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| How to Train Your Dragon : 4 of 5 | |
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4.04.2010
1:25 PM | Link0 comments |
 Although I've always had a good time seeing Dreamworks animated features, I can't really say I'm a fan of the studio, since all of their movies ultimately are unmemorable in my opinion, with the exception of Kung Fu Panda. But of course I still try to experience them all, so my pal Melinda and I went to see How to Train Your Dragon recently, and I was completely surprised! At last this is a Dreamworks film completely without trendy jokes and references, unnecessary pop songs, and without fart jokes! How to Train Your Dragon is a "true" movie with an excellent story and beautiful animation, and I think it's now my favorite movie from the studio, mostly due to the involvement of the talented director Chris Sanders, best known for creating Lilo & Stitch for Disney (and in fact, Toothless the dragon has many of the same characteristics that makes Stitch so lovable). The story takes place in a Viking village where everyone is focused on fighting the many dragons that constantly attack, and a young Viking boy named Hiccup wounds a dragon that becomes his friend and kind of pet while he secretly nurses it back to health. Hiccup is kind of an inventor, and builds a device that allows Toothless to fly again as long as Hiccup rides him to control a prosthetic tail in a brilliant symbiotic relationship, and of course the story eventually leads to a reconciliation between the Vikings and the dragons. Along the way there's some great character development between Hiccup and his uber-Viking father, as well as a cool tough girl named Astrid, which progresses nicely during the somewhat slow pace of the plot. But the movie certainly doesn't drag, since there are plenty of great action scenes along with beautiful and thrilling moments of flying through the clouds (which I've heard are fantastic in 3D, although I chose to see the 2D version as a mild protest against the current onslaught of 3D tyranny, which I'm kind of sick of!). The end of the story makes a really bold choice in plot direction (which I'm sure caused tons of heated debate in development meetings), and I certainly applaud everyone involved for bringing it to the big screen! I really enjoyed the voice work (although at times Hiccup's voice seemed a little too wise-cracking for his visual design) and the marvelous animation, especially of Toothless, who is cute and vicious at the same time. When the movie was over, I definitely had a new opinion about Dreamworks as a studio (even though the trailers showed they still plan on releasing more drivel), and I'd love to watch How to Train Your Dragon again when it's released on DVD!
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| Aeon Flux / The Complete Animated Collection : 4 of 5 | |
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3.18.2010
5:43 PM | Link0 comments |
 After watching the Aeon Flux live action film a couple years ago, I really wanted to re-watch the original animated shorts from MTV's Liquid Television that I enjoyed way back in 1991.I put this DVD collection on my Amazon Wish List right away and my pals Chris & Eliza ordered it for me for Christmas, so I'm glad to finally have it in my collection! This set includes three DVDs to present every scrap of the animated Aeon Flux, including many episodes I had never seen or knew existed, and over half of the set features commentary by creator Peter Chung with other writers and directors, making the whole experience quite in-depth and thought-provoking. The series (which was both a set of short episodes with no dialogue as well as a ten episode full-length series with voice work) is incredibly bold and fascinating, especially considering when it was produced (and it's amazing that MTV actually footed the bill, considering the often sexual and violent subject matter). I love the themes of dystopia, layers of deceit and psychological confusion, all set against a futuristic city with architecture and vehicles so detailed they remind me of Masamune's manga. Many of the stories are so bizarre and creative that I watched most of the show with my jaw wide open, and some of the plots are so intentionally off-the-wall that even the creators don't fully understand their meaning! To further confuse matters, Peter Chung makes an effort to refuse interpretation of his work (in order to allow the viewer to draw their own conclusions), although he often has to fight off the urge during the commentary. The animation style is quite angular and unique (and sometimes deformed by extreme camera angles and foreshortening), but always action-packed and smooth, and the brilliant musical score sounds like a cross between Middle Eastern culture and an 80s video game. I definitely have a new appreciation for this groundbreaking show, and it was great to relive my favorite episodes of the past as well as discover additional (and even more amazing) Aeon Flux material!
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| The Art of The Princess and the Frog / Jeff Kurtti : 5 of 5 | |
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2.25.2010
6:59 AM | Link0 comments |
 It's been a long time since I've added a Disney art book to my collection, but since The Princess and the Frog is such a milestone in animation history, I knew I needed this one in my library, and my pal Ryan sent it to me for Christmas! Like most art books, this is a beautiful hardback with thick, high-quality pages overflowing with sketches and developmental artwork from the film (with far fewer production film stills than usual, which is a good thing!). Although there are tons more images than text, I was happy to read some wonderful words by John Lasseter (where he mentions the intentional Lady and the Tramp style, as well as the genius of directors Clements and Musker), followed by a nice mini-history of the three Golden Ages of Disney animation. The end of the book also has a great section discussing the current master animators (truly the equivalent of the Nine Old Men, and even taught by them!) and how this film allowed them to begin passing down their artform to new artists. Everyone was so excited to be working on this important movie, and it shows in every beautiful image! Although most of the paintings are produced digitally now (with tools that simulate brushes with amazing results), it's fun to see the animators sketches are almost always still in good ol' pencil. The amount of development work that was done to capture the essence of New Orleans is simply incredible (even with the interesting use of 3D assist to help with architectural perspective), and I loved studying how this contrasts with the feel of the bayou, which was based on the conceptual techniques pioneered in Bambi (everything is a building block in Disney animation, and everything is valuable!). It was fun finding new details I didn't really catch in the movie (such as the steamboat smokestacks on top of Tiana's restaurant), and I absolutely love looking at color scripts with all their vibrant energy. This book shows a true reverence for the art of animation and Disney animated features, and made me even happier and more grateful that this magical style still lives on in The Princess and the Frog!
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| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs / Diamond Edition : 5 of 5 | |
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2.04.2010
6:39 AM | Link0 comments |
 I thought it was kind of appropriate that my first Blu-ray experience was the first feature-length animated movie, and even though you might think a 1937 hand-drawn film wouldn't be the best way to enjoy my new Blu-ray player, Disney really did an incredible job with this new Diamond Edition release! The film itself looks practically brand new, and when you combine the Blu-ray clarity with the smoothness and quality of animation it seems impossible that this movie is over 70 years old! I was pretty impressed with Disney View, which uses tasteful paintings to fill in the sides of a 16:9 screen (since movies were good ol' 4:3 in the 1930s), and I loved how they change to fit the scene. Of course, the bonus materials on this release are absolutely bursting at the seams thanks to Blu-ray storage capacity, most of which are contained in the fascinating Hyperion Studio feature, which allows you to wander around the original Disney studio. Each room contains several short segments that provide a wonderful education about the making of Snow White as well as the process of animation in general, combined with classic Disney shorts to illustrate key points. I loved the vocal recreations of story meetings, the funny anecdotes about working for Walt, and of course seeing interviews with all of my animation heroes, both old and new. From Don Hahn's excellent explanation of the exposure sheet, I learned how the shadow effects in Snow White were produced with complicated double exposures, and I also discovered that the voice actress for the evil queen also did the old witch, but with her teeth out! The advanced capability of Blu-ray and BD LIve allows for some cool and unexpected interactions, such as the Magic Mirror (who narrates the menus) greeting you by mentioning the time of day and even the weather in your location! The games are also pretty amazing - Jewel Jumble is as smooth as any basic arcade game, and Scene Stealer allows you to upload photos to the web which are accessed to put your face on Snow White and some of the dwarfs! The amazing Platinum Edition of Snow White from years ago was fantastic for its time, but I am thoroughly impressed with what this new technology can do and how Disney is using it!
