aloft a uniformed officer who had apparently been sent to seek them out! 

Animals Come to Hijack Family!

April 24, 2012

 – – It must be the Couch Potato family!   Dad’s vegged out watching the tube, Mom’s pecking away at a laptop, Junior’s playing a handheld video game, and Sis appears to be texting when the doorbell rings repeatedly…finally, the door is pushed down and off its hinges by a group of marauding animals that appear to include a bear, a raccoon, a porcupine, and a wild turkey!  The humans are herded into a van apparently driven by a wolf,  taken to a pristine forest, and released…and then it’s family quality time!  The family goes wading in a stream, examines a salamander, and grows bigger by walking through the trees…they are unplugged!

It’s a short video created by Turbine for the US Forest Service!