We finally got to see what Chris Farley's SHREK would've been like in an early story reel which surfaced this week. His passing in 1997 was a big shock to us so there's a lot of discussion surrounding this topic this week. But that's not all because there's a "Bob the Builder" reboot with a new character design who looks... symmetrical, a new Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show coming to Netflix which is 2D (!) and the rights have been secured to make a Dungeons & Dragons movie. That last story also contains the skit this week is Stephen reading excerpts from Ice-T's description of his experience recording the D&D audio book (starting at 1:03:24)... so enjoy that! There are technical discussions as well surrounding the new Windows 10 and a blog post which tried (and failed) to properly compare the budgets of live-action VFX to that of fully CG Animated Films. The questions this week comes from a listener wondering if we're going to CTNx this year, which ticket we bought, and if that's right for her. This is another 2hr podcast so let us keep you entertained while you trudge through the middle of another work-week![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep93-we_farley_knew_ye.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #93: "We Farley Knew Ye"]

TMNT is getting a 2D animated special from Titmouse Inc, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" Disney XD series shows some serious action with its new trailer and Chinese animation shows it's on the rise in a big way with "Rock Dog." There were also two passings we mention this week: wrestler and actor "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and animation historian and reporter John Culhane. In other news, apparently there's a PEZ movie coming (PEZ like the candy not PES the animator... which would be fascinating and wanted). Also, Stephen is back from traveling and as such is in front of a nice sounding mic instead of the patchwork sounds of the tablet you heard for the last few weeks. Enjoy the crisp cool sounds of jet lag![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep92-PEZ_not_PES.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #92: "PEZ not PES"]

The Good Dinosaur trailer, roll of cartoons in kids' lives and an Emoji movie is being developed.

Interview with creaters of COIN and BOLTRON NINJA MASSACRE, Chris Burns and Bob Fox of Exit 73 Studios.

Comic Con was this weekend and we try to cover the MANY stories that came from that: trailers, movie/series announcements, crossover comics, etc. Not to mention the stories that came out during the week not linked to the event like Harry Shearer coming back to "The Simpsons." I'm also still on the road, so I've left Rob back in NY for a trip out to the IL where I am recording with Pat in his house... or as Rob like's to call it, "The Ryan's Den!" It's a pretty energetic episode this week so enjoy the excitement -- I hope it's contagious.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep89-san_diego_comic_kanye_west.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #89: "San Diego Comic Kanye West"]

There are some amazing fan art topics this week! The BARTKIRA trailer was finally posted, Ave Espelita created a CGI tribute to Samurai Jack and Andrew Kaiko illustrates an INSIDE OUT / LOONEY TUNES mashup! We also talk about a classic Disney attraction closing at what used to be MGM and a discussion about the new Boomerang shows preview images response. Happy Wednesday! Here... have a podcast.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep88-youre_a_shark_harry.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #88: "You're a Shark, Harry"]

By request, here is a spoiler FREE review of Disney Pixar's INSIDE OUT!! We don't stop there though, there are things to say about the animated short "Lava" ahead of the movie as well as an open discussion about Pixar in general. This was a really great week for art and storytelling so I love episodes like this! There are some other topics covered (which you can see in the annotations below) as well as a Rapid Fire segment and a shoutout about some fan art done which you can see below![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep87-spoiler_free_inside_out_review.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #87: "Spoiler Free INSIDE OUT Review"]

I (Stephen) am back in NY on my new Wacom Companion 2 and it actually handled the recording and editing rather well! Rob and I talk 3 trailers, 2 series announcements, 3 audience questions and many more stories in our Rapid Fire segment! Of the trailers, "Peanuts" absolutely blew us away (retroactive spoiler alert). I also take the beginning of the podcast to talk about the Wacom Companion 2 and Adobe Flash CC 2015. You can check out the images under the annotations for a quick look at a weird bug I encountered and the symptom solution in Windows 8.1.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep86-peanuts_pandas_and_powerpuff_girls.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #86: "Peanuts, Pandas and Powerpuff Girls"]

This week we have a special interview with animator Robb Pratt ("Superman Classic," "Flash Gordon Classic"). We talked about how and why he started the Classic series, his thoughts on Superman as a character, Flash Gordon and how he relates to Star Wars, various trials and tribulations navigating the business world of animation entertainment, his recent work on "Wabbit" (the Bugs Bunny animated shorts show) and his absolute love of story and art! Robb was very generous with his time and couldn't have been more fun to talk to. In particular, I loved his insights into the character relation between Bugs Bunny and Superman, the analysis of the Rancor pit scene from "Return of the Jedi" and how he got that creepy voice effect in "Bizarro Classic." Check out his YOUTUBE CHANNEL, WEBSITE and TWITTER for all things Robb Pratt![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep85-robb_pratt_interview.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #85: "Robb Pratt Interview"]

