Stories like this are why I'm so glad we have Substack in the world; it's great to have a name to attach to my most hazy PBS memories! Keep up the amazing work!
Interesting (concerning the comment above) that ‘escaping the depressing grind’ of reality was why Sporn’s film was not supported. I’m glad he pushed through that.
Sporn's willingness to defy investors and do independent, self-funded films on the side is really inspiring. It's something Koji Yamamura has done, too (with amazing results like Mt. Head). So much is possible with that freedom.
It really is. We saw a post on social media to the effect of, "This is the show that other sci-fi will cite as an influence in 20 years," and it feels true. Scavengers will have legs -- it's something real. Hollywood has reached a point where even an award-magnet prestige show can't get support unless it posts certain numbers on streaming services, and it's sad to watch. Hopefully the team gets another chance with it.
Most of my exposure to Michael Sporn's work growing up was from Weston Woods Studios' animations and Sesame Street cartoon segments although, like many, I never mentally attributed them to the same source. Now, I feel like I should check out his more mature works.
Could you also discuss Shinbone Alley (1970) at some point? It can be viewed for free on YouTube:
We're big Sporn fans. Highly recommend Abel's Island as an entrypoint to his work -- it's one of his best. As for Shinbone Alley, it's a film we've seen discussed but haven't yet watched for ourselves. Thanks for the suggestion!
I really love this newsletter. So many of the articles have fed my specific interest in learning about the development of different production techniques, and have expanded my knowledge of influential historical animation. I am very slow to commit to paid subscriptions, but this newsletter has been so valuable to me it is something I have thought seriously about, but with the way Substack has actively platformed and financially insensitivised far-right hate speech, I cannot in good conscience give them a single cent.
The lead up to this article is heartening, but it can't help but come across as a little hypocritical in this context. I would love to see this newsletter grow and continue on a different platform where I can throw my unmitigated support behind it and continue to unabashedly recommend it to others.
Thanks very much for the kind words -- they really do mean a lot. Your choice not to pick up a paid subscription is 100% valid, and we get it. We're aware of the trouble with what Substack platforms and have brought it up internally, with fellow Substack writers and with Substack's staff. It's become a serious problem with the internet in general, including YouTube.
To date, though, we haven't found any newsletter service that can replace this one -- because of the nightmare stories we've heard from writers who've switched, because of the huge moderation problems of some of those other services (like Ghost) and because many of Substack's rivals are untested, unreliable or lacking in the functionality that allows our newsletter to exist. Like a number of other writers we know who are unhappy about the situation, we've opted to stay and hold our ground for now, while monitoring things and keeping our options open. Our friend Nishant Jain wrote a very thoughtful piece about his own response to this stuff late last year, and a lot of his comments resonated with us: https://sneakyart.substack.com/p/s118
It's very messy stuff -- we wish things were different. Letting hateful voices take over every major site and push dissenters into smaller, more unstable and more invisible corners of the internet still doesn't feel like the answer for us, though. That said, again, we fully understand any reader who chooses not to pay given the circumstances, and we're happy to comp you a paid subscription if you're interested in reading more but can't because of the ethical problem. Thanks once more for the comment!
What a great short! In case anyone is wondering; here's an update I found on Sporn's blog from April 6, 2006: "Our heart goes out to Champagne Saltes Robinson whose mother, Genevieve, passed away Monday afternoon of a heart attack.
Champagne, of course, was the featured character in my film, Champagne. It was her life story – up to age 14 – that we tried to document in animation back in 1997. Champagne was raised in a convent while her mother was imprisoned. She also worked in our studio for a short while as a runner. (She got to do a bit of coloring on the film about herself.)
Champagne has just moved back to New York from Denver with her husband and one year old son, Jaysin. I’m sure it’s a sad return, but we wish her the best."
Thank you for this insight. ⛲ 🌐 ♥️🕯️Your passion and understanding of the ✍🏼 Genre are very welcome in these, "interesting times". Grace and peace to you!
Fantastic to hear! Thank you -- it's wonderful to know that the film resonated so much. It really struck us when we first saw it, and it still has the same impact now.
Why? Must politics be included? I was enjoying the small escape from the daily grind. Now I need to be reminded of the political nonsense here too. I might stop supporting this wonderful newsletter. 🥺
Since we began the newsletter in early 2021, we've kept a political angle in our work, as noted on our About page. We deeply appreciate your readership up to now, but we remain committed to the same goals and subject matter as ever (in fact, today's story is a reprint of one we published in March of last year). We want to inspire and motivate readers, to share ideas, to promote unacknowledged voices, to question injustice, to celebrate the beauty and diversity of animation around the world.
These principles have guided us since our very first issue, and we strongly believe in maintaining them from here. That won't mean wading explicitly into US politics in every issue, especially as the majority of our readership lives elsewhere. But it will mean that the political context and subtext of animation will continue to influence our work -- just as they always have, whether in our articles related to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, or the piece related to Israel and Gaza last year, or the ones about the Hollywood blacklist, or about the persecution of animators in 1970s China, etc.
Some readers have been put off by some of these articles, or even outright hostile in their responses, and we went into these last two issues aware that the same could happen. Our newsletter is very specific and niche -- we know that it can't be for everyone. If you do choose to end your subscription, we'd like to thank you again for your support until now and wish you a great week.
Champagne was fantastic and I loved the idea beyond the name My Mother's House.
Always enjoy your notes and definitely need places that can serve as an oasis in these parched times.....thanx
Really glad you enjoyed it. We're going to keep doing our best to offer that alternative -- thank you!
Stories like this are why I'm so glad we have Substack in the world; it's great to have a name to attach to my most hazy PBS memories! Keep up the amazing work!
