Cartoon Classics

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Grady Harp, August 7, 2011 (view all comments by Grady Harp)
Strong Debut Novel

John Twipnook is a name to remember - not only because it is a twister of a moniker but because it is attached to a creative mind who has moved from writing screenplays to entering the arena of writing novels. This may be his debut effort but CARTOON CLASSICS already shows evidence of skills, especially in dialogue, that many writers take several short stories and novellas to novels to attain. In one book he manages to write parodies about the film industry, the fine art of documentary creation, sibling interaction, lust cum love - and, for this reader, that hilarious ping pong match between the Brits and the Yanks that when pulled off in the subtle way Twipnook accomplishes makes for some of the better patter to be found in contemporary books.

Very briefly, this book is a journal written by a British filmmaker with ambitions to make it in Hollywood named Oscar and his initial venture into his new home of Los Angeles and first job as making a documentary about a bizarre little low key (read low class) studio named Cartoon Classics who want to jump into the public spotlight when they complete their cartoon animated feature film 'The Little Sea Girl' (oops, that is changed to 'Anna and the Sea Cow' when the beast of copyright raises its head). The folks in the studio want to be interviewed by Oscar to create an imaginative documentary, as much about their ego needs as the success of their product. How Oscar copes with this crew, how he deals with such bumps in the road as his camera being soaked in dog urine and the surprise landing of his over-the-top adolescent sister Octavia (etc!), his doings with a 6' 2" tall bar girl Lassie ad other distractions is what makes the story roll along at such a fast clip (aided by the journal entry technique of writing) that before the reader knows it the book is finished.

For this reader, as entertaining as the story is, the most interesting aspect of this novel is the bifurcation of how American see themselves versus how a British visitor describes us. There are some hilarious episodes that make the reader want to dog-ear a page to return to at a later time, but then in a couple of pages further and the laughter momentum, subtle at times as in parody or satire and flat out belly laugh quality at other times, drops that idea on its head. Even the cover art by Meg Part captures the essence of this story - our Oscar in his British tee focuses his camera on the lighter coast of the US, Hollywood in particular, surrounded by Bambi characters. The whole experience is a hoot! Grady Harp, August 11

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780983492504

Author:

Twipnook, John

Publisher:

Drill Press Publishing

Subject:

Literature-A to Z

Subject:

Humor : General

Publication Date:

20110631

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

Language:

English