FATKAT 2007 | YEAR IN REVIEW

JANUARY
Our pal Ron Crown came to town to help us get going on Chaotic for Teletoon. A service gig for the good folks at Bardel Entertainment that lasted well into the fall. Thanks folks!

We also did a little snowboarding!

And played a tech company in Moncton for beer. And won!

FEBRUARY
Our music video with Mondo Media for Fall Out Boy wrapped up and went to air. It went over really well from what I've heard!
http://happytreefriends.atomfilms.com/index.html

We went to kidscreen in NYC and rocked it out by sealing a deal for 3 Delivery!

I also got to catch up with some old pals. The boys at Copernicus!

We teamed up with Flinch to rock out on Family guy.

MARCH
We made the cover of Progress Magazine!

We also got kicked out of a mall for wearing wheelie shoes!

Our partners from Dacap built us a recording suite!

Erika, Beans and I teamed up and designed the new logo for our local Hockey team, go Timberwolves!

And went bowling for kids for the 3rd year in a row.

APRIL
We took a road trip to a business conference.

Neven started nailing us with his crazy Puns.

World Leaders Entertainment and Fatkat celebrated their alliance!

Keith and Walter came to visit from Big Hug Productions.

MAY
We sent strippers to our ad agency's office.

We won an award for doing it.

Heather Kenyon from Cartoon Network came to visit!

Jon Roth was shipped out to the Vancouver Game Summit

We went and got hooked up with Fibre Optics!

We had ourselves our first Oscar night!

Our MVP - Patrick Proulx here with Jenny took home the top prize!

JUNE
The Dicks got hitched.

I published my first editorial cartoon.
A lucky Kid gotta fantastic big sister.

We started drawing bums again.

We announced a potentially great project that went kaput.

JULY
Justin Coffee re-designed a cool property for us.

Jimmy, Geremy and Justin hammered on our 3rd season of sprays.

We came full circle on an awesome project with Cartoon Saloon!

We were patriotic!

We uncovered some imposters!
We took our largest krew picture yet! 120 folks!

We threw one hell of a party at Nikki's joint.

We casted some great internal talent for one of our new shows.

AUGUST
Our show with World Leaders premiered on CITV!

We lost an old friend.

We gained a new partner for Cloe.

We did an interview with Cool Companies Magazine.

We had an amazing day on the water!

A great stress relief for all of us!

Mr. Dunn lost a bet.

Tara and I had a son!

SEPTEMBER
We got a shipment of new Cintiq's for many of the krew!

We got a shipment of yum from down south.

We destroyed the OIAF!

We worked some more on our new show.

OCTOBER
We got some great news from Teletoon that one of our shows has been picked up for some pilots!
We had a smashing Haloween!

We made art for a great cause!

My old buddy came to visit!

The Fuzz came to town and tore us a new one!

We got to work on our new 3D show!

NOVEMBER
We had another art show.

We also had a much deserved wrap up party!

good times blinky!

We found the next big star in animation!

And the next big star in Rock and Roll!

DECEMBER

We are now in full swing on the next big thing for TV!

Bartholomew came out for the kiddies at Christmas.

Our new Storyboard team got underway!

Gavin found out who is real papa was!

So that pretty much sums it up! We've had a pretty good 2007 here at Fatkat. Lots of ups and downs as is the norm in this industry. We've completed some great projects, worked with some great people and got paid on time!

Let's hope in 2008 we get to spend more time outside the studio. Animation is cool work, but let's aim at getting our work done and getting out he door so we can enjoy the other side of life! We all work too much, the French have it down pat!

Coming up in 2008; a continuation on 3 Delivery, our biggest, brightest and most challenging project yet. A fourth season of Sprays! Pilots for Teletoon and we're only in our first week of January!

Rock on Everyone,

Gene.

TWINKIE CENSORS

Banning TV ads for junk food.

By William Saletan
Updated Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008, at 8:02 AM ET

New year-end columns on the top Human Nature stories and privacy threats of 2007. (For discussions of the latest topics, check out the Human Nature Fray.)

Scientists are testing a vaccine for cocaine. It blocks the high (and thereby discourages continued use) by prompting your immune system to attack the drug. Other vaccine targets: nicotine, meth, heroin. Skeptical reactions: 1) Lots of anti-addiction drugs have failed. 2) Addicts might override the immune response by increasing their cocaine dosage. 3) They might switch to new drugs. Ethical questions: 1) Should the vaccine be used preemptively on non-addicts? 2) Should it be imposed on addicts who are pregnant, to protect their babies? 3) Could parents force it on kids, like other vaccinations? 4) Should judges be allowed to offer it in exchange for sentence reductions? Human Nature's view: If you're addicted, you're already under coercion, so anti-addiction drugs may not be such an imposition. (Join the Fray thread on addiction vaccines.)

Britain implemented a ban on junk-food ads during TV shows for minors. The ban applies to 1) "foods high in fat, salt and sugar" and 2) shows that attract a "significantly higher than average proportion of viewers under the age of 16." This follows a previous ban that applied to kids 9 or younger. The government also "plans to ban the use of celebrities and characters, such as cartoon heroes, to advertise unhealthy food." Rationale: Controlling child obesity. Britons' objections: 1) The ban doesn't go far enough, because it doesn't cover adult-oriented shows that some kids watch. 2) It should cover all shows that air before 9 p.m. 3) The government caved in to the financial greed of broadcasters and "the food industry." (Related: The battle against junk food; the war on soda; regulating salt; the worst privacy invasions of 2007.)

NEW BRUNSWICK FRIENDS

I thought this was quite funny, but weirdly very true. Thought I'd share it. By the way, yes that's Sean McGraw's Pops playing the Guitar!

FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
NEW BRUNSWICK FRIENDS: Always bring the food. And lots of it.

FRIENDS: Will say 'hello'.
NEW BRUNSWICK FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug and say Hello

FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.
NEW BRUNSWICK FRIENDS: Call your parents Mom and Dad

FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.
NEW BRUNSWICK FRIENDS: Cry with you. And for you.

FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave.
NEW BRUNSWICK FRIENDS: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing, and just being together. Then help do the dishes before leaving.

FRIENDS: Know a few things about you.
NEW BRUNSWICK FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you. And most of the time know you better than you do yourself

FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing.
NEW BRUNSWICK FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds' ass that left you. Then walk beside you in the front of the crowd

FRIENDS: Would knock on your door.
NEW BRUNSWICK FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, 'Anyone home!' If you are not home they will wait or leave a Note.

FRIENDS: Are for a while.
NEW BRUNSWICKS FRIENDS: Are for life. And then some.