Ah, thank you so much for the kind words! This means a lot.
Interesting (concerning the comment above) that ‘escaping the depressing grind’ of reality was why Sporn’s film was not supported. I’m glad he pushed through that.
Sporn's willingness to defy investors and do independent, self-funded films on the side is really inspiring. It's something Koji Yamamura has done, too (with amazing results like Mt. Head). So much is possible with that freedom.
Scavengers getting cancelled is unbelievably disappointing
It really is. We saw a post on social media to the effect of, "This is the show that other sci-fi will cite as an influence in 20 years," and it feels true. Scavengers will have legs -- it's something real. Hollywood has reached a point where even an award-magnet prestige show can't get support unless it posts certain numbers on streaming services, and it's sad to watch. Hopefully the team gets another chance with it.
So much love in these drawings
Absolutely. Sporn was a special artist -- we hope that his work makes a big resurgence one day.
Most of my exposure to Michael Sporn's work growing up was from Weston Woods Studios' animations and Sesame Street cartoon segments although, like many, I never mentally attributed them to the same source. Now, I feel like I should check out his more mature works.
Could you also discuss Shinbone Alley (1970) at some point? It can be viewed for free on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJUdojAevqY
We're big Sporn fans. Highly recommend Abel's Island as an entrypoint to his work -- it's one of his best. As for Shinbone Alley, it's a film we've seen discussed but haven't yet watched for ourselves. Thanks for the suggestion!
I really love this newsletter. So many of the articles have fed my specific interest in learning about the development of different production techniques, and have expanded my knowledge of influential historical animation. I am very slow to commit to paid subscriptions, but this newsletter has been so valuable to me it is something I have thought seriously about, but with the way Substack has actively platformed and financially insensitivised far-right hate speech, I cannot in good conscience give them a single cent.
The lead up to this article is heartening, but it can't help but come across as a little hypocritical in this context. I would love to see this newsletter grow and continue on a different platform where I can throw my unmitigated support behind it and continue to unabashedly recommend it to others.
Thanks very much for the kind words -- they really do mean a lot. Your choice not to pick up a paid subscription is 100% valid, and we get it. We're aware of the trouble with what Substack platforms and have brought it up internally, with fellow Substack writers and with Substack's staff. It's become a serious problem with the internet in general, including YouTube.
To date, though, we haven't found any newsletter service that can replace this one -- because of the nightmare stories we've heard from writers who've switched, because of the huge moderation problems of some of those other services (like Ghost) and because many of Substack's rivals are untested, unreliable or lacking in the functionality that allows our newsletter to exist. Like a number of other writers we know who are unhappy about the situation, we've opted to stay and hold our ground for now, while monitoring things and keeping our options open. Our friend Nishant Jain wrote a very thoughtful piece about his own response to this stuff late last year, and a lot of his comments resonated with us: https://sneakyart.substack.com/p/s118
It's very messy stuff -- we wish things were different. Letting hateful voices take over every major site and push dissenters into smaller, more unstable and more invisible corners of the internet still doesn't feel like the answer for us, though. That said, again, we fully understand any reader who chooses not to pay given the circumstances, and we're happy to comp you a paid subscription if you're interested in reading more but can't because of the ethical problem. Thanks once more for the comment!
What a great short! In case anyone is wondering; here's an update I found on Sporn's blog from April 6, 2006: "Our heart goes out to Champagne Saltes Robinson whose mother, Genevieve, passed away Monday afternoon of a heart attack.
Champagne, of course, was the featured character in my film, Champagne. It was her life story – up to age 14 – that we tried to document in animation back in 1997. Champagne was raised in a convent while her mother was imprisoned. She also worked in our studio for a short while as a runner. (She got to do a bit of coloring on the film about herself.)
Champagne has just moved back to New York from Denver with her husband and one year old son, Jaysin. I’m sure it’s a sad return, but we wish her the best."
Thank you for this insight. ⛲ 🌐 ♥️🕯️Your passion and understanding of the ✍🏼 Genre are very welcome in these, "interesting times". Grace and peace to you!
Happy you enjoyed! Thank you. Hope you're having a great week.
Thank you so much for this wonderful little film. It really made my day. Champagne was so articulate, practical, and thoughtful. What a gem of a girl.
Fantastic to hear! Thank you -- it's wonderful to know that the film resonated so much. It really struck us when we first saw it, and it still has the same impact now.
Why? Must politics be included? I was enjoying the small escape from the daily grind. Now I need to be reminded of the political nonsense here too. I might stop supporting this wonderful newsletter. 🥺
Since we began the newsletter in early 2021, we've kept a political angle in our work, as noted on our About page. We deeply appreciate your readership up to now, but we remain committed to the same goals and subject matter as ever (in fact, today's story is a reprint of one we published in March of last year). We want to inspire and motivate readers, to share ideas, to promote unacknowledged voices, to question injustice, to celebrate the beauty and diversity of animation around the world.
These principles have guided us since our very first issue, and we strongly believe in maintaining them from here. That won't mean wading explicitly into US politics in every issue, especially as the majority of our readership lives elsewhere. But it will mean that the political context and subtext of animation will continue to influence our work -- just as they always have, whether in our articles related to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, or the piece related to Israel and Gaza last year, or the ones about the Hollywood blacklist, or about the persecution of animators in 1970s China, etc.
Some readers have been put off by some of these articles, or even outright hostile in their responses, and we went into these last two issues aware that the same could happen. Our newsletter is very specific and niche -- we know that it can't be for everyone. If you do choose to end your subscription, we'd like to thank you again for your support until now and wish you a great week.