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Historical debates

The Review: Part III

Your rating: None Average: 3 (12 votes)

Zootopia_logo.png So, okay, there's a dozen or so iconic movies out there that furries like to claim as our own, whose characters are held up as examples of what an anthropomorphic animal is, and why we like them so much. But it's not often we get a movie with a premise that seems birthed from something on SoFurry. Zootopia is a film in which all mammals (excluding primates) have evolved. Kinda. They still look the same, including some species having eyes on either side of their head, or being friggin' tiny, but they can walk on two legs, and as children helpfully explain, don't eat each other anymore, and that's what's important.

Spoiler warning: This review does dwell a bit more into later plot developments than previous reviews.

This is the third review of Zootopia on Flayrah; please check out reviews by crossaffliction and Mister Twister! We invite all of our regular contributors (and maybe a few first timers) to share their opinions on this movie during the following month!

Pennsylvanian fur's body found buried in boyfriend's yard

Your rating: None Average: 5 (5 votes)
Donna See
Donna's character, Sasha Tigress, a Siberian tiger

The body of what is believed to be Pennsylvanian furry fan Donna See, also known as Sasha Tigress, has been found behind the house of her boyfriend, who she met last October on dating website PlentyOfFish.

Donna of McKeesport, 60, an driver for the elderly, had not been seen since August 14. Her journal shows attendance at Anthrocon and FA: United; according to a fellow fan, she had attended meets since 2005.

George Biegenwald of Shayler, 57, has been charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, and evidence tampering. He said that he and Donna quarreled about her wish to move in, had been drinking, and got into a fight at his house, in which she hit her head on a dresser after he "flipped her off his back".

Friend and co-worker Margie Byers, who led a campaign to find Donna, doubts George's version of events, calling Donna "one of the most timid people I've ever met", and saying she'd noticed bruises on Donna in the weeks running up to the incident.

After these messages… we'll be gone, forever

Your rating: None Average: 4 (9 votes)



An Ode to Saturday Mornings Past
, by JessKat

I'm not quite sure how to explain this… especially to younger viewers who grew up in the 500-channel universe of cable television and satellite services and Netflix streaming… but for those of us old enough (or geeky enough) to watch cartoons over-the-air with a rabbit-ears antenna, Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons after school were the only times when animation fans could watch their favourite shows… especially where cable channels such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, YTV or Toon Disney weren't available.
 
September 28, 2014 was the day the animation died - ending a long and painful decline on broadcast television in the United States, with The CW (the newest broadcast network) being the final holdout… the last man standing, as it were.  This was the final Saturday morning with cartoons in America.
 
From here on out, animation fans in the United States will have to follow the path their Canadian counterparts took in 2001 to get their animation fix: a cable television or satellite subscription. If there is any consolation, it is that the ecosystem of Saturday morning cartoons seems healthier in Australia and Mexico.
 
To understand how we got to this point, we'll need to review the chain of events leading to the demise of animation on over-the-air television.

Review: 'Gusko Budori no Denki' ['The Life of Guskou Budori']

Your rating: None Average: 4.1 (11 votes)

Gusko Budori no Denki Gusk? Budori no Denki (The Life of Guskou Budori) is a 105-minute anime film released in 2012. The story had been previously adapted into anime in 1994, however the 2012 version did it with anthropomorphic cats - largely identical to the cats in the 1985 anime film Night on the Galactic Railroad. Not coincidentally, both films were directed by Gisaburo Sugii, and both were based on stories written by Japanese author Kenji Miyazawa, published in the 1930s.

The 2012 Life of Guskou Budori is visually rich, but has an incredibly dull narrative. Full spoilers ahead! Budori, his parents and his younger sister have an idyllic life in a forest by the mountains, but two years of sudden cold weather leads to the death of his parents and everyone leaving the local village. Oh, and his sister is taken away by a mysterious entity. To paraphrase:

Supernatural cat: I'm here to save you from famine. You're good kids, but that won't help you. Hey girl, if you stay here, you'll starve. Come with me.
(Budori's sister goes to him, seemingly in a trance.)
Supernatural cat: Well, bye! (vanishes)
Budori: ...Hey! You thief!

