Animation

The Problem With Lists and My Top 10 List of Animated Robots

3 Comments / Animation /

I was kind of shocked when I checked the date it was first broadcast because I can’t believe it’s been nearly five whole years, but nonetheless it inspired today’s post. I’m talking about Channel 4’s 100 Greatest Cartoons list, which was broadcast over a pretty epic 3 hours in total.

As a list, its pretty comprehensive, although some will take issue with the fact that cartoons were defined as films, shorts and TV series so the likes of Betty Boop had to contend with the entire cast of Futurama who were up against Akira. Not entirely a fair fight in my opinion but I digress.

I mention all this because as a list, The 100 Greatest Cartoons is actually pretty good. It was voted on by members of the British public so naturally a few shows made it in that American folks would never recall. The main issue I have with lists is the propensity for the youngest items to rank really high. A noted example is (can’t believe I’m referencing this) the greatest albums of all time in Q magazine a few years back. The Red Hot Chili Peppers then-current album was way inside the top 10. I can’t even recall the name of it now.

Another aspect of lists (and it’s the main reason I tend to stay away from them on the blog) is that when some one person makes them up, they reflect the personality of that person. For example, if I were to make a list of the top 10 animated robots, it would look like this:

  1. XJ-9 (bonus points if you also know her name)
  2. Mr. Bender Bending Rodriguez
  3. The Iron Giant
  4. EVE
  5. EVA Units 01, 02 and 03
  6. Astroboy
  7. The Robot from Castle in the Sky
  8. Transformers
  9. Rosie the Robot
  10. The break-dancing robot that caught on fire

By the looks of things, it appears to be a fairly inconspicuous list. You may argue that Astroboy should be first or that I am adhering to the very thing I lament in the paragraph above (I don’t this just happens to be the way the list is). The point is that this is my list and what I consider to be the top 10 animated robots. You will probably have a completely different list, and that’s perfectly fine. I think the reason we are so obsessed with such lists is that we want to compare ours and argue about why that list is wrong and ours is right (it’s a human nature thing, right?).

 

The Problem With Lists and My Top 10 List of Animated Robots Read More »

The 2011 Academy Awards Shortlist and Why There Should be Five Nominees

Animation, Opinion /

By now you should have seen the shortlist for the contenders for the 3 nomination slots for this year’s Best Animated Film category of the Academy Awards. Just in case you haven’t, here it is:

  • Toy Story 3
  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • Shrek Forever After
  • Despicable Me
  • Alpha and Omega
  • Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
  • The Dreams of Jinsha
  • Idiots and Angels
  • The Illusionist
  • Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
  • Megamind
  • My Dog Tulip
  • Summer Wars
  • Tangled
  • Tinker Bell
  • Great Fairy Rescue

Academy Rules state that if there are more than 15 entries on the shortlist, then the number of nominations go up to 5. The logic behind this is that the rather artbitrary number of 15 is used as a yardstick to measure how popular animated films are in this country. In a year like this one, enough were not released to warrant the wider number of nominations.

Perhaps there is some underlying explanation that we are not privy to, but come on man, I could easily pick 5 films, nay, 5 universally acclaimed films from that list and still be left with plenty to spare. Maybe in years gone past the quality of films has meant that only three good films could be chosen. I don’t exactly know, although I would doubt it, seeing as the category has only existed since 2001.

Think of the debate that would be generated! Look at last year! There were 5 nominees and the quality of the nominees was very fine indeed. Included were Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, Up and The Secret of Kells, a film that hadn’t even been on general release when that ceremony was held!

With just three films in the race this year, it will most likely come down to Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon and either Despicable Me or a take-your-pick from the indies; the general attitude to which can be summarised in the quote below from the Washington Post’s, Celebritology blog:

All the usual animated suspects made the first round of cuts…..”The Illusionist,” the requisite annual animated entry that’s critically lauded but that no one’s kids will ever see? Total check.

In such a circumstance, I’m relying on HTTYD to upset the Pixar apple cart. It’s just a shame that genuine contenders for the award are dismissed before they even get the chance to line up for the race.

