Half-Hour Film Combines Interview with Legendary Animator
with Newly Created Animated Sequences based on his Childhood
Premiere Night to Feature Presentations of Classic Jones Short Films,
Plus Feature Film The Phantom Tollbooth
CHUCK JONES: MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD Premieres Tuesday, March 24, at 8 P.M.
with Newly Created Animated Sequences based on his Childhood
Premiere Night to Feature Presentations of Classic Jones Short Films,
Plus Feature Film The Phantom Tollbooth
CHUCK JONES: MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD Premieres Tuesday, March 24, at 8 P.M.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and filmmakers Peggy Stern and John Canemaker, who earned 
Oscars for the animated short "The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation," have collected the memories of one of Hollywood's greatest animators in a unique, half-hour film entitled CHUCK JONES: MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD. This film, which combines an interview with the legendary animator with newly created animated segments, premieres on TCM Tuesday, March 24, at 8 P.M., followed by a selection of his films (complete schedule to be posted at a later date.)
"Chuck Jones used a lot of his childhood memories in creating his extensive collection of outstanding cartoons," said Tom Brown, senior vice president of original programming for TCM. "Peggy and John's film lovingly recreated those memories through in-depth interviews and animated segments. We are extremely proud to be involved with them on this one-of-a-kind film that reveals so much about what made Chuck Jones such a master of the art form."
CHUCK JONES: MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD is a film by Peggy Stern, with Canemaker also serving as producer and animation director. The project grew out of director Stern's interest in exploring the childhood experiences of artists. In 1997, Canemaker, a longtime mutual friend of Jones and Stern, brought them together for the interviews that became the basis of the film. During the interviews, Jones spontaneously began sketching his boyhood self as he related his memories. These sketches later inspired the documentary's animated sequences, which Canemaker directed.
Shortly before his death, Jones had an opportunity to see a test cut of the film, with new animation and archival imagery blended into the interview footage, and pronounced it "delightful." The Jones family subsequently provided additional material from the family archive, resulting in an intimate film full of revealing anecdotes about the events and personalities that influenced his early creative life and long career in cartoons.
"Chuck Jones used a lot of his childhood memories in creating his extensive collection of outstanding cartoons," said Tom Brown, senior vice president of original programming for TCM. "Peggy and John's film lovingly recreated those memories through in-depth interviews and animated segments. We are extremely proud to be involved with them on this one-of-a-kind film that reveals so much about what made Chuck Jones such a master of the art form."
Shortly before his death, Jones had an opportunity to see a test cut of the film, with new animation and archival imagery blended into the interview footage, and pronounced it "delightful." The Jones family subsequently provided additional material from the family archive, resulting in an intimate film full of revealing anecdotes about the events and personalities that influenced his early creative life and long career in cartoons.
I'm very excited about this documentary, can't wait to see if the new animation includes Johnson the Cat.
Posted by: Larry Levine | March 04, 2009 at 04:54 PM
Ooh, I can't wait to see that!
Posted by: Autumn | March 05, 2009 at 12:05 AM
I've set a reminder on my calendar!
Posted by: Atlanta Jones | March 07, 2009 at 08:16 AM