History Blog / CartoonBrew

Jerry Beck is a Los Angeles-based animation historian who is one of the co-founders of Creator/StreamlinePictures[[note]]one of the first studios to make anime dubs that weren't phoned in[[/note]], can be heard in various [[DVDCommentary DVD commentaries]] and is a huge fan of [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation the golden era of cartoons.]] The site's ''50 Greatest Cartoons'' list, as well as ''The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes'' list, is taken from his own books. He has also worked with Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and other related studios throughout The90s, eventually creating own cartoon in the short "Hornswiggle" for Nickelodeon's ''WesternAnimation/RandomCartoons'' in 2005. Meanwhile, Amid Amidi resided in New York City and has authored and edited a number of books, including the "The Art Of..." books for ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Creator/{{Pixar}}, and Peter de Sève. The blog has grown in popularity since its creation and has attracted participation from industry professionals as well as fans - don't be surprised to find the likes of Tom Sito, Nina Paley (''WesternAnimation/SitaSingsTheBlues'') or Creator/EricGoldberg commenting on there.

Jerry Beck is a Los Angeles-based animation historian who is one of the co-founders of Creator/StreamlinePictures[[note]]one of the first studios to make anime dubs that weren't phoned in[[/note]], can be heard in various [[DVDCommentary DVD commentaries]] and is a huge fan of [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation the golden era of cartoons.]] The site's ''50 Greatest Cartoons'' list, as well as ''The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes'' list, is taken from his own books. He has also worked with Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and other related studios throughout the 1990's, eventually creating own cartoon in the short "Hornswiggle" for Nickelodeon's ''WesternAnimation/RandomCartoons'' in 2005. Meanwhile, Amid Amidi resided in New York City and has authored and edited a number of books, including the "The Art Of..." books for ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Creator/{{Pixar}}, and Peter de Sève. The blog has grown in popularity since its creation and has attracted participation from industry professionals as well as fans - don't be surprised to find the likes of Tom Sito, Nina Paley (''WesternAnimation/SitaSingsTheBlues'') or Creator/EricGoldberg commenting on there.

Jerry Beck is a Los Angeles-based animation historian who is one of the co-founders of Creator/StreamlinePictures[[note]]one of the first studios to make anime dubs that weren't phoned in[[/note]], can be heard in various [[DVDCommentary DVD commentaries]] and is a huge fan of [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation the golden era of cartoons.]] The site's ''[[The50GreatestCartoons 50 Greatest Cartoons]]'' list, as well as ''Literature/The100GreatestLooneyTunes'' list, is taken from his own books. He has also worked with Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and other related studios throughout the 1990's, eventually creating own cartoon in the short "Hornswiggle" for Nickelodeon's ''WesternAnimation/RandomCartoons'' in 2005. Meanwhile, Amid Amidi resided in New York City and has authored and edited a number of books, including the "The Art Of..." books for ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Creator/{{Pixar}}, and Peter de Sève. The blog has grown in popularity since its creation and has attracted participation from industry professionals as well as fans - don't be surprised to find the likes of Tom Sito, Nina Paley (''WesternAnimation/SitaSingsTheBlues'') or Creator/EricGoldberg commenting on there.

Jerry Beck is a Los Angeles-based animation historian who is one of the co-founders of Creator/StreamlinePictures[[note]]one of the first studios to make anime dubs that weren't phoned in[[/note]], can be heard in various [[DVDCommentary DVD commentaries]] and is a huge fan of [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation the golden era of cartoons.]] The site's ''[[The50GreatestCartoons 50 Greatest Cartoons]]'' list, as well as ''Literature/The100GreatestLooneyTunes'' list, is taken from his own books. He has also worked with Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and other related studios throughout the 1990's, eventually creating own cartoon in the short "Hornswiggle" for Nickelodeon's ''WesternAnimation/RandomCartoons'' in 2005. Meanwhile, Amid Amidi resided in New York City and has authored and edited a number of books, including the "The Art Of..." books for ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Creator/{{Pixar}}, and Peter de Sève. The blog has grown in popularity since its creation and has attracted participation from industry professionals as well as fans- don't be surprised to find the likes of Tom Sito, Nina Paley (''WesternAnimation/SitaSingsTheBlues'') or Creator/EricGoldberg commenting on there.