An animated bomb called "Klaus" was dropped on the community this week screaming that hand-drawn animation can visually compete with CG in today's climate. And then the creator, Sergio Pablos, says that he'll talk about the techniques used to create the short trailer at an Annecy talk. That's about as close to a mic-drop as we get in the animation field... so we talk about it... a lot! Other stories include Pixar's "The Good Dinosaur" teaser, Mega Man getting a TV show, Disney adapting another animation into live-action and a bunch more actually (which is why this episode is almost 2.5hrs long)! Also, I drop an announcement this week about the special episode we have coming NEXT week so be sure to listen for that and send me all your questions via this blog post comment section and/or the #RubberOnionPodcast tag on Twitter and Facebook. To the show!![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep84-klaus_in_the_house.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #84: "Klaus in the House"]

With Stephen and Rob taking on this episode alone with only their wits to guide them, stumble they do into a discussion about how and when to charge for your animated content thanks to a Vanity Fair interview of Don Hertzfeldt. It's an all your-stories episode this week so strap in for the shoutouts and name drops![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep83-old_man_strong_fat.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #83: "Old Man Strong Fat"]

This week's episode is discussing ALL VIDEOS. We have four main stories made up of 6 videos (embedded below): three CN pilots, Muppets trailer, a French student film & Robb Pratt's excellent "Flash Gordon Classic." If that wasn't enough, in the Rapid Fire segment has even more videos to embed (4 to be exact) and a discussion about studio expansions, Cannes, Disney's upcoming animated films and SO. MUCH. MORE!![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep82-cannes_of_worms.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #82: "Cannes of Worms"]

So here's what happened this week. The "Disney reuses animation" video mashup went around again and people got really negative. Harry Shearer's future with The Simpsons is in question and people got really bitter. The Simpsons released a couch gag featuring Rick & Morty and people called for an early termination for The Simpsons like it was worthless. Then Rob and I get on a call to discuss what happened during the week and I lose my mind a bit. Enjoy.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep81-angry_at_anger.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #81: "Angry at Anger"]

Varying style of animation are being discussed here: claymation, digital warm-up pencil-tests, oil painting comic style and puppetry! We also had a lot of great RAPID FIRE topics submitted by you listeners and a Slow Burn question about ONLINE vs FESTIVAL distribution of your short film. Also, coffee + whiskey and suggestive gummy candies.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep80-indianamators.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #80: "Indianamators"]

I recorded this episode with Rob today... about 3 hours ago. There's basically no editing on this episode and that's why the title is "You Get What You Get." You, the listener, saved this episode because I had SO MUCH to pull from! About half of the topics this week are pop culture related and half are specifically animation. Well done everyone... team effort![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep79-you_get_what_you_get.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #79: "You Get What You Get"]

"What is a Creative?" That's the theme of this week's podcast where Stephen and Rob are flying solo (duo?) on another 'hot cocoa show.' Check out the outline in the post with timestamps if you want to skip to a particular topic. We talk about why our career (animation) and creative careers in general are a bit different and sometimes hard to relate to by those that aren't in this type of field, what type of pressures we're under and how we cope with them, and the all important topic of wrestling work and personal projects at the same time. My hope for this week's episode is that we articulate why being in a creative field is so weird and seemingly incomprehensible to even those close to us and why that may not matter (and that's a good thing). I kept this episode clean so if you want to send this to someone who you feel doesn't understand you, wants to, and you don't have the words or time to try explaining it... feel free![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep78-what_is_a_creative.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #78: "What is a Creative?"]

Another week FULL of stories and interesting topics... and I get a fantastic migraine during the recording this week, because why not? But that doesn't stop us from recording an amazing episode for you all! Because we saw teaser trailers, Brad Bird's would-be take on "The Spirit," a 3D printed animated short, Toon Boom finally going subscription, and two new series (technically one new and one reboot)! Let me know the pain was worth it and leave a comment in this blog post (=[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep77-how_to_shrek_your_dragon.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #77: "How to Shrek Your Dragon"]

Where did the name 'RubberOnion' come from? Cat animation sells cars? Lynda.com sold for HOW MUCH?! We have a special 2hr episode of the podcast this week because there were so many relevant stories! A new segment debuts at the end as well where I answer some questions like what's the benefit of an LLC and how to spot a bad college. And who knows, you might be in our OTHER new segment this week: shoutouts![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep76-lyndolla_dolla_bills.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #76: "Lyndolla Dolla Bills"]

There aren't many main stories this week because of the high likelyhood of fakery (April Fools was a few days before this recording). But what we DO have was completely submitted by you listeners so thanks for the help! Disney is making another live-action movie off one of their animation properties, Adam West and Burt Ward are Batman and Robin again, there was a music video directed by Sylvain Chomet, and the main conversation is about the difference between a "job" and a "career," prompted by Will Finn's blog post. And, of course, RAPID FIRE! Also, this week I simul-upload to Newgrounds Audio Portal for the first time so if you're a member there give another shoutout![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep75-brand_new_grounds.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #75: "Brand New Grounds"]

I laughed harder during the recording of this episode than I have in a long time. Not at the stories, but with my friends. So the STORIES are the AMAZING TIE Fighter animation by Paul Johnson, the free release of Pixar's RenderMan software, Smurfs being delayed until March 31, 2017, and other stuff including fan favorite segment RAPID FIRE! Also I'm moving again. April Fools. OK I know it's lame but it's April Fools day and I had to say something. Satisfied? Good... enjoy the podcast![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep74-wherefore_art_thou_rovio.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #74: "Wherefore Art Thou Rovio?"]