International Animation Day – The Animation Anomaly

International Animation Day and Disney Princesses

In case you hadn’t noticed, today is International Animation Day and thanks to the TAG Blog, here is the official animation by Simon Streatfeild:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnjgKQAvvLw]

On a different note, below is a picture I came across while checking my Tumblr dashboard yesterday afternoon,

Via: The Disney Princess

Some-one out there has created pictures centring solely on the negative aspects of each princess’ tale. If you read them, you’ll see that most are taken way out of context and none take into account the personality of each character.

The image above on the other hand, displays some very strong and encouraging traits (the exception being spoiled). Some of them (such as brave, artistic, defiant, independent, adventurous) are certainly traits that I would expect any female to have.

The important contrast between the opposing images is that one side heavily reinforces a point of view that completely removes the story and setting from the equation. The other focuses strictly on the personality trait that best describes the character.

I know I may be comparing apples to oranges (in fact, I probably am) but I would much rather consider the characters in the positive light. How about you?

It’s (Almost) International Animation Day

Animation, ASIFA-East / Charles Kenny

Via: ASIFA

Yes, it’s ,today, October 26th!

EDIT: I got confused this morning (easy to do at 6am), ASIFA-East is holding their event tonight, the day itself is on Thursday, October 28th.

So, what exactly is International Animation Day? Well, it’s organised by ASIFA and its aim is to celebrate the anniversary of the first public performance of Emile Reynaud’s Theatre Optique in Paris in 1892. The reason for such an occasion is as follows (from ASIFA’s website):

Such a celebration is an outstanding opportunity to put the animated film in the limelight and make this art more accessible to the public.

As part of the festivities, ASIFA-East is holding a screening of Prescott Wright films this evening at SVA in Manhattan starting at 7pm.

The purpose of the day is to help foster awareness of animation as much more than just cartoons but as an expressive artform comparable to its live-action counterpart. It’s sad to say, but there are many, many people who thin that animation stops at Mickey Mouse or Pixar. Little do they now what kind of wonders can lurk underneath the surface.

In addition to celebrating animation, the day also offers an opportunity for anyone to learn about animation and its techniques. ASIFA actively encourages organizations to help promote the artform and to teach about the more technical aspects of animation production.

So what are you waiting for? Sit back, relax and enjoy your favourite animated film today or go out there and teach someone all about it!

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