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Author: dronon

Long story short – Animals United (trailer) is a crappily-written CGI movie. Avoid it.

Animals United is the British dub of a 2010 German 3D production, Konferenz der Tiere (Conference of the Animals), based on a 1949 children’s book by Erich Kästner. More accurately, the movie took bits and pieces from the book and ignored the rest. It had been adapted into animation once before, in 1969.

You know you’re in for a bad film when the second conversation involves independently re-inventing the game of golf and has the following dialog: “Yes, but what was that?” – “Only hard-as-a-rock, sun-dried hyena poo-poo.” Sadly, this becomes relevant later on.

Basic story: African savanna. The annual flood hasn’t shown up, everyone needs water, so Billy the meerkat risks venturing into the Valley of Death and discovers a giant man-made dam that’s trapped the water for an artificial lake and luxury hotel. He’s joined by his friend Socrates the lion and a gang of other animals not native to Africa.

They disrupt a human conference on climate change and run for it, hunted by an evil human (creatively named… Hunter), and aided by the hotel’s resident chimpanzee. Everyone escapes except the lion, who gets locked up. Returning to the savanna, they rally the other animals together, return to the dam, create some chaos to rescue Socrates, and break down the dam due to luck and narrative convenience. Dance party. The animals then travel to America to make mankind aware of their plight. The end. (Plus some extra scenes during the credits.)

It’s horribly written and badly paced. There aren’t any really good jokes in it, save for some predictable gags when the lion explores the hotel gym. It’s all downhill from there, not that there’s much of a slope to begin with; I doubt even little kids would enjoy this crap. The characters are pretty one-dimensional and the schtick gets tired fast. The giraffe obsessing over her appearance. The swishy monkey hairstylist. The capitalist human hotel owner and his voice-of-reason kid. The revolutionary French rooster who gets far too much screen-time. The Tasmanian devil who explosively farts a huge noxious cloud of green gas out of multiple orifices – which, I gotta tell ya, fails to increase in hilarity each time he does it.

This is the kind of movie where you feel compelled to shout at its stupidity. If the savanna animals have never heard of humans before, how come they know how to sing “Splish Splash” and “King of the Road”? What kind of lion parents would name their cubs “Socrates” and “Mambo”? What ocean course does a floating bathtub take in order to pick up animals from Australia, the Arctic and the Galápagos, to eventually land in Africa? How does Hunter teleport from the top of the dam to the other side of the valley, driving a jeep? Why would a hotel own a biplane equipped with a missile? Where’d that motorboat come from?? If your token child character is supposed to be wiser than the adults, why would she think it’s safe to pet or release a caged lion?! If you’re going to build a giant hydroelectric dam to generate electricity, why aren’t you running water though it?!? MALE KANGAROOS DO NOT HAVE A POUCH!!

(Deep breaths) On top of this, it’s hitting you over the head with environmentalist themes with less subtlety than a Miyazaki film. Especially the tortoises, who have to point out just how bad humans are to the planet, which takes four-and-a-half grinding minutes.

Now comes the difficult part of this review: Can anything positive be said about the film? Well, except for the kangaroo’s buzz-cut, pouch and floppy ears, I thought that visually-speaking, the character designs were good. Some models were obviously overused, like the cape buffaloes and rhinoceros. But if you’re a lion or meerkat fan who needs online user icons, you might be able to snag some from this film. Particularly if you need a meerkat with a good cartoony expression of panic.

Despite trying to tempt audiences with known British entertainers, the voice-acting is pretty dull. Because the film was originally in German, the speech doesn’t always sync up properly. The main character, Billy the meerkat, is voiced by James Corden. Unfortunately, because Billy is a scatterbrain, Corden can’t deliver lines with gravitas, and ends up sounding like a high-pitched cartoony goof.

The only attempt at depth is a shallow side-plot involving Billy’s son being teased because of his dad’s uncharacteristic dark fur color. Billy’s unreliability ends up with him being told off by his own son. (“You’re not my father anymore.”)

Socrates the lion is far more interesting as a character, and is voiced by Stephen Fry, so he sounds great! Unfortunately he’s the most lazy lion imaginable, so his plot potential is handicapped right from the start. For the second half of the film he’s largely absent due to being locked up. Still, he’s the smartest character in the whole thing (relatively speaking); we get to see flashbacks from his younger days, and he has the odd quirk of being a vegetarian. I wish the film had done more with him!