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| Animaniacs Vol 3 : 4 of 5 | |
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1.12.2010
11:41 AM | Link0 comments |
 For the past few years I've enjoyed these great DVD sets with Wakko, Yakko and Dot, and I've just finished all five DVDs of this volume of Animaniacs! I've been a fan of these "modern Looney Tunes" for quite a while, but it seems like I appreciate them more each time I see them. This set includes the last few of the original 65 episodes, followed by four really lame episodes (almost all filler), but then returning to hilarious material, some of which I don't remember watching before! There are some brilliant stand-out segments, such as the caricature of William Shatner singing karaoke, the "newly discovered" black & white Warner Bros cartoon from 1929, a fantastic Power Rangers spoof, Pinky and the Brain doing their own dialogue recording in the studio, and one delicious Minerva Mink spot (hubba hubba). One of the best episodes is the 65th Anniversary Special, which presents a funny fake animation history, complete with interviews with animators, classic Warner Bros characters, and lots of Termite Terrace in-jokes. Of course, the whole set can't be perfect, so there are a few parts that were real snoozers for me. I don't think Katie Ka-Boom is funny at all, and there are a few too many Goodfeathers segments for my taste (I would rather see more Slappy Squirrel instead). As usual, the music is downright incredible, from the scores that would make Carl Stalling proud to the wonderful original songs that seem like they would be impossible to sing (I love the earthquake song!). Only one disc in the set has bonus features, which are a couple of documentaries about music composition and character development. Both of these are pretty interesting, though the quality (especially their low recording volume) could use some work. Time sure flies when you're watching Animaniacs, and I can't believe that all five DVDs of this set went by so quickly! I desperately want to see the final episodes of the show, so I really hope Warner Bros makes the fans happy and releases Volume 4!
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| The Princess and the Frog : 5 of 5 | |
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12.08.2009
11:30 AM | Link0 comments |
 It's not often that something so anticipated meets every expectation, so I had my fingers crossed when I went to a sneak preview (thanks to Melinda, of course!) of Disney's new animated feature The Princess and the Frog. This movie is so important to the future of animation, and marks several "returns" for Disney - a return to hand-drawn animation, a return to fairy tales with a princess, a return to true musicals - so I've been hoping with all my might that this film could start a new renaissance just like The Little Mermaid did so long ago. I'm so happy to say that Disney has done it - The Princess and the Frog brings back the magic and spirit of all the classics that Disney fans love! From the moment the movie began I was tingling at seeing a true cartoon on the big screen again - there's just something about knowing human hands made this living artwork that's overwhelming to me. The animation was never disappointing, with fantastic, expressive character designs, detailed lip-sync on human characters, and hilarious variety of movement. Of course I could keep gushing about the animation (I love it that the incredible Mark Henn has another beautiful princess in his portfolio), but truthfully the most important element is the story (as any Disney fan would tell you), and directors Clements and Musker (who thankfully were willing to come back to Disney after the animation shakedown) have managed to craft an absolutely beautiful tale. Each character has a perfect fit in the plot, and everyone (not only Tiana) is allowed to grow in a wonderful way. The songs are wonderful, especially since they're influenced by New Orleans Jazz, and there are several giant music numbers that really bring the house down (think of the pizzazz of I Just Can't Wait to be King from The Lion King, then multiply it by three)! Tiana is a truly lovable and admirable character, Prince Naveen has some hilarious lines, Louis the gator is a reincarnation of Baloo from The Jungle Book (and that's a compliment!), and Dr. Facilier is a welcome addition to Disney's gallery of villains. But the character that shines with brilliance (pun intended) is Ray the Cajun firefly, who creates an emotional sob-fest that ranks right up there with Bambi's mom and Dumbo's tear (all I can say is, be prepared to cry). I absolutely cannot wait to see The Princess and the Frog again - I'm going opening day to "vote with my wallet" for the future of hand-drawn animation!
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| Disney's A Christmas Carol : 3 of 5 | |
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11.03.2009
5:37 PM | Link1 comments |
 It's nice to start getting into a Christmas mood with holiday movies, and I was able to see this new version of the Dickens classic at a sneak preview, thanks to my pal Melinda who is always lucky with preview passes! My opinion of this movie is right down the middle - there are things I love about it, and things I hate, which puts my review solidly in the center of my rating scale. I guess I'll get the hate out of the way - I am really against motion capture CG animation and Robert Zemeckis' bizarre opinions about the future of filmmaking! Although the characters in this film look much better than they did in The Polar Express, they still constantly look cross-eyed, with no attention to eye lines (they always seem to be looking "through" things), and might as well have been marionettes in most cases. Scrooge himself looks fantastic - I think they spent all their time getting him right and just let the computer crank out everyone else with no refinement. I was also appalled at Zemeckis' showboating floating camera moves, which only please himself and drive the audience crazy like they are stuck in a video game. Besides the opening sequence (which includes goofy moves like flying through a wreath), there's one sequence with the Ghost of Christmas Past that goes nearly 15 minutes without a single cut. I don't care if he thinks it's cool - it can only be special if it's hard to do in real life, so doing it in CG is just annoying. But now for some good points! I was really pleased and surprised that they stuck to all the original Dickens dialogue (most of the time I knew the line before they even said it), which prevented Jim Carrey (whom I dislike terribly) from ad-libbing and cheapening the whole thing. As I mentioned before, Scrooge does look incredible, and his exaggerated character design is great. I also liked all of the spirits, especially the creepy way that the Ghost of Christmas Future was mostly shown as a living shadow. The final scenes of the movie when Scrooge is filled with glee on Christmas Day are really well done, with just enough happiness to kick off the Christmas spirit in anyone. Overall I enjoyed myself, but mostly because I love Christmas movies and this classic story, not because of any of the filmmaking techniques that were being paraded on the screen. I only hope that audiences will enjoy the Christmas message while realizing that films using this technique have simply got to go!
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| 9 : 3 of 5 | |
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9.14.2009
6:02 PM | Link0 comments |
 9 is a rare combination of generes that rarely work together - the story is first and foremost pure science fiction, yet presented in the medium of animation. While the average theatergoer will always equate animation with children's films, 9 is definitely an adult story - animation is simply used because the circumstances of the plot demand it (since we can't actually build small robotic dolls with burlap skin that can act!). 9 takes place in a post-apocalyptic world full of rubble and dust - there are no human characters at all, except for flashbacks, and much of the film is spent slowly revealing both what has happened and what's going on now for these nine living creations. Each of the dolls has a distinct personality, almost as if they were separate sides of a single mind (and there's a very good, if obvious, reason for that), and watching their interactions was fascinating to me. I wouldn't really call it character development, but it's definitely something like "character discovery", as both the dolls and the audience learn who they are together. However, I would say over half the movie is pure action, as the dolls battle against maniacal (and often horrific) mechanical creatures. These fights are all exciting, but definitely super-intense and PG-13 creepy (possibly to be expected since Focus Features also released Coraline!). It's easy to say that 9's plot is a bit thin, but I enjoyed the ambiguity (especially during the ending) and wondering what these creations can hope to accomplish in their bleak world. 9 is certainly an artistic, dystopian bit of science fiction, and I'd definitely recommend it to fans of movies like Blade Runner!
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| Up : 5 of 5 | |
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5.28.2009
5:54 PM | Link1 comments |
 Thanks once again to lucky Melinda (who seems to my source of free sneak previews now!), I got to see Up a couple days early (and we even got press seats this time). Being the first animated feature to ever open the Cannes Film Festival, there were lots of reviews for me to read beforehand, and since all of them are so positive, I was prepared to be amazed. All I can say is that I'm completely impressed that Pixar is a studio that can totally focus on the art and storytelling of a truly great film, creating movies that can speak to everyone without compromising for Hollywood's money-making schemes. Up is so wonderful that I'm practically speechless, and it's a perfect example of Pixar's solid integrity. There won't be a lot of kids wanting to play with a 78-year old man action figure, yet Carl Fredricksen is an incredibly compelling character. Of course, animation has to include some suspension of belief (so we have to accept a house flying to South America on helium balloons), but the situations and emotions of falling in love, growing old, losing a spouse, and finding something to live for are all intensely real, and definitely intended for an adult audience. That's not to say there aren't tons of laughs to be had, because electronically-talking dogs ("Squirrel!") and great dialogue from Wilderness Explorer Russel make for some hilarious moments. Just about every detail is fantastic, from the beautiful score (which you can actually hum as you leave the theater), to the subtle use of 3D (which adds a little to the movie, but certainly isn't abused). I know I've said this before, but I'm so glad that Disney bought Pixar so their logo is on this film, because Pixar is without a doubt making the movies that Disney could have only made in the past. Up is not only a triumph of animation, but also a success in every element that makes a great film, period!