Now imagine if there were 5 nominees. You can add in an extra two films to the mix and with a strong indie presence, you can be assured that they stand a better chance. Both The Illusionist and Idiots and Angels would garner a lot of extra exposure from even a simple nomination and that would only increase interest in the artform (surely something we can all agree on).

Like I said above, more contenders might not lower the odds for Toy Story 3 (at least not at your bookie) but it would reinforce the idea in the general public’s mind that animation is a wonderfully varied medium that exists outside the major Hollywood players. Having said that, I do realise that the Academy Awards are a back-slapping ceremony for Hollywood, so if you’re not in the club, your chances of winning are slim. But seriously, how much extra does it actually cost the Academy to add two more films to the list? Not much, but they could stand to gain a lot more if they did.

The 2011 Academy Awards Shortlist and Why There Should be Five Nominees Read More »

Recap of the 2010 ASIFA-East Art Auction

Animation, ASIFA-East /

I’m a day late and much more than a dollar short with my recap of the this fantastic, bi-annual event that helps raise money for ASIFA-East. I do have a very good excuse, however, in that I didn’t get in the door until half two on Tuesday morning (it was a long bus ride in case you were wondering) and I had to revise for a test in the evening, so that meant blogging took the back seat for a day.

But enough beating about the bush and onto the auction itself, which was ably hosted by Mr. Justin Simonich who was assisted by the lovely Linda Beck.

Animators are involved in the creation of some truly fantastic pieces of artwork, be it the actual cels used in the cartoon, development art, backgrounds, etc, etc. Sometimes these wonderful items get mothballed in storage, sometimes they get auctioned off to the highest bidder and sometimes the artists themselves get to keep them. Thankfully, the auction has those and much, much more.

FanBoy and ChumChum sketch by Eric Robles

Besides your usual animation cels (of which I managed to acquire one, from Mark Kausler and Greg Ford’s short “It’s the Cat”), there was also plenty of comics, T-shirts, sketches, original paintings, development sketches and posters, all singed for posterity of course and many included little doodles (these people do draw for a living after all).

Fish Hooks sketch by Noah Z. Jones

Like any good buyer at an auction, I sussed out the lots and made note of which ones I planned to bid on. Of course I didn’t buy all of them (I would’ve needed a cart to take it all back) and besides, I didn’t want to be selfish. Of the items I did not win, the one I am probably most disappointed with is that above, the sketch by Noah Z. Jones of his new TV show, Fish Hooks. It’s pencilly look would’ve gone great with the white walls in my apartment. The second one I lost is below and is pretty self-explanatory. Not only is it from Sesame Street, it’s also signed by Big Bird himself!

Sesame Street picture book art.

There were plenty of laughs to be had and Mr. Warburton gave new meaning to the term “phoning it in” when he made a passionate plea on behalf of his lot that would better that of any politician (his assertion that $55 was just an ugly number to bid extracted plenty of laughter).

All in all, it was a great evening. The only downside was the contorted ride home, when I had to somehow get some sleep but also prevent my purchases from crashing to the floor. The auction is a great event that I’m glad I make the effort to attend. There are always some great art to be bought and the crowd is jovial. It certainly made my Monday a lot better than it could’ve been!

UPDATE: For the super-official recap of the event, head on over to The Exposure Sheet to see what Emmett Goodman has to say.

Recap of the 2010 ASIFA-East Art Auction Read More »

What if Pixar Made the Next Fantastia?

2 Comments / Animation, Disney, Film, Pixar /

The other day, I had a bit of a back and forth conversation on Twitter with Mr Sam Levine about Fantasia, in which he mentioned pitching a sequence featuring Gustav Holst’s suite “The Planets”. Afterwards it got me thinking about the whole concept of Fantasia and why it remains so popular even after all these years.

My personal opinion is that it epitomises the best of animation as an expressive artform. Now I don’t meant to say it has the best animation, that’s a statement that requires some serious research and evidence to back up, which I don’t have the time for today. What I mean is that the music forms the basis on which the animation is based, not the other way around, which is the way most films are scored these days. The result is a wonderfully complex series of sequences in which the animator is allowed a fair amount of creative license that is used to great effect. Does dialogue distract from the animation? Watch any animated show/film/etc with the sound off. Do you pay more attention to the character’s movements? I bet you do.

