April 2012

Dreamworks Does Disc-To-Digital [sigh]

1 Comment / Animation, DreamWorks /

Yoinked from Engadget

Dreamworks has been all over the media in the last couple of days as a result of their announcement that they have joined Walmart’s new VUDU Disc-To-Digital service. The gist of this is that if you own a DVD or Blu-Ray disc, you can bring it in to Walmart, and, for the low low fee of $2 American, they will convert it into a digital copy to be stored “in the cloud”.

So beyond the hilarity of paying someone $2/disc to rip your movies for you, there’s also the fact that the content itself will be accessible via the Ultraviolet service. If you haven’t used it, you are not alone, but it’s basically Hollywood’s attempt to stop file-sharing by giving people the ability to watch their movies on devices other than a TV [gasp].

So why would Dreamworks agree to be part of something that is quite frankly much inferior to your local Pirate Bay? They aren’t going to gain any new customers; the service is only for those who already own the DVD, and it’s not really applicable to new content either, as those discs already come with an Ultraviolet version included.

My guess is that Dreamworks simply sees it as a zero-sum opportunity where they don’t stand to gain or lose anything significant but may well get a cut or fee from Walmart for participating in return for putting out a press release stating as much. In any case, they can at least extract a bit more value from the typical Walmart customer and curry favour with the old boys in Hollywood.

As far as their overall digital strategy seems to be going, this seems to be more of a sideshow to the main event. If anything, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s comments seem particularly bland:

We are thrilled to make DreamWorks Animation’s current library of films available as part of [Walmart’s] disc-to-digital service, which we view as a positive step forward for the industry and for consumers.

So let’s give Jeffrey a golf clap for the effort and lip-service involved in this particular venture and offer continued quiet encouragement in everything else the studio is doing to move to digital.

 

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Which YouTube Animation Channel Will Succeed?

3 Comments / Animation /

As Cartoon Brew has pointed out, we are seeing a raft of new YouTube channels devoted to animation being launched or announced in recent months. However the internet is a fast-moving and unforgiving place. New channels can have a tough time gaining an audience and keeping it. So with that in mind, which YouTube channel will succeed?

First though, it’s important to note that there are two different kinds of channels; namely those that produce their own content, and those that acquire/request content from outside or independent sources.

The ones mentioned in the Brew article are mostly the latter. In other words, the channel runners solicit others to create the content for them to “broadcast”. The line of thinking seems to be that the runners can cherry-pick the best content and hence ensure an acceptable level of quality.

What is interesting though, it that it is the former kind of channel, the one where all the content is produced by the channel owner, that have garnered the most views. It is, of course, a lot harder to become successful with just your own content. However, independent animators (suck as PES) have carved out quite a large audience for themselves from just their own, personal, account.

All in all, it’s a balance between risk and reward and whether you are a creator or not.

So which one will survive?

Before I say, just keep in mind that the internet video landscape is much like the wild west, with many rules still being written and content producers coming and going all the time.

Based on their track record, I would say that Frederator have the best chances with their latest channel, Cartoon Hangover. The reason I say so is that this is not their first channel. That was Channel Frederator, which has been around for about 7 years or so. Naturally, the studio has learned a lot from this experience and are putting it to good use.

The other reason? Well, Fred Seibert has proven that he can pick the winners when it come to TV shows, so it would be quite surprising if he can’t translate that into the online world too. It also helps that Cartoon Hangover is geared more towards actual content over silly videos and is aiming for an older audience with more sophisticated tastes; both areas which have yet to see much quality content.

 

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The Top 7 Cartoon Cars of All Time

Animation /

Having just got some [expensive yet essential] work done to my motor, I thought it would be a good time to look at some of the best cars ever to grace the animation stage. Here they are, presented in no particular order.

The Homer

Who could forget this classic that brought down Powell Motors. A cautionary tale of the customer saying one thing and doing another. Also, how about that horn, eh?

The Gadget Mobile

Far and away the coolest car in TV history. It could transform! How is that not awesome!

Misato’s Car

For the connoisseurs among us, the Renault Alpine was the Porsche 911 for the more independently-minded rear-engine motorist. Hideaki Anno could have used any generic sports car, but instead he chose a car that most people would never figure out; a perfect fit for Misato.

Fred Flintstone’s Car

Don’t deny that you didn’t want to drive this thing at some point.