What's most surprising about Canada's $75,000 grant to the ARP to study furries?

$75,000? You don't mean $7,500?
13% (39 votes)
The ARP? They know Nuka's a furry, right?
8% (23 votes)
Canada? Really?
9% (27 votes)
The very idea of a government grant to study furries.
71% (216 votes)
Votes: 305

R is for Review: 'The ABCs of Death'

Your rating: None Average: 2.9 (19 votes)

The ABCs of DeathAnybody can die, evidently.”
-“ABC”, Robert Pinsky, United States Poet Laureate

Necrophilia is more erotic than that [censored!].”
-SWfan, Flayrah commenter

The ABCs of Death is the brainchild of producer Ant Timpson (an end credit suggests the whole thing was inspired by a nightmare of his): take 26 horror directors from around the world and give them a letter of the alphabet. They then pick a word with that letter, and direct a short film for $5,000 that depicts a death involving that word.

Pretty simple, and a great concept for a horror anthology, but why the review on a furry site? Well, there’s Thomas Malling’s “H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion,” which is basically a live action Tex Avery cartoon. And there are plenty of animal-related shorts available, as well; some of the best shorts on the roster, including “D is for Dogfight,” “N is for Nuptials,” “P is for Pressure” and “Q is for Quack,” involve animals, if not always anthropomorphic.

But are these highlights worth the time for furries?

2012 Ursa Major Awards voting now open

Your rating: None Average: 4.6 (9 votes)

Ursa Major Awards banner by EosFoxxVoting for the Ursa Major Awards for the Best Anthropomorphic Literature and Art of 2012 is now open, and will continue until May 15. The winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony at Anthrocon 2013 in Pittsburgh, July 4-7.

Anyone may vote, and you are encouraged to ask your friends to vote also — please help to spread the word!

There are five nominees in each of eleven categories, except where there was a tie for fifth place. To be eligible, a work must have been released during the calendar year 2012; must include a non-human being given human attributes, which can be mental and/or physical; and must receive more than one nomination.

Read on for the nominees...

Opinion: The top ten movies of 2012

Your rating: None Average: 3.2 (14 votes)

There are two kinds of movie reviewers; those that see the traditional end of year top ten list as a chore, and those like me who see it as a perk. Anyway, here’s ten movies from 2012 that I liked.

Season 3 of 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' plus 'Littlest Pet Shop' to premiere November 10

Your rating: None Average: 4 (6 votes)

MLP:FIM Crystal EmpireEntertainment Weekly has announced the release date – November 10, at 10AM – for the apparently delayed season three premiere of cult cartoon hit My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It also revealed that The Hub, MLP:FiM's home channel, will follow the pony premiere with the series premiere of The Littlest Pet Shop. [tip: XyroTR1/EQD]

This likely accounts for the apparent delay. The heavily-anticipated MLP:FiM season premiere is expected to draw a large audience, who may stick around for the Littlest Pet Shop premiere. Both shows are of interest to furry fans, as they feature anthropomorphic animal casts.

See also: Two MLP:FiM DVDs coming in December

Blotch's Skyrim fan-art sells for $5500 at FC 2012

Your rating: None Average: 4.6 (12 votes)

Dragonborn, by BlotchA piece of Skyrim fan-art by Blotch sold for $5500 at Further Confusion 2012's art show last weekend. [sibe/reddit]

The mixed-media work depicts a battle between a leopard-like Khajiit and a non-morphic dragon. [dA, FA]

Videl, the winning bidder, was enthusiastic about his purchase:

It was totally worth it! Love the work of Blotch and love Skyrim!!

The most expensive furry art show piece sold to date is Goldenwolf's "Eyes of the Night", which was auctioned for $10,000 at Further Confusion 2004.

Update (29 Jan): Videl says he was bidding on behalf of his roommates as well as himself.