With the thought of seeing the film for the first time in a few years (since it’s coming out on DVD) as well as seeing Fantasia 2000 for the first time, it got me thinking: What if Pixar made the next Fantasia?

We all know that Pixar makes good movies (I know it too, in difference to my recent comments over on Cartoon Brew) and while their writing team has been given a ton of credit for their slate of films, the animation crew seems to be in their shadow to a certain extent. A film like Fantasia would be a wonderful opportunity to give them a chance to flex their creative muscles.

In comparison, Disney was at a similar stage when he made the original. Here he was, an established animation studio that had won critical and commercial success who was looking for a vehicle to showcase the latest in technology, which at the time included stereo sound and technicolour (yes, that had been around for almost a decade but I dare you to name more than a few, colour, World War II films).

Does Pixar need a film to showcase all their creative skills? No, not really, they already do that in almost every film they release. Would I still like to see them do it? Absolutely! CGI is in desperate need of something to show of the animation itself and not just the design or the backgrounds.

The realities of the movie business today mean that a Pixar Fantastia is unlikely to happen, which is a wee bit of a shame really, since the original is still immensely popular. I would not, however, rule it out altogether.

What if Pixar Made the Next Fantastia? Read More »

Why A Film Review Should Make You Want To See the Movie

Animation /

Although I’ve mentioned that I’m not particularly fond of movie critics, they do undertake an important role, that of reviewing movies for the general public who simply do not have time to view them all. Naturally the quality of such reviews varies greatly and critics generally tend to come off as snooty, holier-than-thou types who will savagely beat a film before it goes on to become the top grossing one of the year.

Sometimes the best reviews I’ve read are not by real critics at all, they’re written by fans, movie-lovers or friends. The internet has been marvellous in that regard as I can Google said movie and discover literally thousands of personal responses to the film.

The proliferation of movie reviews on the internet does not mean, however, that the calibre or quality of said reviews are any better. Responses by fans can be tainted my personal bias, cultural bias or indeed national bias (for the record, we Irish did enjoy Four Weddings and a Funeral) and you always run the risk of a poorly written or worded review (I’ll put my hand up here) spoiling your appetite.

The interesting thing is, when you break it down, a film review, if done correctly, should encourage you to go see the film no matter how bad (or good) a film is. That’s not to say it should encourage you to go see a pile of puke, like say, The Mask 2 but it should present the reader with enough information about whether they want to go and see the film or not.

Take for instance Michael Sporn’s review posted yesterday for The Illusionist. It covers all the bases and discusses the negative aspects of the film (of which there are few). By the end, I wanted to see this film, not because of how brilliant Michael conveyed it to be, but because he made me believe that this is a good film through his spirited writing and comprehensive inclusion of other well known animation figures and their opinions.

In the end, the decision to go see the film will be made by you and you alone (although your friends and peers may have some serious influence). A good review will inform you of why you should see it and have minimal comments on the negative aspects the film, which of course, will leave it up to you to determine them for yourself.

Why A Film Review Should Make You Want To See the Movie Read More »

A Scary Dream I Had the Other Night

Animation, Disney, TV /

Via: Stuff We Like.com

Not the kind of blood-curdling, shivers down the spine stuff you understand, Hallowe’en is over for another year after all, but scary nonetheless. In it, I was in a film, a rather peculiar film in that it was a lice-action/CGI hybrid version of that classic Disney cartoon, DuckTales.

Yes, you read that correctly. How it came about, I do not know, although I sure hope it is not a premonition of some kind that is a window into the future. As an animation fellow, that would be unthinkable, a crime against humanity even!

Well, since then, I’ve been pondering the whole thing on and off and I’ve come to the conclusion that such a feature may well be within the realm of possibility for the foreseeable future for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Uncle Scrooge is one of Disney’s most successful characters (he’s had his own comic since the 50s after all). I could probably still recall the many, many comics I read as a kid at the kitchen table as I ate my breakfast and supper. The original stories by Carl Barks and the more recent stuff by Don Rosa continue to attract fans the world over. So it is safe to say that the character is far from being hung out to dry.