Jerry Beck is a Los Angeles-based animation historian who is one of the co-founders of Creator/StreamlinePictures[[note]]one of the first studios to make anime dubs that weren't phoned in[[/note]], can be seen in various DVD commentaries, and is a huge fan of [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation the golden era of cartoons.]] The site's ''[[The50GreatestCartoons 50 Greatest Cartoons list]]'', as well as ''Literature/The100GreatestLooneyTunes'' list, is taken from his own books. He has also worked with Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and other related studios throughout the 1990's, eventually creating own cartoon in the short "Hornswiggle" for Nickelodeon's ''WesternAnimation/RandomCartoons'' in 2005. Meanwhile, Amid Amidi resides in New York City and has authored and edited a number of books, including the "The Art Of..." books for ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Creator/{{Pixar}}, and Peter de Sève. The blog has grown in popularity since its creation and has attracted participation from industry professionals as well as fans- don't be surprised to find the likes of Tom Sito, Nina Paley or Eric Goldberg commenting on there.

'''[[http://www.cartoonbrew.com Cartoon Brew]]''' is the online blog run by two authors and historians of animation, Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi, who started the blog in 2003. It is home to a wealth of animation-related resources covering current events, projects, retrospectives, opinions, spotlights, and admittedly shameless plugs, no matter how famous, successful, or trivial. Jerry Beck is a Los Angeles-based animation historian who is one of the co-founders of Creator/StreamlinePictures[[note]]one of the first studios to make anime dubs that weren't phoned in[[/note]], can be seen in various DVD commentaries, and is a huge fan of [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation the golden era of cartoons.]] This sites' ''[[The50GreatestCartoons 50 Greatest Cartoons list]]'', as well as ''Literature/The100GreatestLooneyTunes'' list, is taken from his own books. He has also worked with Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and other related studios throughout the 1990's, eventually creating own cartoon in the short "Hornswiggle" for Nickelodeon's ''WesternAnimation/RandomCartoons'' in 2005. Meanwhile, Amid Amidi resides in New York City and has authored and edited a number of books, including the "The Art Of..." books for ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Creator/{{Pixar}}, and Peter de Sève. The blog has grown in popularity since its creation and has attracted participation from industry professionals as well as fans- don't be surprised to find the likes of Tom Sito, Nina Paley or Eric Goldberg commenting on there.

On February 12, 2013, Jerry Beck [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/site-news/a-final-word-from-jerry-77692.html stepped down from involvement with the website]] to focus on screenings, research and home distribution of classic animation, leaving the site in the care of Amid Amidi [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/site-news/cartoonbrew-com-hires-four-new-writers-78635.html and four new writers.]] Jerry continues where he left off in the newly-revised [[http://cartoonresearch.com/ Cartoon Research]] website and the blog [[http://www.animationscoop.com/ Animation Scoop.]]

On June 20th, 2018, Amid announced he's going to open a CB branch in Montreal, Canada, and live their full-time, while covering the expansive Canadian animation scene. The rest of the CB journalists will continue managing the main LA headquarters.

* BerserkButton: Amid '''despises''' Creator/{{Disney}} for cancelling his planned biography on Creator/WardKimball, which he says challenges Disney so-called "squeaky-clean" image. Doesn't help that Disney blacklisted the site during its reporting on the industry's [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/?s=wage+fixing wage-fixing scandal during the mid-2010s]].

In addition to the main site, Cartoon Brew has CB Biz[[note]]press releases without any of the usual commentary from Amid et al[[/note]], CB TV[[note]]a showcase for student and independent shorts from around the world[[/note]], and a weekly job classified list. The site went mobile in 2014. New writers have been hired as columnists perhaps to take some of the work off Amid, namely Darryn King who now writes the types of articles previously associated with Amid and who shares his snarky, sensationalist tone from time to time. Two of the 4 previous writers announced in 2013 no longer write for the site. Amid's own workload has decreased exponentially and he now covers local East Coast events and independent projects and artists.

