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?"]

The PIXELS trailer was the most popular conversation topic on the RubberOnion facebook page this week, so we lead with that. At the end we discuss the internet as a creative spawning ground and how traditional media fits in AS WELL AS addressing a question to me (Stephen) about being a freelance animator. We also talk about the ATTACK ON TITAN live-action teaser, INCREDIBLES 2 plot, and the announcements of a California Raisins movie as well as Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring in and producing a Fraggle Rock film. Also Rob went to an underwear party in Williamsburg (which, as a sentence, isn't that weird because it ends with "in Williamsburg"). So enjoy the discussion and feel free to join in below in the comments section![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep73-pixel_dust.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #73: "Pixel Dust"]

Are you ready for this?! Biiiiig week! Stephen gives a crash course in understanding the basics of character design while discussing a viral post about how all Pixar women look the same, the crew talks about Bob Iger's choice to "absolutely prohibit" smoking in Disney films rated PG-13 and below, Genndy Tartakovski announced his departure from the "Popeye" movie, Tim Burton is named as the director for an upcoming live-action "Dumbo" remake, and a healthy selection of brand new trailers! With nine stories to cover coming in UNDER 1hr 30min we move a brisk pace this week. Enjoy and let us know what you thought in the comments section![audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep72-koala_de_vil.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #72: "Koala De Vil"]

"Toy Story 4" is a romantic comedy, "The Secret of NIMH" gets a hybrid 3d/live-action family comedy reboot, Viacom sues NickReboot for selling their stuff, and we learn what a Puerto Rican Babyshower is... kind of.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep71-the_secret_of_nin.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #71: "The Secret of NIN"]

This is the most nostalgic episode we've done yet! Power Rangers bootleg film, Leonard Nimoy's career, Inspector Gadget reboot, DuckTales reboot, Adventure Time movie, and Pat is officially back! We also talk about that crazy "Mystery Dress Color" fiasco that happened last week which fascinated artists and annoyed everyone else... that's kind of nostalgic. So curl up with a bowl of Cap'n Crunch and let us deliver the dulcet tones of nostalgia into your brain.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep70-go_go_gadget_rangers.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #70: "Go Go Gadget Rangers"]

This week we cover a broad range of subjects. The Oscars and the strange voters, Jorge Gutierrez and why Stephen likes him so much, software going subscription based into "the cloud," and a fan-game BURGERBOSS from "Bob's Burgers!" There's some analysis and some inspiration and a skit, in true RubberOnion fashion. You won't want to miss this episode... because, whatever.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep69-because_whatever.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #69: "Because Whatever"]

Though on other sides of an ocean, Stephen and Rob are going to animation events and talking about it to you fine people. There's also a lot of discussion about animation as a whole prompted by the excellent opening title sequence for 'Star vs the Forces of Evil' and a not-as-controversial-as-I-would-have-thought list of the Best Animated Series.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep68-ac_douche_pumps.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #68: "AC/DouChe Pumps"]

Did you know that Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" is getting remade as a family friendly Samurai film with cartoon cats and dogs? That's pretty much all we talk about. Well we also talk about the amazing fanimation "Simpsons Pixels" as well as what's REALLY going on with the Power Rangers. We also dissect rap. That happened.[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/rubberonion/the_rubber_onion-ep67-supercalifragilisticnecrotizingfasciitis.mp3|titles=The Rubber Onion - #67: "Supercalifragilisticnecrotizingfasciitis"]