Secondly, such a film would not be the first time that Disney has capitalized on the character or universe. The TV series DuckTales was, for the most part, the adaptation for animation of some of Barks original stories. The series was massively popular and gave rise to a sequel in the form of Darkwing Duck.

What set DuckTales apart from other shows was the cinematic quality of the animation. So much so, that when a theatrical film was released (The Treasure of the Lost Lamp) the difference in quality was imperceptible to my untrained (at the time) eyes.

That film, apparently didn’t fare too well at the box office, which was a shame but not entirely unexpected. If I had to suspect a reason it’s that not too many adults watched the show, and thus were not as familiar with it as they could have been. By comparison, SpongeBob Squarepants had a pretty large adult following (including both parents and trendy college students) by the time a theatrical film was released. This ensured that it had a significantly larger potential audience than if it were just kids and their parents.

So, why would now (i.e. within the next few years) be a good time for a new film?

Weeeeeell, anybody who watched the original show is probably in their mid to late-20s with the cut-off being 30 years old, for the most part. With that in mid, they’re probably starting to get married and having a few kids. As humans, we’re suckers for nostalgia, why else would they play classic rock and 80s synth-pop on the radio?

There’s a good chance that since all the original viewers have grown up and now have kids of their own, they will be hungry for some link to their youth. A DuckTales film would be perfect and with the recent rash of live-action/CGI movies, it would fit the glove quite nicely for such a production.

I write all this in a somewhat sarcastic manner as I believe such a movie would be most likely horrendous. Why on earth I dreamt it in the first place is beyond me and while I would like to see some new animation from the Duck universe, a live-action/CGI film is certainly not on my list of possible ideas.

A Scary Dream I Had the Other Night Read More »

Better Late Than Never: Steve Jobs and Cars 2

Animation, Pixar /

Yes, I am pretty late with today’s post and I offer my humblest apologies.

I read on Lineboil today that Steve Jobs, erstwhile boss at Apple Computer, has instructed John Lasseter to get his hands dirty and stick his nose into the engine bay of Cars 2.

While none of this is confirmed as of yet, if it is true, it could delay the sequel to a film that has absolutely raked in the merchandising dough for Disney/Pixar over the years and clearly has done quite well thus far with various TV specials and psuedo spin-offs.

The important lesson to learn is that either the story guys aren’t firing on all cylinders, or the race marshall thinks they’re running on illegal tyres and won’t let them leave the pit lane. Either way the instruction from Jobs represents a significant event in the Pixar assembly line production of movies. Is it a bad thing? Maybe, maybe not. However, it is the type of top-down management style typical of Jobs but somewhat foreign in a creator-orientated company like Pixar.

Since we’re unlikely to find out the truth for a while yet, I’m not going to take it at full face value. However, I hope that it does not signal the start of a worrying trend at the most successful CGI studio to date.

Better Late Than Never: Steve Jobs and Cars 2 Read More »

The Wall Street Journal on The War Between Disney and Nickelodeon Over Pre-Schoolers

2 Comments / Animation, Disney, Nickelodeon, TV /

Thanks to Cathal Gaffney for tweeting this interesting article from the Wall Street Journal. You might want to grab a cup of tea (or coffee) before you read it. I’ll wait.

Back? OK, good.

The point of the article is that Disney and Nickelodeon differ on how they think pre-school children should be programmed for. Nick believes firmly in educational programmes whereas Disney is soon to switch to more story-based shows. The article makes it out like the two are locked in an epic battle for eyeballs that have absolutely zero purchasing power. Although that is not telling the full story, is it?

Of course not. it’s made quite clear that parents are the real ones being courted. Yes, there are the Jesuit ideals at work (get them young and they’re customers for life) but the networks seem to be pandering to parent’s wants even more. As is pointed out, there has been a shift in what parents desire for their kids. A decade ago, they wanted them to be well educated, now they want them to be happy.

What I think is that as parents, they should be spending more time with their kids! Why? Well, the programming may have a lot of educational content, but as pointed out in the article, the top advertisers during said programmes are the fast food and toy companies. Now there is nothing wrong with that, per se, however knowing how much TV kids in the US seem to watch, it can’t be a good thing.