The Mystery Machine

The Mystery Machine equals the A-Team Van for van-ish coolness and unlike the latter, this one is still transporting the team around. Quite an achievement after 40+ years, no?

Speed Racer

Pretty much obligatory I think.

Cruella Deville’s Car

This is the interesting choice because, number 1, it’s a Disney car, which are fairly rare in the features as they tend to be set in times when the horse was the dominant form of transport; and 2, it’s a rather quirky car. Despite taking place in 1960s Britain, it’s more akin to those from the 30s, or at best the post-war MGs. It also fits her personality with a low, aggressive stance and a quick pace.

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Animation Books That I Own

Animation, Book, Me /

Ever since my passion for animation was ignited a couple of years ago, my collection has been on the increase. It’s still relatively small though; buying school books puts paid to that. It’s a good selection though that represents a good variety of animation styles and genres. Have a peek (click to see full-size) and let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂

  1. Not Just Cartoons, Nicktoons! – By Jerry Beck. Well, how could I not have this? Goregous graphics and backstory to all the original Nicktoons all the way through to The Mighty B!
  2. Cartoon Retro: The Art of Shane Glines – Lots of great lines in this one. The 800+ page ebook that Shane did a few years ago is awesome, but everything looks better on paper.
  3. Animation Magazine 20 Year Collection – This one’s a gift and in addition to a bit of writing, it’s also a cool way to see how the industry has changed so much since the late 80s. They’re getting ready to launch the 25 year edition too!
  4. The Art of Spirited Away – I picked this up in Belfast the day I finished my undergraduate degree. Lots of lovely sketches and illustrations but also a great insight into some of the production methods used. There is also a full copy of the English script.
  5. An Teachtaire – An Irish comic written by Colmán Ó Raghallaigh but illustrated by Tomm Moore of Secret of Kells Fame.
  6. Animation Art – Edited by Jerry Beck, this is the book that kicked it all off. Seeing as it’s a bit trick to find now, I still think there was a bit of fate involved that day I stumbled across it in a Borders in Bowie, Maryland. A great book that I re-read often.
  7. The Art of The Incredibles – Surely no reason to justify this being there, right?
  8. Assorted Life In Hell collections – Matt Groening’s indie comic. The self-portrait at the start of Work is Hell got me hooked.
  9. Stewie Griffin’s Guide to Life – Apologies for this one. It was purchased back when Family Guy was still funny in a non-brain-dead way.
  10. Planet Simpson – By Chris Turner. If ever you wanted a detailed breakdown of one of the best TV shows ever made, this is the tome you want. It gets a bit complicated and existential, but it really is hard to beat.
  11. Your Career in Animation: How to Survive and Thrive
  12. Animation Development: From Pitch To Production
  13. Directing Animation – These three are all written by Dave Levy and even though I’m not directly involved in the animation industry, these have nonetheless been a superb guide to it and how animation is produced. I couldn’t begin to tell you how much I’ve learned from reading them.
  14. The Animation Pimp – By Chris Robinson. This one was a toughie, but the descriptions of people at the end was well worth the effort.
  15. The Vault of Walt – By Jim Korkis. I love the oddball and quirky stories in this one. Much more interesting than the usual Disney stories.
  16. The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes – By Jerry Beck (again?). It may be small but it packs a great punch as it guides you through some of the best output of the Golden Era
  17. Chuck Jones: A Flurry of Drawings – Sadly I’ve yet to read this one.
  18. The Book Of Big Little Books – Big little books were a kind of book released in the 30s (?). This book has quite a nice selection of them.
  19. Walt Disney: An American Original – By Bob Thomas. A great read, whether it has a slight bias or not.
  20. How To Make Animated Movies – By Anthony Kinney. This is the kind of book I enjoy; detailing how to do something in a completely obsolete way.
  21. Walt in Wonderland. Detailing Walt’s early years and the silent films he produced. Michael Sporn has written a bit on this book if you’re interested.
  22. That’s All Folks! The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Although they’re often taken for granted, there really was a ton of great art produced throughout the studio’s existence.
  23. Serious Business – Hiding in the back is this overview of the American animation business.
  24. Bart Simpson’s Guide to Life – By Matt Groening. Being older now, I appreciate the humour a lot more. Plenty of Groening’s trademark wit that characterised the series’ early years.
  25. BFI Classics: Spirited Away – I just finished reading this and it makes a great companion to the Art Of book listed above.
  26. Cartoon Modern – By Amid Amidi. I recently wrote about this, a must for any bookshelf.
  27. Children’s Television – By Cy Schneider [signed]. Although dated by the time of its release, it is a window into the animation business of the 50s through the 80s. Mattel toyetic shows ahoy!
  28. The Art of Walt Disney – This is a recent acquisition but it was published in the early 70s. So Walt was still a very recent memory. I haven’t read it yet, but I am curious to see what it reads like, considering that we know what came after.