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| Character Animation Crash Course! / Eric Goldberg : 5 of 5 | |
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4.16.2009
12:42 PM | Link0 comments |
 I have lots of animation books in my collection, but very few that actually discuss the nuts and bolts of how an animator actually works. But thanks to this gift from my pal Dae, now I have one of the best books on the subject! Eric Goldberg (Disney animator best known for the Genie in Aladdin) is one of my modern animation idols, since he's always so interesting in DVD interviews, and this book is obviously his labor of love to keep the true craft of animation alive. As he states in the introduction, this is more like a collection of "class notes" than anything, since it's only loosely structured into chapters, but each and every one is completely fascinating! Because this book is mostly written for animators, I felt like I was learning a new secret code, since there's detailed information about reading exposure sheets, walk cycles, lip sync, and even gimmicks such as smear drawings. I had to keep referring to the handy glossary, but it was worth it (and now I know what cushioning is!). Reading this book as an animation fan requires some concentration and study, but if you love animation like I do, it's so much fun to figure out. Of course, there are hundreds of illustrations by Eric to help explain the concepts, but even more exciting is the included CD that contains animation files (with a brilliant Flash interface that allows for cycling and stop-frame examination, along with the exposure sheet!). This book really opened my eyes to the challenges of CG animation as well, since Eric explains how some of the freedom that hand-drawn animation allows can be difficult to achieve with CG models. I had a fantastic time devouring this book, and if I had another life to live, I would definitely be tempted to use this knowledge and spend it animating!
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| Coraline : 3 of 5 | |
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2.14.2009
6:54 AM | Link3 comments |
 I have to admit that I wasn't overly excited about seeing Coraline the first time I saw the trailer, but after reading the countless positive reviews when the movie was released, I knew I had to go! Coraline is kind of a landmark movie, since it's the longest stop-motion film ever made, as well as the first shot completely in 3D, so I'm glad to see this artistic medium can be such a box office success! The only reason I'm not completely glowing in this review is that Coraline is a full-on horror film (in my opinion), which just isn't my favorite genre. My pal Melinda and I were pretty amazed at the incredible lack of comic relief - there were almost no laughs in the theater, and I think everyone was left when the same creepy feeling inside when the movie was over! Of course, I enjoyed the experience - the movie is beautifully shot, with fantastic sets and incredible character designs (I especially liked Wybie's "hunch neck"). Most of the time the stop-motion is so perfect that it feels like a CG animated film, although at times some movements are a little too jerky (as if they were shot on twos). The story is really suspenseful and full of mystery, but I have to say that if I had seen this movie as a child I would have been completely freaked out! On top of the story, the soundtrack is wall-to-wall eerie choir music and contemporary moody songs, which are all beautiful and well-suited to the film, but they really add to the overall dreary mood that simply doesn't ever change (even though the evil Other Mother is finally defeated, of course). Coraline will certainly become a classic and take its place in animation history, but unfortunately, I don't have the urge to emotionally get through it again!
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| The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age / Don Hahn : 3 of 5 | |
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2.11.2009
7:42 AM | Link0 comments |
 Just like every animation fan, I have tons of books about the overall process of animation in my library (many of which describe the same thing over and over), but I really wanted The Alchemy of Animation (which I got for Christmas) for a couple reasons. First, the author is Don Hahn, my favorite Disney producer and all-around interesting guy (I really enjoyed his book Dancing Corndogs in the Night), and second, this is the first book I've read to cover traditional 2D animation, CGI animation, and even stop-motion animation in one volume. Actually, this book is quite similar to his previous work Animation Magic (which I also own), but much more extensive. Don's writing is a joy to read (as expected), and he nicely weaves together the entire process from pre-production (which is often identical for all three film methods) to marketing. I really enjoyed the way he describes scheduling problems (such as figuring out how many animators are needed based on their output and time available), and he does a great job of covering the many interesting aspects of CGI animation, such as modeling, rigging, and even virtual lighting. Nothing is totally glossed over, since he even mentions the intricate scoring and other sound processes, as well as the computer guys who keep the render farm going! He also includes some nice advice for future animators (interesting to read for my fantasy life), plus a great recommended reading list and an extensive glossary that includes many terms and definitions that provide more information that isn't even in the main text. All in all, The Alchemy of Animation is a quick read, but its content (not to mention the pages of glorious artwork) is exactly what I wanted for my library. If anyone asks me to recommend a general "how to they do it" animation book, I'll definitely mention this one!
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| Looney Tunes / Golden Collection Vol 6 : 4 of 5 | |
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1.10.2009
7:19 AM | Link0 comments |
 For the past six years, the first DVD set I've watched from my Christmas gifts has been the Looney Tunes Golden Collection. Unfortunately, this sixth volume marks the end of series, so I'm going to be so lost next year! As usual, this four-DVD set is pretty amazing and totally fun to watch, although it felt a little skimpy in the bonus features department compared to previous volumes. The first disc features an all-star collection, including Hare Trigger, the first appearance of Yosemite Sam! The second disc is all wartime cartoons, which are pretty interesting considering their low distribution, but even more fascinating in the light of animation history. Who knew that Herr Meets Hare contains the first time Bugs should have turned left at Albuquerque, plus the original Wagner idea for What's Opera Doc? Amazing! The third disc is filled with black & white Bosko shorts, plus some Foxy & Roxy cartoons (which always amaze me since they are totally Mickey & Minnie with bushy tails!). The last disc has some great one-shot cartoons, including the extra long Horton Hatches the Egg, plus a few favorites from my childhood (I've always loved Rocket-Bye Baby for some reason). My favorite commenter this time is Greg Ford, who always brings lots of energy and laughter, but I can't believe they only provided commentary for two cartoons per disc this time - I wanted much more! Other features include some truly horrendous TV specials (but it's nice to have them for historical completeness), plus a fantastic Mel Blanc biography filled with lots of information I never knew (such as all the non-Warner Bros. characters he voiced, like Barney Rubble!). Overall, this is an incredible collection (as expected), and the entire 24 disc series is an awesome jewel in my DVD collection!
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| The Tale of Despereaux : 3 of 5 | |
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1.07.2009
7:35 PM | Link2 comments |
 My movie pal Melinda and I went to see The Tale of Despereaux for our first animated film of the year, and we were both pretty surprised at the kind of movie it turned out to be. There was definitely a lot to enjoy, including some interesting animation and shot compositions, as well as a relatively complex plot with lots of characters to keep track of, but these same elements made it difficult for the audience of children to get through it all. Although there are certainly some fun action sequences, there are also huge stretches in the story where nothing much happens except for narration, and it was funny to hear all the kids start squirming and whining at the same time. The visual look of the movie is quite drab (since continuous cloudy weather plays a part in the story), but the mice are very cute with a nice level of characterization and realism. I didn't enjoy the human characters as much - some of them were OK (like Princess Pea), but the supporting humans seems really unfinished to me (and the servant girl looked way too much like ogre Fiona from Shrek!). This movie has a huge cast of celebrity voice actors (including Dustin Hoffman, who unfortunately wasn't half as good as his great performance in Kung Fu Panda) - so many, in fact, that some of their talent is wasted in tiny roles, and their salaries could probably have been better spent on the animation! I guess I'm sounding pretty negative about The Tale of Despereaux, but the fact is that I enjoyed watching it and I actually liked the quirky, bizarre plot with all its strange pacing. It was great to start another new year of animated fun!
