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I'm on break from school and I still can't escape animation. In the last few days I have received the Mickey Mouse in Black and White 2-disc set, Lilo and Stitch, a Chuck Jones retrospective and a book that lists all the Looney Tunes shorts. So, I've decided to take a small break from viewing these treasures throw out some random thoughts on the subject here.
Animation is without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever tried to accomplish. Everytime I think I have a scene nailed down, I'm reminded of yet one more thing that I've forgotten. Watching most cartoons these days, I see them almost completely differently then I did before. I can still enjoy them on the level of pure entertainment, but when I actually stop and think about what I'm seeing, I catch my breath and realize that I could keep at this for ten years and still not come even close to the artistry I see on the screen.
On the flipside, it stuns me how so much effort goes into the actual animation even when the story is garbage. This applies to most Disney films. I can't stand the majority of Disney cartoons as stories, but as animation they rock with an iron fist. The sense of weight, the subtle timing, the almost subliminal affectations that they imbue the characters with. It saddens me to see that many of the animators spent years cultivating wonderful images only to have them butchered. All my teachers work in the industry, and they're all resigned to the fact that they're working on trash, despite being able to accomplish so much more. I try to watch the cartoons they work on, but more often than not I can't stand them for more then a few minutes.
I hope that it doesn't seem that I'm simply nostalgic for old theatrical cartoons and share the disdain for television animation that my teachers have. My ambition is to use limited animation in new ways, like Samurai Jack. Most of what I'm being taught won't be directly applicable to what I want to do, but it's still worthwhile. This is probably the first time I've actually felt knowledge accumulating and changing the way I perceive the world. It's very empowering.
My teachers have also commented on their dislike for anime, which I know many people here (including myself) enjoy. They seem to have problems with the limited animation seen in most anime. This got me thinking about the differences between anime and north american animation. Is there really a difference, or at least one that is discernable? So many people I know fall into either camp, accepting one but not enjoying the other at all. My brother and I were talking about this, and though we agreed that there seemed to be a difference, we couldn't really define what that difference was.
Sorry if I'm being a bore. Though I've talked about theory and mechanics and stuff, please feel free to talk about anything cartoon related. For instance, reading through that Looney Tunes book is reminding me of all sorts of cartoons I haven't seen since I was a child. These days the only Looney Tunes you're likely to be able to find are the ones with the major characters, but there are so many one-shots and minor characters out there. Like Sam the Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf, who are friends off-duty but become antagonists when the workday whistle blows, until they punch out at the end of the day. Or "Much Ado about Nuttin'" with the squirrel trying to bust open the coconut. Or Ralph Philips, or the Porky/Sylvester team-ups, or Pussyfoot and Marc Antony, or... |
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