He’s one of those names that’s been popping up on screens for a good long while now, but he’s probably most familiar to you as the composer who has most successfully continued the Carl Stalling style through such looney animated offerings as Tiny Toons Adventures for Warner Bros, and the Roger Rabbit Maroon Cartoons and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, among others, for Disney. In our continuing efforts to highlight not only the latest titles but some of those older ones that are still worth seeking out, Jeremie Noyer today speaks with composer Bruce Broughton about his most recent project, the 2006 DisneyToons midquel Bambi II, perhaps the apex of what was achieved at this much-derided direct to video camp, but whose artists were coming on in leaps and bounds and should have, by rights, been given the chance to prove themselves on their own original feature project.

Ho-hum, that never happened, but whatever one’s thoughts on the many follow-ups and spin-offs to emerge from the unit, the fair case is that a handful of gems may well survive longer than some of us! Bambi II, while ultimately un-needed or requested, of course, is actually one of those films that came out and surprised us, and was easily the most handsome of DisneyToons’ films to stand up to the feature qualities of Disney animation. There are still copies of the film to be found out there, and perhaps Jeremie’s discussion with Mr Broughton and my original review of Bambi II may persuade you to seek one out!

Coming more up to date, Rand’s flown in again with another in our occasional Hi-Def Toons reviews, looking at Warner’s recent superhero animation, Justice League: New Frontier. Rand’s appreciation for the title is apparent in his original DVD review, but his latest take, this time on the Blu-ray Disc issue, will be interesting reading for those wanting to find out if traditional animation really can look better in high-definition, and if the upgrade in equipment equals the upgrade in quality. Going by Rand’s comments, it seems it is, so in a word…yes!

Also new to the site today is our latest giveaway, for Tom & Jerry Tales Volume 4, the latest collection of recently animated television shorts that brings Hanna-Barbera’s cat and mouse back to the screen.

Good luck, have a great weekend, and stay tooned! – Ben.