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| Kung Fu Panda : 5 of 5 | |
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12.14.2008
7:55 AM | Link0 comments |
 Even though I try to see all animated features at the theater, I'm ashamed to say I let this one slip away, which is a shame since it turned out to be one of the best animated movies of the year! I'm sure everyone who saw the trailer knows that Kung Fu Panda is the story of Po the panda, who idolizes the Kung Fu masters called the Furious Five, and ends up being selected as the Dragon Warrior, even though the only thing that motivates his training is food! The story sounds like it's going to be full of slapstick, and while it certainly has some hilarious moments, it's surprisingly serious and subtle at times! Of course, the fighting scenes are incredibly clever and well animated (some of the best I've ever scene, and totally true to Kung Fu cinema style), but there are simple dialogue scenes where the combination of voice acting and amazing character animation just blew me away! Po and his teacher Shifu are real, flesh and blood characters, expressing complex emotions in a way that makes Kung Fu Panda easily the best animated movie to come along that wasn't created by Pixar! The Furious Five have some great fighting poses and look cool, but unfortunately I think they blew the budget getting star voice actors for such small roles (seriously, anyone could have read Angelina Jolie's lines with the same deadpan impact). I've already praised the animation (and this movie made some breakthroughs in fur/clothing contact methods), but I also have to mention the truly awesome opening sequence and ending credits in glorious 2D - the style is so amazing that I would love to see the entire movie done this way just for fun! I really wish there had been a few more emotion tugging scenes (I'm always looking for those), but overall Kung Fu Panda is a fantastic achievement in non-Pixar animated film!
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| Brer bootleg | |
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11.26.2008
7:41 AM | Link0 comments |
 Recently I watched a bootleg of Disney's forever lost feature film Song of the South, thanks to my pals Chris and Shawn who dug it up for me! I think everyone my age remembers seeing this movie as a child, and of course we didn't think anything of the racial stereotypes (and I even had an Uncle Remus storybook that I read over and over), but I can see why Disney's too scared to re-release it, even though the animation fan community would love it. It's a weird situation, since there's a whole generation of Disney fans who know all of this stuff but have no clue where it came from! Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah is practically Disney's company theme song (next to When You Wish Upon a Star, of course), and Splash Mountain is one of the most popular rides at the parks, which is filled with Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, as well as lots of other lesser-known music from Song of the South. Maybe they should just make a DVD movie called Splash Mountain with the songs and characters to give them new source material. Anyway, it was fun to see Song of the South again, and I really enjoyed the groundbreaking work in live-action/animation integration (both with live actors in an animated world and animated characters in a live-action world). Little details like Uncle Remus lighting Brer Frog's pipe were really well done, and I also found a new appreciation for some obscure songs like Sooner or Later, which has a nice bluesy feel. Maybe someday Disney will have the guts to put this on DVD, but for now, I'm glad I had the chance to see it this way!
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| Madagascar / Escape 2 Africa : 3 of 5 | |
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11.16.2008
8:14 AM | Link0 comments |
 Although several "animals out of their element" animated features came out in the past few years, the original Madagascar was one of the best, especially since the story ended with the characters still in the jungle. This sequel picks up after the lemurs and penguins have somehow managed to rebuild an airplane to take the zoo animals home, but ends up crashing in Africa. The plot has a lot going for it, since it does a nice job of retelling the essential parts of the first film, and then introduces new characters, mainly Alex the lion's parents. There are some pretty funny moments, but nothing that made me roll on the floor. Actually some of the best parts had to do with the love story between Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo - they really have some tender and hilarious lines! But everyone's favorite characters, the penguins and the lemurs, seemed a little underused to me - the penguins are fantastic during the airplane scenes, but the lemur king needed a lot more screen time! The animation keeps the same quirky style as before (I love the angular yet soft style of the lions paws!), but the human characters (safari tourists from New York this time) seem a little improved, which is nice. Overall I think the original film is better, just because the escape from New York is a crazier and more dynamic story that's hard to top. This sequel really tries to get into the emotions of the four main characters (some more successfully than others), but I really just wanted more insanity instead!
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| Sleeping Beauty / Platinum Edition : 5 of 5 | |
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11.09.2008
4:50 PM | Link0 comments |
 It seems like only yesterday I was enjoying the 2003 DVD release of this animation masterpiece, but I had to buy it again since the Disney Platinum Editions are definitely must-have DVDs for any Disney fan! Even though the previous DVD was widescreen, it still had some cropping that has been removed in this release, making it the first time ever the entire 70MM picture has been available, and it looks spectacular. Walt's idea of a "moving tapestry" was completely realized in a way that will simply never be accomplished again by hand-drawn animation, and I enjoyed watching every frame of it all over again. A fantastic 45-minute documentary is included with great discussions on the style and art direction of the film, as well as stories of the incredible efforts of Walt's Nine Old Men (who sometimes could only produce enough drawings to create one second of film from three days' work!). There's also a great commentary track (I love to listen to animators gush over the classics) plus a Princess Fun Facts subtitle feature that's pretty interesting (although the popups are a little huge and gaudy). But the best bonus feature of all is a CG reproduction of the original Sleeping Beauty's Castle walk-through attraction at Disneyland! My favorite Imagineer Tony Baxter narrates the journey and explains every single effect, even going over original blueprints and illustrating how it was created with a detailed architectural model. It's one of the best theme park behind-the-scenes features ever made, and I was fascinated with every detail! Sleeping Beauty is a true work of art that everyone should see, and this wonderful Platinum Edition is the way to experience it.
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| Igor : 3 of 5 | |
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9.22.2008
7:55 AM | Link0 comments |
 It's always interesting to see an animated feature by a studio I've never heard of, so my pal Melinda and I had fun watching Igor, animated by Sparx Animation Studios (based in Paris, although there were tons of Vietnamese animators listed in the credits!). While this movie won't win any awards, it has three great things going for it - a quirky, original story, off-the-chart character design, and fantastic voice work! The plot is really clever, set in the Kingdom of Malaria where the economy is based on evil scientists getting the world to pay them not to unleash hideous inventions. Igor is treated as an "Igor", but when his scientist boss is out of the picture he gets the chance to create life, which ends up being a hulkish drama queen (in the literal sense!). Igor's friends Scamper (who is immortal but keeps trying to kill himself) and Brain (who is a brain in a glass jar with less than stellar intelligence) are hilarious, and the interaction between everyone has some great comedic timing! (I should also say I really enjoyed the invisible man who never wears pants - so funny!) The character designs are truly imagination run amok - everything is stretched to the extreme, from outlandish noses to pointy boobs. The only unfortunate design is the king, who is an obvious rip-off of the mayor from The Nightmare Before Christmas (Melinda and I both recognized it immediately!). The voice work is really funny, too, with Eddie Izzard delivering the best performance as the villain Dr. Schadenfreude. He definitely gets all the best lines, and delivers them with awesome dynamics and skill! Even with all these good points, Igor is still missing something, and it's difficult to say if a studio like Pixar could create something better with the same material. But if you're looking for a good laugh and some "out there" animation, give Igor a try!
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| 101 Dalmatians / Platinum Edition : 5 of 5 | |
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5.20.2008
8:08 AM | Link0 comments |
 Disney's 1961 animated feature 101 Dalmatians isn't one of my top Disney movies, since it doesn't really touch me emotionally, but I still love it for its important spot in the evolution of animation! This two-disc Platinum Edition makes a point of that fact, starting with the documentary appropriately titled Redefining the Line, since 101 Dalmatians was the first Disney feature to Xerox the animators' original drawings onto cels, essentially eliminating the inking department and giving the feature a rougher, artsy look (which Walt originally didn't like, since it was a huge departure from the perfect fantasy look of his earlier films). The documentary is only 30 minutes, but it has tons of animator interviews and covers lots of great facts - I had no idea the cars in the movie were created as paper models and shot, working much like CG models today! I'm also ashamed to say I didn't know about the Lady and the Tramp cameos until now, which are really cool. There's also a wonderful bonus feature that reenacts correspondence between Walt and the author of the original story, which is fascinating and beautifully put together! The movie itself is fantastic, of course, but even better with the popup trivia track (always a favorite feature of mine), that covers detailed information such as the director for each segment as it occurs, and pointing out the cartoon the dogs watch on TV is the 1929 Silly Symphony Springtime. I always enjoy watching 101 Dalmatians for the detail in Roger's apartment, the beautiful backgrounds, and I love the way Cruella's smoke is almost a character by itself! It was great to enjoy another fantastic Platinum Edition, and I'm looking forward to the next release!