Something that I admit kind of floored me was that 40% of Nick Jr’s viewers watch between 8-11p.m. What the #$%^(*&? When I was that age, I was lucky to stay up past 8, let alone up to 11!

I am not trying to disparage the idea of educational, pre-school TV shows, I did after all, watch Sesame Street religiously for years until I went to school.However, I also watched plenty of Postman Pat and Thomas the Tank Engine too. The point is that I enjoyed a good mix of programming, it wasn’t skewed heavily in either direction.

On the other side of the fence are the networks, who will come up with the relevant facts to prove that their content is beneficial, such as this from the article.

“Jake and the Never Land Pirates,” a new series launching in February, follows a group of kids who get into adventures with Captain Hook. Even though Hook is a bad guy, Jake still invites him to play at the end of the episodes, an important social lesson, Disney says.

Yeah right. From my own recollection, kids on the playground will heed their peers when it comes to including and excluding other kids from play. I did it and I was on the receiving end of it too and all the time I don’t recall using what I saw on the TV as a guide as to my behaviour.

Well, I take that back. once I told another kid to “get lost” as in an Oscar the Grouch way and man, did I get hauled up to the teachers desk, from where I had to make a very, very public apology to the entire class. I learned my lesson after that experience!

What worries me most is that the whole point and benefits of pre-school programming will be lost in the scramble to win parent’s affections and dollars. Responsibility for a child’s upbringing should rest with the parents. Networks are in the unenviable position of having to balance the need for high-quality programming with the need for earnings from advertisers. So far they’ve done relatively well. Should a war break out, we all know who will suffer the most.

The Wall Street Journal on The War Between Disney and Nickelodeon Over Pre-Schoolers Read More »

Animation Renaissance

Animation /

I’m a wee bit behind on various updates from my stable of animation blogs and websites so here is a belated link to a post by Michael Sporn featuring a magazine article written by the one and only Mr. John Canemaker discussing the state of the animation industry in 1980 (a.k.a. 30 years ago). The article serves as a good reminder that although the industry is always in a state of change, it is never permanently resigned to an unfortunate fate. It’s well worth a read.

Animation Renaissance Read More »

An Early Goal for 2011

Animation, Announcements, Book /

I had a nice post written all about the healthy state of TV animtion worldwide and then the computer went and lost it. Seeing as I am now late for work, it will have to wait for another day. In the meantime, here is the beginnings of my latest project. I have to juggle girlfriend, work, school and the dog in between everything else going on in my life so it may take a while (read: the better part of a year) to see some resutls. Nonetheless, I’m excited.

 

An Early Goal for 2011 Read More »

Thoughts on the Tintin Movie

1 Comment / Animation, Film /

Via: Cartoon Brew

By now we’ve all seen the stills on Empire and read the comments on Cartoon Brew. I myself would have posted a lot earlier but the old PC is acting up (my motherboard is suffering from capacitor fatigue) and it got to the point this morning that I was halfway done writing this post before it shut off by itself.

But enough of my computer woes and onto some animation ones. The upcoming Tintin feature will be made in motion-capture, that much is certain. Now I am no fan of the technology. If something is considered animated, that means there are no humans involved in the actual movement process. When I say this, I do not mean to include rotoscoping. That process still relies on a degree of talent to draw the character. Motion-capture removes the vast majority of that skill and relies instead on a designer and set-builder.

Much of the hubbub around the film concerns the look of the characters and how much they differ from the comics. It’s nearly impossible to pass judgement on a film based off two still pictures, so a more complete opinion will have to wait until we see some actual footage.

It’s sadly becoming harder and harder to convince people that traditional animation is often much more appropriate for certain projects. Tintin is a prime example. The Nelvana TV series was very much true to the comics and was all the better for it. This film is likely to see a much greater departure from the books fans the world over know and love (myself included).

The final aspect to consider is what the overall plan is for the film. There were 21 Tintin books in total and unless the producers expect to make a James Bond-esque series, there are going to be some tough choices to be made.

The release date is still some time away so I will not be worrying about it too much until then and neither should you.

Thoughts on the Tintin Movie Read More »