Weirdo's Corner

Oscar Grillo Commercials

2012-01-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

Hello again. Sorry it's been so long. I've been dealing with school.

Anyway, for a quick post, here are some wonderful animated commercials from the talented animator/director, Oscar Grillo. I don't know his exact professional history, but I know that he was in London during the time Richard Williams was producing commercials under the tutelage of Golden Age animators Grim Natwick, Art Babbitt, and Ken Harris. Oscar Grillo eventually founded his own studio to produce commercials of his own. Here are but a few samplings of his work.

The first two here are advertisements for Welsh TV station S4C-TV. These are very interesting specimens, as the animation style is a bit more UPA-esque, with a little mixture of Warner Brothers. These show that stylized or limited animation need not be a hindrance. It doesn't matter how many drawings you have, but that the drawings you do have are used to tell your story or convey your message in a meaningful and entertaining way.

This next one is for Perrier water. I love the design of the genie and the watercolor designs of the backgrounds. The backgrounds remind me of the backgrounds for the 30s Disney and Fleischers cartoons.

This spot is for Heineken Beer. This spot is reminiscent of the early Tex Avery cartoons (in particular the WWII toon Blitz Wolf). I am quite surprised that Disney would allow an ad for Heineken to use their song Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. Oh well, it makes for an entertaining ad.

This one is my favorite of the group. It is an ad for Oddbins Wine Tasting. Why it's a favorite of mine is that the design of the characters were done by legendary cartoonist/illustrator Ralph Steadman. The music is provided by the renowned Spike Jones and his City Slickers. This spot makes me yearn for an animated version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, with characters based on the Steadman illustrations.

These are but a taste of the work Grillo has done. There are many more on YouTube, along with the ads by Richard Williams and Tony White. I hope you've enjoyed this.

Until Next Time.

Getting Up to Date

2011-08-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody!

Sorry I haven't updated in months. Been feeling uninspired, not to mention I was finishing up with school. I'm here now to give you a little update on what's happening.

First off, I'm in Montana right now at my grandmother's house. She doesn't have Internet access, so I have to use the town library and a laptop my sister lent me. I won't be back for a few weeks, but if you've waited this long, a few more weeks will mean nothing to you.

As far as drawing goes, I have been making my way through Paul Richer's classic tome, Artistic Anatomy (below)

I'm going through each of the anatomy plates and drawing them. I'm trying to understand how the parts of the body work and how they work as a whole. After that, I want to go through Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth. Wish me luck with this.

Again, my biggest hurdle is getting enough motivation to just sit down and do it. Wish me even more luck with this.

Next time, I'll try to post a few drawings.

Until Next Time

My Art Training

2011-05-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

There is so much to be learned about drawing that it can be quite daunting. It is a constant journey through life. However, as Confucius said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with that very first step." The dilemma for me is which step do I take. In what direction do I start?

I am currently in a life drawing class, and I realized that life drawing will do me no good if I don't know the other parts, like light, value, and perspective. This is just adding another load onto me. I need to find some organization to this. Since I am mostly teaching myself, there is no structure to this journey. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Perhaps the biggest part of my problem is my motivation. So many distractions surround me, and I allow them to draw mw away from my studies. That will have to be my own personal hurdle.

To all of my artist friends or to those who have any ideas on how to move forward, I eagerly await your answers. Until then, I will be working my way through my many art books. Thank you for reading.

The Illusionist: The Magic of Animation isn't Dead

2011-01-29T16:50:00.000-08:00

Hello dear readers (all three of you). I have returned from the netherworld in which we call reality. I am hear to give you a review of the darling of the animation world, The Illusionist. I have heard plenty of good reviews, and some bad reviews. I decided to check it out myself. I went to the only theatre in Seattle that was showing it, paid my fare, and went in. I have to say this: I LOVED it!

This movie was magic to me. It has reaffirmed my love for animation, and given me new hope for the medium.

Synopsis: An aging magician is at the end of his career. Constantly playing smaller and smaller venues, he plays at a pub in rural Scotland. There he meets a young girl, who is astonished by his illusions as he bestows gifts to her. She joins him as he travels to Edinburgh, where he takes up more and more menial jobs just to support the girl's illusions.

Okay, to start off, the animation and visual style of this movie are wonderful. It is only once or twice that the animation dropped in quality, becoming very choppy and TV-like. I chalk that up to the film's status as a foreign co-production. It's hard to keep track of quality when so many animation studios are involved. However, these are minute quibbles. For the most part, the animation was astounding. While it was not overly cartoony, it does convey the emotion and attitudes of the character. Each one had their own way of walking, body language that gave them an individual identity. That is always a plus for me.

This has led me to a greater understanding of animation. I think I am truly beginning to understand the use of caricature in the artform. Caricature allows the artists to get at the heart of a character's psyche. Perhaps that is why many animated films are done with a more simplified storyline. It allows the animators to utilize that tool to express characterization. That kind of simplicity truly works for this film. It is not overtly complex in its plot, but it doesn't need to be. It's about the characters and the world they live in.

