January 06, 2005

Animation Resolutions

Greetings Brew Readers,

I’m really honored to be joining Cartoon Brew and the likes of Jerry and Amid for the month of January. (The guys are definitely my cartoon historian heroes.) I gotta tell ya, as much as I loved working at Animation Magazine, it’s really nice to have the opportunity to jabber on about what’s on my mind—an outlet no trade publication can really provide. For instance, when I was avoiding my yearly resolutions—things like “get my taxes done early,” “exercise more,” “blah, blah, blah”—I started daydreaming about my animation resolutions instead. Although I don’t think these vital, yet rather dizzy resolutions would make breaking news on any of our industry’s animation sites, they make me happy so I thought I’d share.

In 2005 I Resolve To, (In A Very Animated Way):

1) Watch or re-watch ALL the Fleischer Popeye cartoons. (If you’d like to join me, you can find the Fleischer Popeye filmography in Leslie Cabarga’s fantastic book “The Fleischer Story” (Decapo Press).

2) This one is a little embarrassing cause it’s a horrible thing not to have done, but I resolve to read all of Mike Barrier’s “Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation In Its Golden Age” (Oxford University Press). Like the religious text, I’ve only dipped into sections of this bible when I needed proof that an animation god did exist. Although I do suggest the random flipping approach—You know, picking up the tome and just thumbing through to see how a particular page or paragraph speaks to your life… in fact… let me do that now. I’m now holding the book and flipping and I’ve landed on page 181…and, of course… “Fleischer cartoons were full of such arbitrary movement; the characters moved constantly, as did their settings…” …which I think makes them grand… Anyway, that speaks to me. BUT one should read a book from cover to cover in order to truly GET it. So, in 2005, I resolve to GET “Hollywood Cartoons.”

3) Listen to Walt Kelly music CDs at least once a week—especially during this rainy season—a proven pick-up.

4) Finally save up for, find and purchase the really big Iron Giant toy—still in the box.

5) Fully indulge all of my Totoro plush and figurine collecting fantasies.

6) Re-read “The Illusion of Life,” and not just because Jeffrey Katzenberg does so every year. Jeffrey, do you really do that?

7) Launch a worldwide campaign for the creation of a new series of 2D shorts featuring Krazy Kat that would air during all primetime news programs. That would work…right?

8) In an effort to create world peace, launch a second worldwide campaign with the catch phrase “Just A Cartoon A Day: That’s All We Ask.” That would work…right?

9) Become really good friends with Mark Kausler so I can weasel my way into watching films from his amazing cartoon collection. I plan to do this by letting my rabid fan free, praising him hugely for “It’s The Cat!” his extremely cartoony and marvelous short that better darn well make the nominee list from the Academy.

10) Be really nice to Amid and Jerry so they don’t kick me off before I serve my whole month. Wait, I have to do this everyday? Doah!

As usual, one should always carefully think through his or her resolutions before setting them in digital stone… They always come back to bite you!

Posted by at January 6, 2005 10:30 AM