August 05, 2005
Watching Experimental Animation 101
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People don’t know how to react to these films. They think it's a riddle, that there’s a deep dark mystery to be uncovered. In some cases, sure, that is true… but if you take a look at, for example, the work of [Steven] Woloshen, Richard Reeves, or Theo Ushev’s moving new film, TOWER BALLIHR, these are films about making you feel something. They convey the jumbled up emotions of their creators....they simply want to evoke emotions. You don’t need to seek out deep mysteries, you just need to shut up and let the images and music take you over.
ANIMATION BLOCK
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Submissions are being taken now for their next Block Party September 15th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
August 04, 2005
AMERICAN DOG
If this is what computer animation means at Disney, then I wish they'd made the switch years earlier. The new pieces of art shown at SIGGRAPH 2005 for Disney's forthcoming AMERICAN DOG, directed by Chris Sanders, look just as gorgeous as the first examples of AMERICAN DOG art released last year. Does the film really look like this, or perhaps more appropriately, could the film really look like this? This is the type of animation art one typically only sees in the pre-production phase before it is watered down for the "needs of production;" the lush painterly quality of light and restraint in color styling are a refreshing departure from the aesthetic norm of Disney features. And dare I say, the Sanders style of character design translates even better to these images than they they did to his hand-drawn effort LILO AND STITCH. Yet another sign of promise is that Sanders is the sole director of the film, a significant change from the studio's standard filmmaking-by-committee style of production. Sanders is, in fact, only the second director in modern Disney times to take the solo helm of a major animated feature. The first was Mark Dindal, who directed THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE (as well as the upcoming CHICKEN LITTLE) by himself. So far, everything about this film looks great, and the story sounds entertaining as well. If AMERICAN DOG somehow manages to deliver on the promise of these visuals, I predict the studio is going to have a major hit on its hands.
UPDATE: Scott Graham wrote to let me know that Sanders will not be the second, but the third modern director at Disney to helm a feature solo. Steve Anderson is directing the forthcoming A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON by himself, and that film is scheduled for release before AMERICAN DOG.
OLIVE'S SWEEPSTAKES TICKET
Brew reader Tony Sykes in Sydney Australia spotted this down under:
I was somewhat shocked the other day when I saw a prime-time TV commercial broadcast on a major Australian network featuring our favorite spinach-munching sailorman Popeye, promoting a popular form of gambling, the Scratchies Instant Lottery (click on ticket at right for larger image).The suits at King Features have no idea how powerful a character Popeye is. They think they do, but they don't. If they did, they'd allow Warner Brothers to release their classic Fleischer cartoons on dvd. It's like trying to market the likeness of John Wayne, but witholding all the classic John Wayne movies. We who understand must sit back and watch helplessly while King Features manages to destroy one of the great cartoon stars of all time.Once such a fine ambassador for the healthy consumption of spinach to the kids of the world, poor old Popeye is now setting a fine example for the youth of today to squander hard-earned cash for the slim chance at striking it rich by gambling. That's what I call making your cartoon franchise work for a living.
Hats off to King Features Syndicate and Hearst Entertainment for paving the way. It could put a whole new spin on the Golden Age of animation. Gee, next we could have Daffy Duck Bucks, Bugs Bunny Money or, for the UK market, how about Huckleberry Hound Pounds. I personally can't wait for the Itchy & Scratchy Scratchie!
That said, I'm delighted to see Popeye marketed at all - on lottery tickets, Fried Chicken, maquettes or spinach - at least Stephen DeStefano's artwork keeps the Fleischer spirit, and my hopes, alive.
August 03, 2005
MUSIC TIME WITH JANET KLEIN
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MOON AND SON Screening in LA
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION, the well-received 28-minute animated short by famed animation historian John Canemaker, will be playing in LA this weekend for its Academy qualification. The film screens on August 5, 6 and 7 at 11:30am and 12:10pm at the Laemmle Sunset 5 (8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA). I think ticket prices are normal admission prices listed on the site. From Taylor Jessen's review of the film on AWN:
Animated shorts are a personal art form. THE MOON AND THE SON is really personal . . . a devastating colloquy that mines the content of the animator's childhood even as it matches the form of his childhood drawings. . . . stylistically it's completely liberated and roams freely between whatever media gets the point across quickest – still photos, stock footage, home movies and camcorder video as needed. There's a potpourri of traditional non-digital techniques, applied to media ranging from cels to rough paper.
