Cartoonists in the Movies

One of the things I've noticed over years of TV and movie viewing, is that more often than not, characters who are supposed to be creative types are almost always writers, photographers . Oh, sure, every so often a painter, dancer or actor gets played, but most of the time it's the other two. As a cartoonist, I wanted to see a movie with a cartoonist as a central character, and between Blockbuster.com and Netflix.com. I've found a surprising number of movies that had what I was looking for.

The following is the list of movies, most of which are available on DVD from either Netflix or Blockbuster online. I'm not going to review any of them-suffice it to say that none of them has ever won an Oscar. Some are good, some are bad...most are entertaining as long as you don't set the expectation bar too high. I have also included a few documentaries into the mix. Again, no Oscar winners in the lot, but interesting just the same.

Ready? Alright, then, here's the list :

American Splendor: Paul Giamatti plays underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar. Comedy, Documentary

Monkey Bone: Brendan Fraser and Bridget Fonda- after an accident, Fraser's character finds himself living his comic strip character's world...Comedy

Slam Dance: Tom Hulce and Virginia Madsen- a murder mystery of sorts... Mystery, Drama

Comic Book the Movie: Mark Hamill- a comedic look at the world of comic book collectors. Comedy

Secondhand Lions: Robert Duvall, Michael Caine, Haley Joel Osment.- You don't see the cartoonist character until the end. You'll see why. Artwork by Bloom County cartoonist Berkeley Breathed. Comedy

The Hand: Michael Caine plays a cartoonist who loses his hand...a horror classic, I'm told. Horror

Children of Men: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine.- Caine plays a retired editorial cartoonist in this recent release. Futuristic drama

Best Man in Grass Creek: John Newcombe. Grace Phillips- Romantic comedy involving a syndicate comic strip salesman. Not exactly a cartoonist, but close enough...Romantic comedy