Overall, this movie isn’t worth bothering with. In furry circles, it might be useful at a furmeet, if only as something to play in the background with the sound turned off. If the meet’s energy is low, or if some folks are shy, or if you don’t want the TV used for something else, Animals United can serve as a momentary distraction without being engaging enough to prevent people socializing.

There are lots of films like this; Alpha and Omega, Roadside Romeo, The Missing Lynx, Animalympics… not good enough to really entertain, but not bad enough that they can’t lend a little silent background atmosphere to a gathering. That’s about as good as it gets sometimes

Seat of your pants, high flying podcast action! This week on Knotcast we're all a bit tired. But the show must go on after last weeks episode was eaten. We get some followups to emails from 144, read a couple AC con reports, and Fuzz shares a bit of his own AC experiences. We also tell haters what they can do. Hint: It involves rakes. This weeks music break is WWU Piano Cover by Bucktown Tiger http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6030838 Use our coupon code 'knot' at AdamEve.com for a great deal, and help the podcast in the process! Episode 145 - Anthrocon Adventures

submitted by AirGuiTaR
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submitted by PolitelyDeclined
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For Immediate Release
For further info, contact Max West, i...@sunnyvillestories.com
SMALL PRESS COMIC WITH BIG EMOTION
Unparalleled creator continues comics series with jaw-dropping story
From the mind of artistic genius Max West comes the next installment
of his top-notch independent comics series, Sunnyville Stories.

We’re back from our little break, and we’ve got a great show for you today! Two on-topic e-mails and one update on a story arc that has spanned nearly the entire length of this podcast, plus more! Cookies, terrifying mothers, oranges, mind control, and a report from Istanbul about Anthrocon! Give this one a listen to hear Kyo finally lose it and squirm like a fish out of water!

Next week’s episode is about how you interact with the fandom. Are you a writer, an artist, a musician? Do you host websites, attend conventions, critique, or just bask in the glory that is the furry community as a whole and partake of its bounty? Write in, we want to hear from you!

Twitter: fuzzylogiccast
FA: fuzzylogicpodcast
E-mail: fuzzy.logic.podcast@gmail.com

Episode 9 – The Foodening

Episode 9 – The Foodening - We’re back from our little break, and we’ve got a great show for you today! Two on-topic e-mails and one update on a story arc that has spanned nearly the entire length of this podcast, plus more! Cookies, terrify[...]

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http://www.gamespot.com/news/6321076/solatorobo-hunting-ds-this-fall

Anyone play Tail Concerto? This successor to the RPG is heading to the DS in September. Tail Concerto and Solatorobo: Red The Hunter are action games about anthropomorphic dogs/cats in mech robots.

(better main character image here: http://n2s.altervista.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/solatorobo__sorekara_coda_wall_2.jpg)

/r/furrygaming?''

edit: tons of concept art here: http://gigazine.net/news/20101009_solatorobo/

Looks a lot like a Miyazaki movie.

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To promote the hit series "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", the
Hub Network produced this video, "Equestria Girls".
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Also
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In what is being called the largest wildlife embezzlement scheme in more than 40 years, Department of Interior employee Stephen Kendrick, 48, was caught Monday diverting large sums of wolves from Yellowstone National Park into an offshore Cayman Islands reserve. "We initially became suspicious when we noticed an unusually large surplus of elk this year," said Jon Jarvis, director of the National Park Service. "After a closer look, it was clear someone was skimming wolves off the top. We should have known. On his salary there was no way he could have that many wolves." This is the largest wildlife misappropriation in the United States since 1968, when the FBI closed down several Chicago pet stores that had illegally obtained more than 300,000 cottontail rabbits in the nation's biggest-ever bunny laundering scam.

06/30/2011
By: Trashville

July 2011

Cooling things down in muggy July is The Karelia Fursuits all the way from Denmark. This builder is just starting out in the business and is on the way to creating a distinguished position in the Fandom. The Karelia is the likely to be one of the only Danish builders, and subsequently the country does not seem to have much of a furry scene. Eufuria, one of Denmark’s furry conventions (aside from Furstastic, debuting this year in Northern Denmark), has been cancelled until 2012, and The Karelia Fursuits is keeping the Danish branch of the Fandom alive. Scandinavian furs, listen up!