However, underneath that simplicity lies a rich emotional core. The film is all about magic and illusions. For starters, the protagonist is a magician. There are other performers/illusionists in this film, like a ventriloquist and a clown. Throughout the film, the film exposes the lie and blatantly comes out to say, "Magic does not exist." That adds a double meaning, especially since the film is an animated one. I will say that there was a lump in my throat by the time the movie ended.

I will say at first that the movie started out a little rocky. It was beautiful to look at, but just didn't grab me as I wanted it to. As soon the girl Alice was introduced to us, I began to get more into it. It added that humanity and warmth that I needed. As the film went on, I became more and more entranced and involved in this world. Everything felt real to me. Not a single thing rang false, and that is one of the greatest achievements a movie can make. That, and I felt like I was in an adult world, not Hollywood adult, but almost like the real world. It wasn't physically real, but the emotion was real, and that is the important part in my book.

One of the complaints drawn up against the film is that the relationship between Alice and Tatischeff is creepy and inappropriate. I didn't see it like that. call me naive, but I felt it was more like a grandparent relationship. It reminded me of William Hartnell and Carole Ann Ford's onscreen relationship in the early Doctor Who. It was completely platonic.

Another issue people draw against this movie is that Alice was not a likable character, that she was using Tatischeff. My rebuttal is that she is not using him. She is just that impressionable child who believe the illusions Tatischeff presents her. She came from a village that only recently got electricity earlier in the movie. Besides, Alice is not a bad person. She is just at that age where she is a bit self-absorbed. I have been there. I identified with that. It added dimension to her personality and made her feel like a real person. She's a flawed human being like anyone else. Her sweetness countered those shortcomings.

To sum up, this film is one of the best animated films I've seen. I will say it is one of the best films of the past year. It is a testament to the power of animation to tell a wonderful story. There is still magic out there. I've seen it up on the screen. Do yourself a favor and check this film out. You will be rewarded.

Until Next Time

More Barks and Scrooge!!

2011-01-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!!!! Sorry for being away so long. Once again, I've been feeling uninspired. Today, I'm bringing you some one-page gag strips by the master Duck artist himself. These are all from Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge.

Writing/Art: Carl Barks

WD US Issue No. 12

WD US Issue No. 18

More good stuff to come!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everybody!!

May everyone get what their heart desires!

May those who are less unfortunate this time of year find hope and healing. I send my love to all of you!

Joyeaux Noel!

Alice in Comicbook Land Pt. 5 (Finis)

2010-12-21T11:54:00.000-08:00

We're in the final stretch people. How will Alice fare in the Queen's makeshift trial? Probably not well. And we're off!

Here's a little cursory sum up of the whole comic. For those of you who weren't paying attention the first time.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this. I hope you've all enjoyed it. It was a nice little comic. It skipped other parts of the film (the Walrus and the Carpenter, all of the songs, etc.) but it was entertaining enough. However, Riey Thompson may not have been the best pick for drawing this. His drawing chops probably were not up to the task of drawing a more realistic character like Alice. Still, he did a good job.

Coming up soon: More Carl Barks and Uncle Scrooge!

Richard Williams Commercials

2010-12-19T20:09:00.000-08:00

Richard Williams is a fascinating figure in animation history. He was a man with great ambitions for animation, but unfortunately was undone by his lack of financial stability.

During the 1970s, he brought some of the best of the Golden Age animators such as Art Babbitt, Ken Harris, and Grim Natwick to England to teach his animators how it all was done. That helped improve the quality of the animated commercials Richard Williams provided by lightyears. Here are some samples of the work his studio did.

The only issue I have with these is Williams' insistence of animating on ones. Now, in some cases, it could be beneficial such as if you were animating in a more realistic fashion. However, it can be a bad habit if you are animating more cartoony characters such as Goofy and Donald Duck in the Fanta commercials. Doing it all on ones gives the feeling as if they're somewhat floating and not entirely grounded.

I hope to reach that level of expertise that Richard Williams and his animators reached in these commercials.

More of Gulbransson's Magic Line

2010-12-18T19:06:00.000-08:00

Today, I give you more of Olaf Gulbransson and his magic lines. They flow so smoothly, like a classical symphony. These are the rest of them from the book on Simplicissimus I have.

Entertainment

"Excuse me, please, don't you have anything depraved here? But not too bad, so a man can take his wife along."

Calm Sea

"You have such charm, Fred! I admire your tastefully composed personality."

Departure

"And bring me back a fig leaf from Italy. I can't afford a suit any more."

The Last Foothold

"I don't believe in God any more, I don't believe in people any more-and now you want to make me sick of cards, too!"

After Dinner

"Of course, you still have to hold that big gawky boy on your lap!"
"Let me alone. You need your paper for your digestion, I need my motherly love."

