Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Category: Movies

March 9, 2016

Zootopia – movie review by Fred Patten.

by Patch O'Furr

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

posters-for-disneys-zootopia-and-pixars-finding-doryZootopia, directed by Bryon Howard and Rich Moore; co-directed by Jared Bush; produced by Walt Disney Motion Pictures. 108 minutes. March 4, 2016.

Zootopia has already been anticipated, seen, and covered more thoroughly than any other anthropomorphic motion picture in furry fandom history.

We know that its theatrical release has stretched from February 10 in Belgium to April 23 in Japan. (Dogpatch Press has covered its furry fandom theater parties throughout the U.S. and in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, and Sweden.) We know that it was originally intended to be released as Zootopia worldwide, but due to various legal reasons it has become Zootropola in Croatia, Zootopie in France, Zoomania in Germany, Zootropolis in Denmark, Spain, and other countries, Zveropolis in Russia, and Zwierzogród in Poland.

It grossed $75,063,401 on its opening weekend in 3,827 theaters in the U.S. and $232,500,000 worldwide, breaking the records for the premiere of a Disney animated feature (Frozen with $67,400,000 in November 2013) and for any March animated feature (Illumination Entertainment’s The Lorax; $70,200,000 in March 2012). Its voice cast features Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde, and numerous others ranging from celebrity actors to professional voice actors, and including directors Howard, Moore, and Bush as minor characters. It debuted with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 92 reviews. Disney reportedly hired at least one marketing agency to promote Zootopia to the furry community.

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March 8, 2016

Exciting news to come for ‘Fursonas’ documentary movie.

by Patch O'Furr

A followup to yesterday’s story:  ‘Fursonas’ beats Zootopia as most important furry movie, coming on Video On Demand.

“Most important?” What’s with the sensational title?

Not the biggest or most widely appealing. Just one that stands apart.

There’s never been a furry-made feature film that got support from the movie industry, until now.  Not just support, but pole position to open Slamdance, one of the most significant film festivals.  It got an award for representing the spirit of the festival. Then it sold immediately to a mainstream distributor with Hollywood press, while tons of larger movies sit on the shelf.

That’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened in fandom-made media.

Disney’s non-fanmade “furry” movie is getting all the attention, while a by-and-for-fans movie is getting what any furry moviemaker dreams of.  It’s a good reason for an article about what’s going on with the Year of Furry movies.

It was surprising that nobody talked about the Slamdance win when it happened… so here’s a little nudge to notice.  The best part of the hype is it’s not just a furry movie, it’s a legit movie.

More news to come!  Dogpatch Press will be on the story.

Director Dominic Rodriguez said that five furries attended the two screenings of his movie at Slamdance, with two in suit.  Slamdance released a video as part of their Spotlight Series of a short interview with him, the producer, and Boomer The Dog.

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March 7, 2016

‘Fursonas’ beats Zootopia as most important furry movie, coming soon on Video On Demand.

by Patch O'Furr

Co-written by Patch and Pup Matthias. Find ‘Fursonas’ on the web and on Twitter.

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2016 has been labeled The Year Of Furry.  Disney’s Zootopia is just the start.  There’s a surprising amount of other films to come with anthropomorphic animals. From Kung Fu Panda 3, Ratchet and Clank, The Angry Birds Movie, Secret Life of Pets, Sing, The Boy and The Beast, and TMNT 2 (yes it counts)… there’s a wealth of films for furries to enjoy (or love to hate) this year.

There’s a film apart from those that has surprisingly flown under a lot of people’s radars.  It’s not a big-budget blockbuster, and doesn’t have massive marketing. (With vast differences in “furry movies”, that’s what the headline references.)  Few have talked about it… but for this tiny fandom, it has special quality above any other.

Fursonas is a documentary directed by Dominic Rodriguez.  It looks at the fandom itself, to clear up fuzziness over what it’s about.

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March 1, 2016

First amendment furries, elephant balls, and woot for #Zootopia. NEWSDUMP (3/2/16)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Tips: patch.ofurr@gmail.com. Thanks to DRONON for guest editing help!  

Zootopia: IT’S HAPPENING and I hope you’re ready for the peak of The Year of Furry!  The article about furries renting their own theaters got 3 times more traffic than any other article ever posted here.

by Spalding

by Spalding

Fursuiting and Freedom of Expression:  Anti-mask law challenged by Vermont Furs.

 had frustration with getting their events shut down in the City of Burlington.  Fursuits were banned for vague, unsubstantiated reasons.  Supposedly, it was for protection from “panhandling” offenses.

Now WCAX.com reports a brave effort to change this.  The furs have support from the ACLU to challenge the local anti-mask law on First Amendment grounds.  Following consultation with the Ordinance committee, the City council sounds like they’re on the way to fixing the law to apply to only crime-related activity.  Great work everyone!  This is a silly hobby, but sometimes having fun is about upholding freedom.

It’s about identity, not sex – Bringing fursonas to life.

Sarah Dee, fursuit maker at Menagerie Workshop, gets an excellent write-up about her business by The Guardian.  There’s a great video!  Her story was repeated soon after by The Onion A.V. Club.

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February 15, 2016

Furries are renting theaters for Zootopia meets, and they’re getting bigger than cons.

by Patch O'Furr

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Nordic Fuzzcon has a Zootopia screening at a theater for 250. That’s the size of it’s 2014 attendance. (Art: Silverfox)

The most anticipated “furry” movie in memory is coming. It’s the #1 reason to call 2016 The Year of Furry.  Zootopia is Star Wars for anthro animals.

This is different from other such events. It’s a fandom pulling mainstream media to itself, despite reasons for the media to resist open ties.  This isn’t Zootopia fandom taking over, it’s furries doing what they already love.

In the San Francisco Bay area, over 200 furries will stuff a theater to it’s limit.  The screening is just for them.  It includes not just a movie, but a whole night of fursuiting.  There’s a changing room in the theater, and the neighborhood will be inundated with fluffy revelers at bars and restaurants.

It’s the size of a small con.  The event was arranged by convincing a theater that it would be well handled and attended.  The response exploded beyond expectations.  A theater with 145 seats was maxed out within days, and had to be switched for one with 225 spots.  That isn’t even enough – the wait list is double digits and rising.  It went out through members-only channels and word of mouth, to serve the most dedicated fans and manage demand beyond the limits.

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January 26, 2016

Fred Patten discusses history of adult and mature cartoons in response to Zootopia article.

by Patch O'Furr

Yesterday’s extra long post about Zootopia described complicated relationships between fans and marketers, and asked: are they intentionally winking at furries, but keeping it hidden?  According to Fred’s wisdom, the sensitivity is nothing new.  

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Dear Patch;

Cartoon Brew’s article described the petition against fan pornography of Disney’s forthcoming Zootopia and the reaction to the subject.

What seems most interesting to me is the apparent assumption that furry fandom (and people in general) are just discovering the pornography of high-profile animated cartoon characters with Zootopia.  Doesn’t anyone remember the furry fan pornography of Warner Bros.’ Tiny Toon Adventures TV series in the early 1990s, with the series’ own emphasis on gags about Buster Bunny’s not wearing any pants? It faded away after the program went off the air. It’s discussed in Reading the Rabbit by Kevin Sandler, an anthology of articles about Warners’ cartoon characters from Rutgers University Press.

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January 25, 2016

2016 is exploding with ‘furry’ movies like Zootopia – what will come with all the hype?

by Patch O'Furr

“Mature” stuff isn’t built in to a fandom for talking animal art, but it sure makes everyone hot under the collar – whether they love it, or just giggle about how weird it is. Keep that in mind for the below topics: The Latest Hype – The Weird Factor – Why Marketers Care – “Furry Chic” – and Making Buzz With PR Control.

THE LATEST HYPE – AND FOUR REASONS WHY FURRIES CAN’T WAIT FOR ZOOTOPIA.  

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January 18, 2016

Big Beefy Sparkly Tigers, and tributes to furs we have lost – NEWSDUMP (1/18/16)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Guest posts welcome. Tips: patch.ofurr@gmail.com. 

Zootopia marketing inspires visions of a feature length Orangina commercial. This short article shares a new image and says the movie is having “aggressive marketing”. And Reddit furries discuss hot tigers:

  • “There’s no denying that they know who they’re marketing to.”
  • “Big, beefy, sparkly tigers. They know what they’re doing with stuff like these, and nobody’s gonna tell me otherwise.”
  • “And people still claim they’re not marketing to us. ha. ha. ha.”

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Marketing meets Rule 34.  “How Esurance Lost Its Mascot to the Internet.” Not furry, but this will ring some bells.

Puzzle Cheetah in Subway ad (via Greenreaper.) Puzzle is a UK fursuiter. Put this on the list of mainstream marketing featuring furries.

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December 18, 2015

Buzzfeed’s worst of 2015, Furry Chic in 2016, and Fred’s birthday. NEWSDUMP (12/18/15)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Guest posts welcome. Tips: patch.ofurr@gmail.com. 

Fred Patten’s birthday was December 11 – Happy 75th, Fred!

300px-Fred_PattenRead an interview with Fred about the founding of Furry fandom, by esteemed novelist Phil Geusz.  Thanks Fred for bringing so much content that helps Dogpatch Press to put out Furry News every week day.  Sorry that this went out too late to share Furplanet’s weekend birthday discount sale for Fred’s titles.  But check them out:

“Accidental Guests of the Midwest Fur Fest” – outsider appreciation gets viral views.

This personal blog post got lots of love.  The Healthy Not Nuts blog covers a husband and wife’s thoughts on recipes, diet, health and photography.  It’s lovely when Furries add spice to the mundane!  “…how can you not love these creatures that look so cute, cuddly and happy all of the time?”  The post earned 267 comments.  The writer shared an appreciation letter for the post, where he mentioned getting over 20,000 views.

Furries in Buzzfeed’s “The 50 Worst Things On The Internet In 2015.” (NSFW)

Use this archive link (so they get no incentive to publish unforgivable crap).  Furries are in items 14, 20, 31, and 46.  There’s also bonus bronies, puppy and pony players. Whether it’s love or hate, at least things are never boring…

Goodbye to Furnation.

FurnationFurnation was one of the first visible Web presences for Furry fandom. It helped many to discover their fursonas in the 1990’s. Reddit calls it “the end of an era.” Flayrah gave it a feature under it’s tag for collected coverage. Social network Furrtrax made a generous offer of free hosting to keep it online.  I tried helping, but got the feeling that Furnation’s admin was too burnt out with health problems to devote an ounce of effort for community moderation. I also assume the build of the site might be antiquated and burdensome (perhaps technical, or with copyright for content built by individuals.) It’s influence lives on in places like FurPlanet (formed from Furnation Magazine), one of the 3 main Furry publishers.

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December 7, 2015

Friend of community dies in shooting, Zootopia and animation – NEWSDUMP (12/07/15)

by Patch O'Furr

Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag.  Guest posts welcome. Tips: patch.ofurr@gmail.com. 

Friend of the community lost in mass shooting in San Bernardino CA. (Tip: Bosn Otter.)

EP-151209804The tragedy on December 2 is described as terrorism-related, and left 14 dead and 21 injured.

Bosn said Dan Kaufman was “a friend to the furry community… a friend to pretty much everybody he ever met.”

  • ABC7.com: “A coffee shop worker killed in the San Bernardino mass shooting on Wednesday was remembered by loved ones as a caring and compassionate man.”
  • Inside Edition: Kaufman was “named as one of the victims of the San Bernardino massacre after his partner initially thought he’d survived.”
  • L.A. Times: “For victim’s boyfriend, 22 hours of conflicting reports, then heartbreak”
  • SBsun.com: “jovial person who touched lives”
  • The Guardian: “a gregarious free spirit who adored horror films”
  • PE.com: “Kaufman liked dressing up in costume and performed for 16 years in a local Renaissance Faire.”
  • L.A. Times: “dressed as an Italian noble with a stiff lace collar and a pewter goblet, or as a peasant riding a horse”
  • Frontiers Media: “San Bernardino Mass Shooting Took Gay Victim”

His Facebook account gave the impression that he had lots of friends through cons and the Ren Faires.  It was hard to find direct Furry connections, although some of his last pics were from a comic con I went to 1 month ago (Comikaze Expo) where he cosplayed as a wolf.

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