On June 20th, Amid announced he's going to open a CB branch in Montreal, Canada, and live their full-time, while covering the expansive Canadian animation scene. The rest of the CB journalists will continue managing the main LA headquarters.

* BerserkButton: Amid '''despises''' Creator/{{Disney}} for cancelling his planned biography on [[Creator/DisneysNineOldMen Ward Kimball]], which he says challenges Disney so-called "squeaky-clean" image. Doesn't help that Disney blacklisted the site during its reporting on the industry's [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/?s=wage+fixing wage-fixing scandal during the mid-2010s]].

'''[[http://www.cartoonbrew.com Cartoon Brew]]''' is the online blog run by two authors and historians of animation, Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi, who started the blog in 2003. It is home to a wealth of animation-related resources covering current events, projects, retrospectives, opinions, spotlights, and admittedly shameless plugs, no matter how famous, successful, or trivial. Jerry Beck worked with Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and other related studios in the 90's, created the one-shot pilot "Hornswiggle" for Nickelodeon's ''Random Cartoons Show'' in 2005, is one of the co-founders of Streamline Pictures which was one of the first studios to make anime dubs that weren't phoned in, can be seen in various DVD commentaries, and is a huge fan of [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation the golden era of cartoons.]] This sites' ''[[The50GreatestCartoons 50 Greatest Cartoons list]]'', as well as ''Literature/The100GreatestLooneyTunes'' list, is taken from his own books. While Jerry works in Los Angeles, Amid Amidi recently moved to New York City and covers more modern titles, and he authored the Art Of books for ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Creator/{{Pixar}}, and Peter De Seve. The blog has grown in popularity since its creation and has attracted participation from industry professionals as well as fans- don't be surprised to find the likes of Tom Sito, Nina Paley or Eric Goldberg commenting on there.

Has now started CB Biz, CB TV, and a weekly job classified list. The site went mobile in 2014. New writers have been hired as columnists perhaps to take some of the work off Amid, namely Darryn King who now writes the types of articles previously associated with Amid and who shares his snarky, sensationalist tone from time to time. Two of the 4 previous writers announced in 2013 no longer write for the site. Amid's own workload has decreased exponentially and he now covers local East Coast events and independent projects and artists.

* AccentuateTheNegative: A lot of entries seem written for the sole purpose of telling you how bad the industry is and how you should want to kill it with fire. These kinds of posts are usually written by Amid Amidi, whose preference lies in independent animation or otherwise unconventional works. Occasionally, his posts just serve as ways to complain about whatever he seems annoyed by at the time, such as the time he criticized [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/a-storyboard-chandelier-and-dining-amidst-background-art-60786.html the lighting structure in a Disney hotel]].

* AccentuateTheNegative: A lot of entries seem written for the sole purpose of telling you how bad the industry is and how you should want to kill it with fire. These kinds of posts are usually written by Amid, who likes indie, non-corporate, unconventional, art-house films, and sometimes only serves to complain about whatever he seems annoyed by at the time, such as the [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/a-storyboard-chandelier-and-dining-amidst-background-art.html lighting structure in a Disney hotel]].
* BerserkButton: Amid '''despises''' Creator/{{Disney}} for cancelling his planned biography on [[Creator/DisneysNineOldMen Ward Kimball]], which he says challenges Disney so-called "squeaky-clean" image.

* HitlerAteSugar: Following Chris Savino's ousting from his show ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' for numerous allegations of sexual harassment, Amid wrote that anyone who works on the show will be contributing to a work based on the life of a sexual predator.

* SpiritualSuccessor: For Jerry fans, ''Cartoon Research''

On February 12, 2013, Jerry Beck [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/site-news/a-final-word-from-jerry-77692.html stepped down from involvement with the website]] to focus on screenings, research and home distribution of classic animation, leaving the site in the care of Amid Amidi [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/site-news/cartoonbrew-com-hires-four-new-writers-78635.html and four new writers.]] Jerry continues where he left off in the newly-revised [[http://cartoonresearch.com/ Cartoon Research]] website and the blog [[http://blogs.indiewire.com/animationscoop Animation Scoop.]]