Not shown: Walt’s People Volume 11 put together by Didier Ghez. I am currently in the middle of reading this and I can safely say that it has whetted my appetite for Amid Amidi’s upcoming book on Ward Kimball.

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Memorable Moments From The Simpsons: Then and Now

1 Comment / Animation, The Simpsons /

Everyone knows The Simpsons isn’t what it used to be, but besides the lower bar for jokes, there has been a fundamental shift in many of the memorable moments of the series too.

The picture below is perhaps a wee bit biased (no mention, for example, of the death of Homer’s mother), but it is nonetheless an indication of just how much the show has changed. The latter series’ emphasis on guest stars as the center of attention only highlights how subdued guest stars were in the earlier seasons; Tom Jones was a plot device not the plot itself.

I can’t speak for the character analysis at the top seeing as I gave up watching new episodes almost two years ago, but it is nonetheless disheartening to see the degradation of the family. When characters in kids TV shows have more depth than the show that set the gold standard, that’s a huge sign of trouble.

Anyway, click through to embiggen the gory detail.

 

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Updating Old Animation To Modern Standards

Animation /

The video above is a sample of what I’m talking about. It’s basically the original Sonic the Hedgehog 2 game remade in full, glorious, widescreen high-definition. It’s very much a fan project, but it could have uses in animation. There are plenty of older properties out there that could benefit from an overhaul.

Which ones do you think could be done?

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UPDATED: The Wall Street Journal On Gender And The Legend Of Korra

Animation, Nickelodeon /

Updated at the bottom.

Via: The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal is the straight man of American journalism. It’s supposedly “above the fray” of other news organizations that would rather concern themselves with celebrity gossip than real news. Of course all that is less true now that the Journal is owned by the same person whose made a killing muckracking others, but that’s beside the point.

What IS the point is that they currently have a very nice write-up of the new Nickelodeon series Legend of Korra. (The direct link to the WSJ is here, but for the proles among us, I recommend going to Google News and searching for “The Next ‘Airbender’ Gets Older, Wiser and Adds a Feminine Touch” in order to get the full text).

While the article provides a good overview of the new series and its origins in Avatar: The Last Airbender, what makes it stand out is the deceleration that while this series is more girl-friendly than the original, male viewer numbers won’t be affected:

According to Nickelodeon, the median age of “Avatar” viewers is 12.8 years old, and the audience is roughly 65% male and 35% female. Mr. Konietzko said Nickelodeon tested the new series and young boys readily accepted the show’s female hero. “You can’t say it’s gonna fail when there aren’t that many things to point to in animation like this,” Mr. Konietzko said. “Luckily, Nick was brave enough to let us do it.”

Now in fairness to Nickelodeon, they’ve been a bit more progressive than others when it comes to the whole matter of female-led shows with the likes of My Life as a Teenage Robot being a great example. The paragraph above flies in the face of conventional traditional “wisdom” which states that boys won’t watch a show with a female lead. While I think  that is pure bunk, it nonetheless was on Disney’s mind when they altered their film from Rapunzel to Tangled.

Perhaps the best indicator of things to come though, is in this quote, which sums up very nicely the current trend in movies:

“Korra” has been in the works for years, but Mr. DiMartino said that with the success of “The Hunger Games” movie and the coming Pixar film “Brave,” which both feature strong female leads, “The time is right in the cultural zeitgeist for all these female heroes to come out.”

I can’t wait to see them when they do  🙂

Update: Megan over at Forever Young Adult has written a very enthusiastic post about the series that did a good job of confirming that I should catch this show. On top of that, she had this to say about Korra herself.