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| Ollie lives on | |
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4.17.2008
7:09 AM | Link0 comments |
 I thought I would mention that Ollie Johnston, the last of Disney's famous Nine Old Men, recently passed away. There are so many animation blogs that have paid tribute much better than I can, but since Disney animation is so important to me, I at least wanted to say something. Every time I watch a Disney animated feature, I always get excited to see the animators' names in the opening credits, and when some of the Nine Old Men are in the list (especially Ollie or Frank Thomas), I know I'll be seeing something special. The work that Ollie did to advance the art of animation has had profound effect on every animator today, as anyone who reads The Illusion of Life (Frank & Ollie's huge book of animation technique) will realize. Thank goodness that even during Disney's "dark days", they still had the foresight to train today's generation of animators before the Nine Old Men left the company. Everyone I admire today was personally mentored by these incredible artists! I'll always be thankful for Ollie and everyone else who truly created this form of entertainment that I enjoy so much. Now you should read Brad Bird's thoughts about Ollie, since his words are much more fascinating than mine!
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| The Jungle Book : 4 of 5 | |
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4.01.2008
6:55 AM | Link0 comments |
 It feels strange to be writing about the last Disney Platinum Edition DVD when a new one is already out, but I'm happy to say that this is a great presentation of the last Disney animated feature with Walt's involvement. There's a nice 45-minute documentary included (which is nice since so many recent DVDs barely squeeze out 15 minutes of information), and I learned a lot about the development of this movie! I never knew about the former "dark version" (closer to Kipling's original) written by Bill Peet, or the subsequent argument with Walt that made him leave the studio, after which Walt changed the story into what we all love today, including the girl from the man village at the end, which was originally controversial among the animators. There's plenty of animation discussion with Andreas Deja looking over some original drawings (I love that stuff!), plus conversation about the first use of "star voices" and the replacement of the original set of songs - The Bare Necessities was almost dropped! There's even footage of Louie Prima's band going nuts in their recording session, which is great stuff. Of course, the movie itself is wonderful, and has some of the best character animation on film. I always cringe a little when they repeat gags to save money (such as Ka's accordion joke which is in twice, cel for cel), but they definitely make up for it with scenes like Baloo tucking Mowgli into bed with leaves, and of course King Louie's dance is pretty awesome! The Jungle Book is really an enjoyable movie, and learning about its history and rocky development makes me appreciate it even more.
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| Space Ghost and Dino Boy / The Complete Series : 4 of 5 | |
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3.05.2008
8:08 AM | Link0 comments |
 I remember watching Space Ghost cartoons when I was much younger, and even drawing a few pictures in the same futuristic style. I used to love the space ship designs and weird creatures created by the genius Alex Toth, so I was really happy to see this DVD set was released, and even happier to receive it as another birthday gift from Matt & Kumiko! Space Ghost was one of those cartoons from the late 60's in the "limited animation" style that Hanna-Barbera did so often, full of cheesy plots and goofy dialogue, but it's still exciting to watch. Along with Jan & Jace, two teenagers who help fight galactic crime, and their monkey Blip, Space Ghost romps around the universe battling classic villains such as Zorak and Brak. There's so much to enjoy here, from the cool artwork (I love how space is always deep blue) to the hilarious one-liners (such as when a scientist says "I don't know what I've created, but it's ten times larger than it should be!"). Each episode has three parts - two seven-minute Space Ghost stories plus a Dino Boy in the Lost Valley cartoon. Dino Boy isn't as interesting, but it's still enjoyable - Ugh the caveman is always there for the rescue (or to be rescued) and Bronty the baby dinosaur's voice sounds like Scooby Doo. Along with all this cartoon fun is an incredible documentary about Alex Toth - I was stunned by the length and quality of this bonus feature, which easily tops the wimpy documentaries on most other animation DVDs! It runs a full 1.5 hours, and covers Toth's early days at DC Comics and follows his career through tons of interviews and correspondence. I was really impressed with this DVD set, and my interest in Space Ghost is definitely renewed!
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| Animaniacs Vol 1 : 5 of 5 | |
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2.07.2008
6:53 PM | Link0 comments |
 I hadn't watched an episode of Animaniacs in years, so it was so great to see this fantastic show again! I think I appreciate it even more then I did back in the early 90s, now that I'm more of an animation buff and I can appreciate the way this series really captured the wacky style of the classic Warner Bros cartoons. Each episode is made up of smaller cartoons featuring a huge cast of original characters, so besides Wakko, Yakko and Dot (who are hilarious with their enthusiastic "Hello Nurse!" for every hot girl), there are also stories featuring Slappy Squirrel, Runt & Rita, and of course, Pinky and the Brain (who later got their own show). There are so many inside jokes written just for animation fans, covering everything from Popeye to the Jetsons, but my favorite was when Slappy sits down to watch the "Wonderful World of Walnuts" and the theme is a parody of the old Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (I'll bet not many kids picked up on that one!). Speaking of music, this was the only series to be using a full orchestra at the time, and it sounds utterly incredible and the scoring is perfect. Of course, everyone knows some of the amazing songs from the series, such as Wakko's World (where he sings all of the nations of the world), and Bernadette Peters sounds great singing Rita's heartfelt tunes (I wanted to use subtitles so I could sing along, but unfortunately they didn't include them in English!). One of the DVDs includes some nice interviews with the actors, and it's really fun to watch them speaking with their character's voice! Animaniacs was actually a big budget production, especially with Steven Spielberg producing, so they were really able to create a truthful tribute to the genre, and I had a wonderful time becoming a fan all over again!
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| Looney Tunes / Golden Collection Vol 5 : 5 of 5 | |
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1.05.2008
9:17 PM | Link0 comments |
 For the past few years I've been keeping the post-Christmas tradition of watching the latest Warner Bros. cartoon DVDs first out of my pile of booty, and this year was no different! This collection was fascinating to me, because after five years of restoring and releasing these shorts, they seem to have gotten to some more obscure cartoons that I don't remember seeing as a child (or at least haven't seen 100 times before!). The first disc is filled with Bugs & Daffy, including A Pest in the House, which is one of my favorites (where Daffy won't let the guy get any sleep in the hotel)! On the other hand, it also includes Transylvania 6-5000, which is simply terrible - if you need to appreciate the incredible music of Carl Stalling, just listen to the horrible soundtrack of this cartoon (which Stalling did not do, of course!). The second disc contains all fairy tales, which means lots of Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk gags, but also has interesting shorts like Tom Thumb in Trouble, created by Chuck Jones doing his best to capture the Disney style of animation (and it looks great!). The third disc is all Bob Clampett hilarity, including another favorite of mine, Buckaroo Bugs (who could ever forget Red Hot Ryder?). It was also nice to see Beaky Buzzard again! The final disc is all older black & white cartoons, some with incredible live action (photograph) backgrounds, which I had never seen before! Eating Off the Cuff and Wholly Smoke were both incredible on this disc. Once again, the bonus material is fantastic, and the commentaries are priceless (as always, I enjoy hearing John Kricfalusi declare his undying love for Clampett). There's also a nice semi-recent (from 2000) Chuck Jones documentary, a few short Behind the Tunes features, plus three old TV specials (which are actually pretty lame). I think the restoration process was a little lacking this time around (my eyes kept finding hairs and scratches that I know could have been removed), but in general everything looks spectacular, and once again, I can't recommend these Golden Collection DVD sets enough for any animation fan!
