Via: Pause.com
I…I tried…really hard to watch this but when I saw it was 5+ parts, I simply had to give up on watching the whole thing and simply let The Nostalgia Critic suffer the agony for me:
Titanic: The Animated Film Read More »
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 🙂
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.
Animation Books That I Own Read More »
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.
Memorable Moments From The Simpsons: Then and Now Read More »
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?
Updating Old Animation To Modern Standards Read More »
Updated at the bottom.
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.
UPDATED: The Wall Street Journal On Gender And The Legend Of Korra Read More »
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.
2Day in Animation Launches Read More »
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.
5 Reasons The 1970s Animation Malaise Wasn’t So Bad Read More »
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.
Character Sundays: Dogbert Read More »
With much thanks to Mike Lynch for posting this the other day.
What you see below is a pseudo-commercial/training film produced by “Cartoon Films, Inc.” for the purposes of showcasing the latest engine technology. In reality, it was Jam Handy of Detroit who produced the film, and although there is much mechanical detail, there is also a good overview of how animated films were made in 1940.
Of course it’s not Disney-esque in stature, but it does give a good account of what many smaller studios that churned out shorts and commercials would have been like. It’s astonishing to think that such an operation has been entirely replaced by the computer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlWl2dXUCF8
How Animated Films Were Made In 1940 Read More »
Dan Santat is a cool guy. Besides creating the Disney show The Replacements, he’s also a full-time illustrator with many books (both personal and c-created) to his credit. He recently talked with Rob Sander’s over at the Picture This! blog about his creative process and how he got his start in the business. Here’s the really important part:
Rob: What three things have you learned that illustrators breaking into the picture book biz need to know?
Dan: First of all, I have to start off by saying is that I hate networking and meeting art directors and trying to solicit my work. Personally, that experience for me feels like it’s less about wanting to get to know someone and more about trying to get something from someone for work and the whole experience feels insincere. I took the route of trying to expose myself as much as possible on the internet. Share your work with every site you can, and be consistent. So, my first piece of advice would be that if you’re not working on a paying job then just keep working to grow your presence on the internet. Just keep making art and be consistent about it. It’s that simple.Second, you should share that work. Post it on your blog or Tumblr account be consistent about posting something every week. It’s the consistency as much as the quality of the work that keeps people coming back to see what you’re doing.Third, I would advise a person to really focus on their art not for the sake of making a buck, but instead to fine tune your style until it really speaks about how you think and do things. If every illustration you do is money driven and you constantly find that you’re asking yourself, “Can I sell this?” then you’re not being true to yourself and your work is suffering because of it. When you constantly worry about being able to make a decent career in the arts many folks tend to rely on imitating the big names out there who are making a big splash with their work. More often than not, their own work suffers because it is derivative.
While Dan is primarily an illustrator, the quote I’ve plucked could be equally relevant to animators, especially those just starting out or are still in school. It’s funny how a lot of what Dan says is common sense, but is still overlooked by a lot of people.
Dan Santat on Breaking Into The Business Read More »
As a civil engineer, I happen to take a liking to all things transportation-related, so it should come as no surprise that I like this short by Colin Hesterly. World of Motion is:
a tribute to man’s various achievements in transportation and technology.
But that’s not all, Colin is quite the designer as well, check out those below, as well as a few more of his animated spots.
http://vimeo.com/colinhesterly/mission
World Of Motion By Colin Hesterly Read More »