Just Wait Till Valiant Comes out
Now I don't want to be a party pooper, because I know Disney's already been saved and all, but has anybody else noticed that through July of this year, Disney is in sixth place for movie studio market share, or in other words, last place among the major Hollywood studios. On top of that, in 2005 they've released more movies (16) than any of the top five studios (Fox, WB, Universal, Sony, Paramount). Their sixteen films have grossed a combined total of $380 million domestically, or an average of just under $24 million each. To put that a bit into perspective, Pixar's last two films for Disney -- FINDING NEMO (2003) and THE INCREDIBLES (2004) -- had a domestic gross of $601 million (an average of $300.5 million per film). On the bright side, just imagine how much worse things would be right now if Roy hadn't saved the studio.
Will the real mighty mouse please stand up
I just noticed that one of the top search terms on Technorati, the site that tracks blog postings, was Mighty Mouse, which led me to wonder, why the sudden interest in this long-forgotten Terrytoons character? Has America suddenly discovered the joys of Mighty Mouse animation by Jim Tyer and Carlo Vinci? Are mice who sing opera back in fashion? Did some enterprising DJ do a remix of a Phil Scheib music score from a Mighty Mouse short? Rest assured folks, nobody has started caring about Mighty Mouse. As it turns out, Apple has just released a new computer mouse called Mighty Mouse, accounting for the name's popularity on Technorati. At least Apple is putting the name to better use than Viacom, which has been sitting on the Terrytoons library for years, without the slightest intention of doing anything with the Mighty Mouse shorts. The question remains though, when will companies start marketing products named after Gene Deitch-era Terrytoons characters. I know I'd buy a "John Doormat" and a "Gaston Le Crayon."
August 02, 2005
ANDREAS SPEAKS!
Christian Ziebarth has just posted an interview with master Disney animator Andreas Deja at Animated News.
We also highly recommend the audio interview with Andreas on Animation Podcast.
Bug Me Not
Design Observer recently took a look at those graphic atrocities known as "station identification bugs." The article offers few solutions, but the piece (along with its reader comments) make for an interesting read. One point the article doesn't address is that if the true purpose of these bugs is to identify a network, then why do the channels insist on making the bugs as obtrusive as possible, with animation, sound and all manner of bells and whistles. My hunch is that it's a ploy by cable channels: make the shows so unwatchable on cable that you're forced to buy the dvds of the same show. Fortunately, I have neither cable nor buy any dvds of TV series, but I think I'm in the minority on this one.
TONIGHT IN LA: PES AT RES
LA's monthly RES MAGAZINE screening is tonight, August 2. This month's program has a lot of animation in it, with the main feature being a retrospective of films by NY animator PES. He'll also be at the screening to discuss his work. Other films on the program include the US premiere of Valérie Pirson's short PISTACHE and music videos for Smoosh, Royksopp, Fischerspooner and American Analog Set. The screening is at 8pm at the Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Blvd.) and tickets are $10.
August 01, 2005
Tons o' Monday Morning Inspiration
Craig Yoe said it best in the recent anthology THE EDUCATION OF A COMICS ARTIST: "Those who don't study the 'toon past are doomed not to repeat it! And that's a bad thing because the only good cartoonists are dead cartoonists; with maybe one or two errant exceptions." One of the best places to keep up with dead cartoonists (and a few masters who are still alive, like Ronald Searle) is the Illustration section of the Cartoon Retro forum. There are currently some excellent posts on there filled with artwork by the likes of Aurie Battaglia, Abner Graboff, Ronald Searle, and other great illustrators that I hadn't heard of. Also, if you have interesting art to share, join in and post to the forum. It's open to all.
July 31, 2005
TWINKLE
Gary Leib's New York based flash animation studio TWINKLE is best known for bringing Harvey Pekar's cartoons to life in the AMERICAN SPLENDOR feature film -- but the studio has done much more than that. Check out the studio's TWINKLELAND website and view their music video for They Might Be Giants (with artwork by Mark Newgarden), their Altoids commercial (designed by Charles Burns), and especially watch The Ship That Never Came In, an animated promo piece for Kim Dietch's brilliant BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS.
(Thanks to Mark Mayerson for the link)