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| Bee Movie : 3 of 5 | |
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11.18.2007
5:03 PM | Link0 comments |
 I always try to see every animated feature that hits the theater, just to show my support for animation in general, but I was especially excited to see Bee Movie, because I knew Jerry Seinfeld would be a great voice actor, and because DreamWorks Animation keeps getting better! After so many insect-related movies in the past few years, you would think they would start to run out of ideas, but Bee Movie is filled with creativity. I really koved the introduction to the film, seeing the incredible honey factory, and enjoying all the bee puns (and there are a million of those, right down to the beehive hairdos on all the girls!). The animation is definitely fun, and I was glad to see the quirky style of the human characters (definitely not up to The Incredibles standards, but they're on the right track), but even though I enjoyed the bees themselves, I think the character design didn't allow for enough emotion to come through. The story starts out predictably with Barry the bee seeking an exciting life outside the hive, then gets really wacky with the whole "bees vs. humans" court trial, and then suddenly tacks on a third act to bring the moral home. Normally I would say the story is a little disjointed, but the final scenes in the airplane are pretty funny, so I guess it's worth it for the sake of the finale! As a suspected, Seinfeld's voice really works in the movie (he's just playing himself, of course, but he's so natural!), and Renee Zellweger is great as well (but no one can top Patrick Warburton, who seems to have a contract to do at least one voice in every animated feature ever released). I'm glad Bee Movie has done well at the box office, and I'm always happy to see studios making animated features for me to support and enjoy!
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| The Iron Giant / Special Edition : 5 of 5 | |
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9.12.2007
8:00 AM | Link0 comments |
 I've been a fan of this movie since it was originally released, and I even already owned it on DVD, but I decided to get this Special Edition DVD because it looked like it would be out of print soon, and of course it took me months to getting around to watching it! I'm sure the movie itself is better quality on this version, but since I'm not completely a video expert, I mainly enjoy special editions for the bonus features, which unfortunately aren't spectacular here (but better than the original DVD). My favorite feature is the use of in-context behind the scenes features that are accessibile when an icon appears while watching the film, but it would have been great to be able to watch these mini-documentaries all at once. But all of that aside, I still love this film for its incredible story, its ground-breaking use of "flat" CGI (modeled in 3D but rendered to have a 2D look), and the genius of Brad Bird and all that he brings to an animated feature. I was particularly blown away at the end of the film when the Giant realizes what he must do to save everyone, and as he flies away, Hogarth simply says "I love you" with all the honest, open emotion a boy can have. It's such a pure moment that no other director would think of including in an animated film! The Iron Giant is definitely an animation landmark that I think more people need to discover, so it was wonderful to enjoy it again!
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| Surf's Up : 4 of 5 | |
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6.19.2007
6:48 AM | Link0 comments |
 Lots of comments have been made about the avalanche of penguin movies lately, but believe me, surfing penguins make much more sense than tap-dancing ones! I've been looking forward to this movie from the first time I saw the trailer, so my pal Melinda and I decided to see it soon after it came out, and we really enjoyed it! Surf's Up is shot as a documentary covering Cody Maverick, a penguin from Shiverpool who dreams of competing in a big world surfing championship to be like his idol, Big Z. The fake documentary film style is sheer genius! It definitely reminded me of all the Bruce Brown films I've enjoyed in the past, and the creative "hand-held" camera work looks fantastic. Most of the dialogue takes place in interviews, which have incredible natural voice work, and work as a great device to make the typical song-montages much less boring than usual! Of course, the water animation is another breakthrough for CG animation, but I think the character design far outshines it. Each penguin has great expressions, very different body and face types (similar to The Incredibles, in a way), and I love the details like the tropical tattoo patterns their feathers make. The story is great as well, and really captures the surfing spirit that I admire so much. Surf's Up is a surprisingly wonderful film, and definitely one of the best from Sony Pictures Animation!
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| Looney Tunes / Golden Collection Vol 4 : 5 of 5 | |
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12.30.2006
10:24 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've already finished the first of many DVD sets I received for Christmas, starting with another spectacular set of Warner Bros cartoon genius! I've enjoyed these collections for four years now, and it seems like they could keep making them forever - I have no idea when they will run out of cartoons. This year the set begins with the usual focus on Bugs Bunny, and finally includes Knighty Knight Bugs, with Yosemite Sam as the hilarious Black Knight. The second disc contains shorts directed by Frank Tashlin, with lots of commentary on his cinematic style, plus the only cartoon with Porky's brothers. The third disc is a real treat, completely filled with Speedy Gonzales cartoons in all of their Mexican stereotypical glory! I loved laughing at all of the drunken songs in Spanish, and it was cool to see the very first Speedy with a much different character design (he even had a gold tooth!). The final disc is all cat cartoons, but not as much Sylvester as you would expect. There are lots of great one-shots and other secondary characters here, such as the adorable kitten who sleeps on the big bulldog's back, and even a weird cat that was voiced by the actor who did the original voice of Goofy! The bonus documentaries are pretty good, but I didn't really care for the old one narrated by Orson Wells. The newer one about Friz Freleng was excellent, though, along with the many Behind the Tunes featurettes. Sixty cartoons later, I'm even more impressed with Looney Tunes, but now I have to wait a whole year for the next set!
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| Dream on Silly Dreamer : 3 of 5 | |
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8.02.2006
5:39 PM | Link0 comments |
 Since I often read various animation websites, I knew about this movie way back when it was first being screened, and I wish I could have seen it then. I ordered it soon after it came out on DVD, since it's an important piece of Disney history, but then I kept forgetting to watch it (in spite of my pal Jerry's great review). Well, I finally took the time to take it in, and it was really fascinating. This is a short 40-minute documentary that gives a brief history of how Disney treated their animation talent - moving them out of Walt's animation campus into warehouses, then treating them like heroes (with giant bonuses) after the wild successes of Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King (during the Disney Renaissance), and then finally making the crazy decision to switch to only computer animation, and firing around 1,300 talented animation professionals world-wide! It really was just about the stupidest thing Disney could have done, since most box office failures were due to over-management - definitely not solely the fault of the creative staff. The documentary itself is well done with animated interstitials, but I think the DVD actually has too much bonus material - it seemed like twice the footage of the film itself. It's nice seeing this movie now that things have changed at Disney with John Lasseter (including new 2D animation), so I can only hope that the sad story of this film will be totally reversed! |
| Looney Tunes / Golden Collection Vol 3 : 5 of 5 | |
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1.09.2006
11:35 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've finished watching the first of many great DVD sets I got for Christmas, and this new Looney Tunes set is really fantastic! There's no need to go on about how great the cartoons look, since I've mentioned the beautiful restoration in the past (and finally they've included a little documentary about the process). The DVDs in this set include one for Bugs Bunny, one for Porky Pig, one full of Hollywood references, and one miscellaneous disc. As usual, the audio commentaries are terrific - I love all of the different styles, from Jerry Beck getting old-timers' perspectives on a cartoon, to John Kricfalusi bad-mouthing every director on the planet except his hero, Bob Clampett! There are some classics included that have always been my favorites, such as Robin Hood Daffy, The House That Jack Built (for some reason I always thought "celebrity mice" are hilarious), and all those great "things that come to life" shorts (where characters on books and groceries jump off their labels and sing and dance). I also love to see things like the first appearance of Pepe LePew, an early Foghorn Leghorn that sounds like Yosemite Sam, and really old characters that just didn't make it, like Porky's friend Beans. There are some really good documentaries included covering the big directors, too. Besides an annoying Whoopi Goldberg introduction, these DVDs are pure gold - I guess that's why they call them the Golden Collection!
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| Wallace & Gromit / Curse of the Were-Rabbit : 3 of 5 | |
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10.28.2005
6:14 PM | Link0 comments |
 Since I have to see every animated feature to show my support of the art form, I had to see this Wallace & Gromit movie! I've seen a few of the other Wallace & Gromit films before, so I'm kind of a fan, but then again, I like just about anything filmed with stop-motion animation. In this movie, our heroes are kind of like a rabbit capture service, hired to protect everyone's prize vegetables for an upcoming contest. Wallace is always inventing, of course, and his ideas lead to the creation of the Were-Rabbit, a huge hoppity beast! I thought the plot twists and action sequences were especially good, and the design of the miniature sets was just amazing. Since this is true clay-mation (as opposed to the wireframe puppets of Corpse Bride), the motion has a jittery feel to it, but that just adds to the charm of the technique. The character designs are hilarious, since everyone has big teeth and tall, skinny heads, and the bunnies (hundreds of them!) look really cute bouncing around, even though they aren't really fluffy (the Were-Rabbit himself does have real fur, though!). Gromit steals the show, since his emotions and feelings seem even more evident even though his character doesn't have a voice. This was a really fun semi-Halloween movie, and I'm glad DreamWorks got it into the theater.