Guys, Korra is a kick-ass heroine to be reckoned with. She’s strong, brash, and stubborn. But she’s also kind-hearted, fun and brave. You will love her almost instantly. Plus, when was the last time you saw a show that had a non-white 17 year old girl (albeit, animated girl) as its lead? And when was the last time you had a YA girl as a lead in something that wasn’t (at least originally) exclusively marketed toward YA girls?? It sounds so pathetic, but THIS IS THE SHOW I’VE BEEN DREAMING OF. This is the kind of show you should watch with your daughters AND sons because it’s important for them to have an awesome young woman to look up to and emulate and/or admire. And it’s great for us olds, because I know I always want to read about/watch cool ladies, 24/7/365! Also, look at those guns! You should watch the show for her guns alone.

While it comes close to going over the top, it is nonetheless a great description of the main protagonist and why there is so much to like about her. I certainly hope we see more series like this one promises to be.

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2Day in Animation Launches

Animation /

Being a fan of the fine art of parody, it is only fitting that I pass along news of a new website called 2Day in Animation. Taking a cue from world-renowned news source, The Onion, 2Day in Animation is filled with almost-true stories within the animation industry at large. Headlines include:

Banks on High Alert after Hoodwinked 3 Finance Attempt

Exec Miraculously Rescued from Unscheduled MIPtv Pitch Meeting

and

Teletoon Gives Series to Mediocre Animator Just To Shut Him Up

All these headlines are or course backed up by a full story.

Let’s give ‘Bob’ a show of support and willingness to laugh at ourselves by following and reading this new source of faux animation news.

 

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5 Reasons The 1970s Animation Malaise Wasn’t So Bad

1 Comment / Animation /

The 1970s and early 80s is often seen as the malaise period of Western animation. Disney hit a rough patch after Walt died and the likes of Action for Children’s Television (ACT) had cut all of the fun out of the TV shows. This left animated content in a very stale place, despite all of the trippy happenings in the rest of cultural society.

Things weren’t so bad though, here’s a few reasons why the dearth of good quality animation in the mainstream was actually a blessing in disguise:

1. It meant the more off-the wall stuff stood out even more, and meant that artists were forced to use their independent works for real creative expression. It also meant that by the time the Simpsons came around in 1989, audiences were well prepared and hungry for something new and exciting.

2. Even the crappy TV shows had fans and they kept kids interested in animation. Many of today’s great animators grew up watching the tripe peddled by Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears yet they’ve gone on to create some truly memorable shows.

3. It reinforced the creative side of the business. This is especially true of the early 80s, when making TV shows of toys was all the rage. Unfortunately, those severely limited creativity on the part of the producers, and it shows! Thankfully people like Fred Seibert took notice, and began the move back to creator-driven shows to astounding success.

4. It kicked off some very long-running franchises. Scooby Doo has been around since forever. How many people has that kept employed over the years? OK, sure it isn’t the greatest show ever made, but when you figure that it has kept people busy since 1969, you realise that it really does have a staying power that even the Flintstones can’t match.

5. It allowed others to fill in the vacuum left by Walt Disney. Yes, Walt was pretty much the be all and end all of animated films for a long time, even after his death. But it was only after he had departed this world could other people begin to fill in the gap. After a few years you had the likes of Don Bluth step up and attempt the grasp the mantle from what had by that stage was a studio well on the way to becoming the faceless corporation it is today.

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Character Sundays: Dogbert

Animation /

Via: Panels on Pages

Way, way back in the late 1990s, I remember the Dilbert animated show being on TV in Ireland. The schedule was erratic and I don’t believe anything after the first season was ever shown. Nonetheless, I found it to be an extremely funny show with a great cast of characters. one of whom we will look at today: Dogbert

Dogbert is Dilbert’s pet dog, but he is so in only the most symbolic sense. Dogbert is driven and power-hungry. He is always up to something and it always seems to involve controlling people. Buying laws in Congress to enact Dogbert Day? Check. Gaining control of Dilbert’s company? Check.

On a basic level, he is an anti-hero. He does what he wants and is willing to let others do the tough work for him. Dilbert is often at the sharp end of this, but Dogbert is shown time and again as looking out for his owner and often helping him in inadvertent ways (such as blasting him with a laser cannon just so that he would put an approved stamp on his own machine).

Within the TV series, Dogbert adds a dose of reality and rationalism to an otherwise crazy universe, even if it is for his own personal gain. He doesn’t display a lot of emotion beyond wagging his tail when happy, but this simply elevates the fun, as everyone else around him engages in hyper-emotional ways.

As a character, Dogbert is not overly complex, but he does act as a catalyst to deepen an otherwise shallow cast of characters who inhabit the rest of the show’s universe.

 

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