Briefly describe your history in the furry fandom.
I have for several years been a furry, and felt that I needed to go further with this passion for everything furry. It mostly started,
through my art (I have made art my entire life, and I´ve always prefered to draw animals/furries )
When I learned more about the entire furry-culture, I really knew that this was something for me. Fursuiting gives you so much,
(destressing, having fun, being social, etc) and that really gave me the motivation to go fursuit myself, and build fursuits
for others so they could enjoy as much as I do. In Denmark(where I live) fursuiting is still not well-known, and we aren´t many (yet).
It it my biggest dream, to help spread the love for furries/fursuiting in Denmark, and to help more and more become a part of this.

When did you build your first costume and what was it?
My first real fursuit was “Albastru the Blue Leopard”. It was my first time making a successful fursuit, that not only I enjoyed,
but others did too. And it´s now been sold to a friend of mine. ( http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5744640/ )
I built my first fursuit around 7-months ago. So I still have a LOT to learn

How many fursuits have you been paid to build?
1 so far. And I now have a commission on a partial suit, + paws for a panther suit. I am really greateful that others wants my work ^^

What is your construction method of choice (i.e heads)?
That depends on what it´s going to be. I prefer to make a base of foam, and build from that.

What is your average price range?
I try yo make is a cheap/reasonable as possible. I am not a pro, but by getting more and more commissions, I´ll learn more, and improve,
and hopefully become a well-known builder. My prices depends on the materials, and a small payment for my worktime. A partial suit
is around 400$ and up. (Depends on the materials of course! ^^)

Who was your favorite to build?
That´ll be either be my new character “Pochi” or “Tux the Dog” (which was made for my boyfriend)

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5975284/

What makes you unique as a builder and why should people choose you?
Hmm, the unique thing is, that all my suits are very different from each other. I try to give each character a great personality,
and give it a very unique design. I don´t use the same base/design for the characters. That way, it´ll help me keep them different.
Why people should choose me? If they want to get a very personal suit, and help a new builder, then they should pick me All the support
I´ve gotten so far has been a great help, and the interest my works get, really helps me keep the motivation to work hard! It it my greatest
dream to see someone outside of Denmark use my suits. Knowing that others can enjoy what I´ve made, is really special!

Answers posted with the permission of The Karelia Fursuits

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/thekareliafursuits/

http://www.thekarelia.deviantart.com/

http://eufuria.org/

http://www.furtastic.dk/

Author: Wired Magazine
It’s a question that tends to arise when a neighborhood mutt sees a cat at 3 a.m., or if you live in an apartment above someone who leaves their small, yapping dog alone all day: Why do dogs bark so much?

Perhaps because humans designed them that way.

Find the full article here: furryne.ws | Published News

i made an entry for "zenwolf" on the wikifur thingy!
yay! i think its fairly neutral...just the facts.
<nods>

*against* the furry lifestyle? what a load of shit. first; *is* there a
"furry" lifestyle. thats as lame as saying theres a "gay" lifestyle.
by lumping people into groups one creates a false dichotomy. its a sign
of lazy mindedness. really, prove that i am in fact "against" this
alleged "lifestyle".

Here’s a useful link we stumbled across: Lindsay Cibos (one of the creators of the Ursa Major Award winning book Draw Furries, along with Jared Hodges) has put together a list of  36 “Graphic Novels with Animal Protagonists” using Amazon.com’s “Listmania” service. Some of the items she listed are well-known already of course — Mice Templar, Blacksad, Gon, Mouse Guard, and so forth, but she also listed several that we haven’t heard of around here before, like Chi’s Sweet Home, My Cat Loki, and Seekers: Toklo’s Story. You can check out the list here, or visit Lindsay and Jared’s web site here. Here’s your homework assignment: What other cool furry-themed graphic novels can you think of?

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Need techincal help? Have questions about the site? Email admin[AT]gamingfurever.com or PM JoJoJoshua.

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Most other questions can be answered at the GF Wiki or by creating a thread in the Suggestion Box or Bug Reporting/Help forum.

 

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