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| Corpse Bride : 5 of 5 | |
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10.03.2005
7:22 PM | Link0 comments |
 I'm a big fan of stop-motion animation, and I loved The Nightmare Before Christmas, so of course I knew I was going to enjoy Corpse Bride. I just didn't realize how fantastic it was going to be! The quality of animation and the look of the film is so spectacular that I originally thought it was computer-generated when I first saw the trailer (I think a lot of people were mistaken, too!). Everything is just so perfectly constructed and shot (using digital cameras, rather than film!), that the movie becomes a surrealist illustration brought to life. The character design is completely wonderful - so creative and original, including characters with huge hair-dos, giant noses and chins, super skinny and ridiculously large, and each design fits the character's personality perfectly! I thought it was cool how the "land of the living" was almost 100% grey tones, while the "land of the dead" had lots of color and lighting! Besides being a technical marvel, the story is really good, too, about a clumsy young man who "accidently" marries a corpse and is thrust into a crazy world of skeletons and creepy creatures. I also have to say that the Danny Elfman music is perfect, and the songs are really fun (everything is extremely reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas, but you can't fault him for being consistent). This is definitely a movie I can't wait to buy on DVD, and it will be fun to watch every year before Halloween!
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| Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Vol 2 / 5 of 5 | |
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8.05.2005
6:43 PM | Link0 comments |
 Believe it or not, I got this excellent DVD set for Christmas, so I've still been enjoying some of my gifts even this late in the year! This set is just as spectacular as Volume 1, again including four DVDs full of truly wonderful Warner Bros. classics, all restored to such a degree that they look brand new. The first disc focuses on Bugs Bunny and includes some of the older Tex Avery Bugs cartoons, which are sheer genius (such as Tortoise Beats Hare), and some of my favorite more obscure characters, like Crusher the wrestler, and Witch Hazel (who always zooms away leaving hairpins flying in the air!). The second disc is devoted to Road Runner (who was short-changed in Volume 1), and Dad and I watched this entire disc during the Christmas holiday since we love Road Runner cartoons so much. The third set has mostly Sylvester & Tweety, but also some great Daffy Duck shorts, with an emphasis on Bob Clampett's work. John Kricfalusi's (of Ren & Stimpy fame) commentary on Clampett's Daffy is amazingly engrossing and really stirred up my appreciation for Clampett's cartoon prowess (and also explained some cool techniques like "smear animation"). The final disc has lots of Hollywood parodies and music-based cartoons, including some excellent classical music commentary that really analyzes the use of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody! Finally, the whole set is worth it just for What's Opera Doc?, probably the best Warner Bros. cartoon ever, with two commentaries, separate music and vocal tracks, and a documentary featurette. I'm definitely ready for Volume 3 this Christmas!
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| Hi Hi headache | |
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4.06.2005
10:58 PM | Link0 comments |
 I guess I should say something more about Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, since it's been on so long now that I've been watching a lot of repeats lately. I thought the idea for the show was kind of cool, since I'm already excited to see anything fresh with a Japanese touch, and I was already a Puffy fan (since my pal Barron got me hooked on them) with several CDs popping up on my iPod. The show was kind of a let-down at first, since the crazy episodes were just so frenetic - the first episode I watched kind of gave me a headache! I love the live segments with the real Ami and Yumi, and whenever a re-run shows up on TiVo, I always watch these parts again. The theme song is pretty cool, too, and the concert footage opening is nice. I think the little stories are getting better, at least the pacing is watchable, and they're getting a little more free with the Japanese dialog here and there (which is fun for me to figure out). The best thing they've done so far is include an actual Puffy video right in the middle of the show - it was totally unexpected, but so great! Despite my initial reaction, I guess I'll keep watching, since it can always get better.
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| Real superheroes | |
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3.10.2005
9:07 PM | Link0 comments |
 With the plots on Smallville getting more ridiculous by the minute (the person who came up with the whole witch possession thing should be fired!), it's good to know the real superhero stories are alive and kickin' on Justice League Unlimited! I'm always several episodes behind since I save them up on TiVo, but every time I watch one I'm impressed by the story quality. Where else can you see Superman divert lava inside a volcano to prevent its eruption, or Batman take out a missile by magnetizing his jet? I still don't like the theme song, and the CG work is a little to lo-fi for my taste, but the characterization and the plots rock. (Oh, I should also mention that the Black Canary episode should win the Sexiest Animated Heroine award, hands down!)
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| Piano playing and shrink takes | |
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1.25.2005
6:54 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've been watching lots of old Disney cartoons lately (big surprise!), and something that always stands out for me in these vintage shorts is the care they took to animate playing piano realistically. I've seen so many modern cartoons where the character just randomly bangs on the keyboard, which is usually static (probably painted on the background). But in these old Disney cartoons, Mickey and Minnie are both accomplished pianists! Their hands actually hit the keyboard in the general octave the melody suggests, and the keys themselves actually animate, so you can see chords actually formed. Sometimes the hands move so realistically that I'd swear they were animating the actual musical phrase as it would be played in reality! It's fascinating to me that they would take the time to put so much detail into this, but maybe the audiences of the 1930's had so many more people that played piano at home for entertainment, that they had to be convincing. In any case, it's certainly enjoyable and really impressive to me!
Speaking of animation, I recently learned what a "shrink take" is (thanks to the commentary track on my Ren and Stimpy DVDs). I had heard the term before and never really found a good definition, but now that I've watched Ren do a good shrink take frame by frame, I can tell you! Just before a character is about to scream or do something where their head enlarges for comic effect, they draw the head super-small (which is the "shrink") for just a frame or two before. So, when the character's head goes from tiny to really big, the effect is even funnier. How's that for animation education? |
| The Art of the Incredibles : 4 of 5 | |
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12.23.2004
10:36 PM | Link0 comments |
 I finished my first Christmas book today (which I opened a few days ago), which is my first Pixar art book to add to my collection of Disney art books. I knew this book would be beautiful, and indeed it is, filled to the brim with amazing (see, I didn't say "incredible") pre-production drawings, paintings, and digital artwork. Several pages include comments from the director and many artists, but the pictures themselves speak the loudest! They are all reproduced in spectacular color, many of them full page (including an awesome four-page fold-out of the color script - I would love to have it on my wall!). One of my favorite sections includes close-ups of some of the memorabilia from Mr. Incredible's wall, and I especially enjoyed the many collages also (which look like a cross between Mary Blair and Matisse). Unfortunately, there are no real production stills - I usually complain when art books include too many of those, but I wish this one had a few, mainly so I could stare at the details with my jaw on the floor. As usual, when I experience books like these I wish I had a career in creative entertainment, but I can stay content idolizing these brilliant artists instead.
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| The Polar Express: 4 of 5 | |
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11.13.2004
8:36 PM | Link0 comments |
 I had lots of thoughts for and against this film before seeing it. I'm generally not a fan of computer animation that tries to capture true human characters, because they often look stiff and unnatural. I also haven't read the book, so I didn't know what to expect from the story. On the positive side, I was definitely in the mood for a Christmas movie, plus I got to see it in IMAX 3D, which made it a spectacular event (completely sold out, in fact). So, the Christmas spirit won me over and I really loved the film! The story is a good one - I love any movie that takes me to Santa's workshop. They definitely expanded the book into more of an adventure (I've been told), so there are parts that seem a little unnecessary, but the Christmas message and the emotional moments definitely make it worth it! Sometimes they go a little crazy with the camera angle freedom that animation allows, and some of the songs are not so hot (especially the hot chocolate number), but the duet on the back of the train is a wonderful new Christmas song that I'd love to hear again. I'm definitely feeling Christmasy now, and I'm sure I'll want to buy the DVD to make this a yearly viewing!