Baedeker

"The tedesco can't even do that without his book!"

The Power of Music

"When I hear them play, I love them both. After the concert I prefer a prizefighter."

I hope you've enjoyed them.

Bob and Ray and MAD

2010-12-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow bloggers and those who like my rambling. We have more MAD goodness. THis time we're going back to even earlier in MAD's history. In the mid to late 1950s, MAD would often bring in guest writers to write articles for them. Among them would be famous humorists such as Wally Cox and Jean Shepherd (the man behind A Christmas Story). Even the famous Danny Kaye contributed one or two things to the magazine.

These particular comic-strip articles (it feels weird calling these things just articles) are from, and starring, the incredible comedy duo of Bob and Ray.

Bob and Ray was made up of Robert Brackett Elliott (b. March 26, 1923) and Raymond Walter Goulding (March 20, 1922 - March 24, 1990).

They were mainly radio comedians, specializing in needling radio's pretentiousness, sentimentality, and silliness, according to author and cultural critic Gerald Nachman. They were sharp satirists who blazed the trail for future comedians such as Mort Sahl, Jonathan Winters, and Bob Newhart. Though they were mainstays of radio, they did do television off and on. They hosted a TV version of their show on NBC from 1951 - 1953.

These comics use the duo's classic character, radio/TV interviewer Wally Ballou (winner of 16 diction awards). He is played by Bob Elliott. The men he interviews are portrayed by Ray Goulding.

Enjoy!

From MAD Issue No. 36 (December 1957)
Illustrated by Mort Drucker

I love the Henry Syverson flavored cartoons in this. Mort Drucker was probably inspired by him, or at least appreciated his work.

From MAD Issue No. 41 (September 1958)
Illustrated by Mort Drucker

I greatly admire these, not the least of which is the astonishing work of Mort Drucker. He perfectly captured the attitude and sensibility of Bob and Ray's humor. His artwork also adds another dimension to it.

Both comics/articles perfectly capture the atmosphere of early television. The first comic is the banality of the studio interview. You see people rushing around in the back, albeit in a more cartoony way, but it wholly encapsulates that spirit. The second one caricatures the whole unpredictable facet of television. Writing and art coalesce into a hilarious send-up of the medium and those that participate in it.

Notice how in the two articles, Ray's characters do not look exactly the same. In the first one, he appears more as the devious, greasy scumbag he plays. In the rocket launch episode, he is shown more as a portly middle-aged man with an overabundant feeling of self-worth. Drucker's cartoons show the distinct difference in nature between the characters, all through his powerful cartooning. As David Apatoff said, Drucker approached each caricature and article with a clean slate. No one Drucker cartoon looks exactly alike.

Mort Drucker's work fits Bob and Ray as much as George Cruikshank matches the world of Charles Dickens.

Sadly, after the 1950s, MAD no longer used outside writers, preferring to stick with their own staff. Real shame.

More MAD goodness to come, amongst other things.

Jack Rickard: Under appreciated MAD genius

2010-12-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!! I'm finally back!! This time I bring the MAD goodness of Jack Rickard. To me, he is an under-appreciated artist. When I hear discussions of the MAD cartoonists, many people cite Don Martin, Sergio Aragones, and Mort Drucker. I want to add another Jack Rickard into the discussion. He was just as talented and creative as the other men. I guess because he died earlier than the others (he died in 1983) is why.

Below I have an article from MAD Issue no. 104 (July 1966) that proves my point.

These are absolutely beautiful drawings!! They're also funny and bitingly satiric. He can accurately satirize the human body and its language. That is a true gift.

Here we see him show us the psychology of two students at Mediocrity University through body language alone. These are two people only concerned their next hit of dope or the next rock concert. They live for today only. You can also see they are quite annoyed to be interviewed by the dean and some bimbo from MAD.

I especially love this piece. Jack Rickard gives us three different type of people. There is no generic look for people in his work. Each drawing stands out as an individual. Why can't we have people like this working in animation. There would be so much more variety in character design.

Actually it looks like he might be influenced by Paul Coker Jr. by the way he uses line.

I hope you've enjoyed. I'll try to get more of my MAD collection online. Later days!

Olaf Gulbransson: Master of Line

2010-12-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

Today kiddies, I bring you more German cartoon goodness!! This time, we have the undisputed master of line, Olaf Gulbransson! This is the man that Al Hirschfeld looked to for inspiration.

Olaf Gulbransson was born in Oslo, Norway on May 26, 1873. At 17 years old, he began to contribute illustrations to Norwegian magazines such as Tyrihans, the Norwegian satirical magazine. During this time, he studied at the prestigious Academie Colarossi in Paris. He began to contribute to Simplicissimus in 1902. In 1929, be became a professor at the art academy of Munich. I would love to have him as my teacher.

He was a well-known artist, even gaining an exhibition at the art academy in Berlin in 1933. