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In
the latest lampoon, Jackson _ featuring his infamous
mug shot face on a cartoon body _ does the ``Sound of
Music.'' Titled ``MJ's Favorite Things,'' the short
shows Jackson chasing children, including a ``Home Alone''-era
Macaulay Culkin, over a hill while singing to the tune
of ``My Favorite Things'' about his affinity with ``shopping
for noses'' and ``lightening my skin tone.''
Other
online cartoons featuring Jackson include ``MJ's Back
in the ER Again'' and ``Michael Jackson _ Black or White?''
Ilardi said despite the crude humor, there's never been
a complaint about an MJ 'toon.
Jackson
isn't the only star to get MadBlasted. Britney Spears'
belly was recently revealed in ``Britney is Pregnant!''
In the animation, baby bodies topped with the faces
of Kevin Federline, Justin Timberlake, Fred Durst and
Spears' Chihuahua Bit Bit dance inside an ultrasound.
Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Paris Hilton and Martha
Stewart have their MadBlast animated moments, too.
``It's
stuff that people are thinking but don't necessarily
say,'' says Ilardi.
These
seemingly amateur, just-for-fun animations are created
by Intermix's full-time staff of 10 to 15 professional
songwriters and animators for the company's ad-driven
Web sites. The creative process takes anywhere from
a week to a month. For every one giggle-worthy hit,
Ilardi says, five are duds.
The
animations, usually one minute or less, are created
with Macromedia Flash, which has become the standard
in online animation. Like a disease, the Intermix toons
thrive on viewers passing them on and on and on again.
Each toon ends with the option to e-mail the link to
a friend.
Not
all the animations focus on celebs _ the most popular
ones are political, and many others feature babies,
which are apparently great sources of humor. At press
time, ``Redneck Baby!'' (who sings atop a trailer park
picnic table) was the No. 1 toon on MadBlast.com. ``MJ's
Back in the ER Again'' was No. 2 and ``Fastcar Baby''
was No. 3.
``We
follow the trends and what people are talking about,''
says Ilardi. ``Whatever people are interested in, we'll
create more and more of that.''
Although
the Jackson molestation trial is still raging, Ilardi
says no more Jackson-themed toons are on the drawing
board ``unless something big comes out in the news.''
``If
he is convicted,'' Ilardi says, ``we really have to
be sensitive about the issue at that point.''
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On
the Net:
http://www.madblast.com
http://www.intermix.com
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