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| My hero Mark Henn | |
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10.17.2004
10:13 AM | Link0 comments |
 I only recently discovered (from watching the bonus material on the Aladdin DVD) that nearly every beautiful Disney heroine from recent years has been designed and animated by the same artist - Mark Henn. The amazing hair and eyes of Ariel, the dreamy face of Belle, the incredible waist of Jasmine, and the athletic elegance of Mulan all came from Mark's pen - he's officially my hero! I've read that he's making the transition to CGI with Disney, so I hope to see more of his beautiful characters in the new medium (even though I wish both worlds could co-exist!). Everytime I think about animation, I dream about it as an alternate life for myself - I have such respect for the work that has been produced that it just seems like the most rewarding job! Of course, I would probably crumble under the kind of deadlines and pressure they deal with, but it's only my dream, so I can dream I would have the stamina to tough it out, too. (I've since learned that while Mark animated all of these lovely ladies, the actual character design for Ariel was primarily by Glen Keane, who I also respect and admire, and Belle's design was by James Baxter.)
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| Good show, bad show | |
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8.14.2004
11:05 PM | Link0 comments |
 I was a big fan of the animated series Justice League on Cartoon Network, and after the awesome show finale, I had big expectations for the show's successor, Justice League Unlimited. I finally got around to watching the first episode on TiVo, and I'm totally impressed! The opening scenes of the huge orbiting spaceport filled with hundreds of heroes (plus lots of "civilians" doing the mundane work - I wonder if Bruce Wayne pays them?) really got things off to a great start. It seems like each episode will focus on a small team of heroes, so I'm hoping we'll get to cycle through a bunch of cool superfolks. This episode featured Green Lantern (from the previous series), Green Arrow, Supergirl (cute and snotty), and some dude made of energy named Captain Atom. It was fun to see a disjointed team interact and fight a monster in China! The only I don't like is the new music - way to groovy to keep the intensity of the action going.
On the other hand, the last Teen Titans episode I saw was the worst ever! This one was about some alternate universe Robin (named Larry) who pops into the Titans' world and turns everything into goofy crayon drawings. There was almost nothing good about this one (except maybe Beast Boy talking backwards, which was kind of funny). I hope this lousy episode was just a fluke (but at least Justice League Unlimited will keep me happy)! |
| The Triplets of Belleville : 3 of 5 | |
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2.22.2004
11:47 AM | Link0 comments |
 I was glad to see this movie finally come to Austin, since I had read a lot about it on the web, and I really wanted to see all the films nominated for Best Animated Feature Film! This is definitely an animated film unlike any other - it can certainly be considered an "art film", but it does have nice characters to enjoy (but no real character development, per se). It's hard to describe the plot, but generally it involves a grandmother and her grandson, whom she trains to compete in the Tour de France. During the race he's captured by the mafia, and it's up to Grandma and Champion (the hilariously flabby dog) to rescue him - with the help of the Triplets, of course! The Triplets are a has-been singing group (featured in an incredible 20's style opening number) who live alone and eat frogs (I'm not making this up!). Artistically, the film is incredible with detailed backgrounds and completely surreal character design (extremes of fat of skinny, for example). My favorite sequences are the dreams of Champion the dog, answering once and for all what dogs really dream about.
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| Looney Tunes: The Golden Collection : 5 of 5 | |
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1.31.2004
11:36 AM | Link |
 I had been hoping that someday there would be a DVD set of the classic Warner Brothers cartoons for a long time, so I was so happy that they finally made this collection (and that I received it for Christmas!). There is so much to love about this set! The cartoons themselves (over 50 of them) have been magically restored - the colors are so bright and the lines are so crisp, that I would almost swear they had been completely reanimated this year. I just can't get over how spectacular and new they look! The selection of cartoons does a great job of providing an overview of all the major (and most of the minor) characters - there are many "landmark" cartoons that aren't here, but I'm sure they will be on another set someday. Each of the four discs also has great documentaries - some made a long time ago, and some made specifically for this set, and they are completely full of fascinating facts. There are lots of commentaries, too, though these are the weakest part of the set - most of them just speak generally about the director or animators, but I wish they would talk more specifically about the cartoon itself. On top of all of this, there are also "music only" tracks, which are just amazing to watch and listen to the incredible music timing. What a fantastic set!
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| Astro in action | |
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1.17.2004
10:16 AM | Link0 comments |
 Yokatta! The latest Astro Boy cartoon series (produced in Japan, of course) has finally started on Kids WB. I just watched the first episode and I totally loved it (looking past a few goofy, but very slight, changes for the American audience)! The animation is really beautiful - the backgrounds of the incredible futuristic city are just fantastic, and all of the characters are completely true to Tezuka's design. It was so exciting to watch Astro learn how to fly, and especially cool to see things that aren't shown in the books, like how his boots slide open and transform into his rockets. Now I have a new reason to enjoy Saturday mornings! Doyoobi no Asa ga suki desu!
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| Duck Dodgers | |
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9.28.2003
10:12 AM | Link0 comments |
 It's great that there are so many new cartoons lately! Cartoon Network recently started their Duck Dodgers series, and it's not bad. It's got to be difficult to build an entire show from a single classic six minute cartoon (Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century, one of the best cartoons ever, of course), but so far they're doing fine, although I miss some of the funkier backgrounds from the original. Duck Dodgers isn't on my "don't miss" list, though - for the record, everyone must watch Teen Titans, Samurai Jack, Big O, Family Guy, (and most of the other Adult Swim shows), and Justice League (if they ever start the new season). Watching these shows will bring happiness and joy to all WEBmikey readers!
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| Relaxing with Aurora | |
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9.11.2003
6:40 PM | Link |
 Hello, minasan (everyone)! It's so nice to have some free time from my schedule of work (which is especially busy right now), Nihongo no kurasu (Japanese class), and rehearsing with the Heroes. I just had a nice glass of wine and read a few chapters of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (which is an interesting book, by the way), and now I'm going to watch the bonus material on the Sleeping Beauty DVD (super cool) and smoke my pipe. Ahhhhh.
Lately I've been listening to classical music in my car (KMFA, of course), since it helps me relax when I'm feeling a little stressed. It's amazing how it affects my driving - I'm much more inclined to burn up the highway when I listen to my usual bubblegum pop, but I barely even hit the speed limit listening to Mozart. I'm still working my way through the Disney animated features, so I watched The Aristocats a few days ago. Not a bad film, just not really heartwarming - however, I never noticed how great the backgrounds are until this viewing. The amount of detail is really astounding, with just a touch of that 101 Dalmatians "color outside the lines" feel. Yuko took a week off from my daily NHK news (I'm glad she's back now!) - I wonder how she styled her hair during her vacation? |
| Overwhelmed by art | |
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7.30.2003
7:59 PM | Link0 comments |
 Every time I watch Samurai Jack I always think the same thing - how can every single background of the show be such a work of art?! I'm still as impressed as ever with the animation, characters and story, but I'm just overwhelmed with the background art. The use of bold colors and shapes reminds me of the work Mary Blair (famous for designing It's A Small World) did for Disney - I wish I could paint something like that!
 Disneyland Countdown: 22 days!
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| Titans, go! | |
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7.22.2003
9:34 PM | Link0 comments |
 I'm totally impressed with Teen Titans, Cartoon Network's latest show! Besides the fact that I've always enjoyed these teenage heroes (with Robin as their leader), they've designed the series in full-blown anime style. I couldn't believe what I was seeing - speed-line action backgrounds, comedy-relief "baby" versions of the characters in funny situations, and even those silly little vein-popping lines on the forehead to show frustration! It's definitely tongue-in-cheek, but with a semi-serious plot. Top that off with an awesome theme song by Puffy AmiYumi (diving even further into the Japanese thing), and you've got me hooked!
Disneyland Countdown: 30 days!
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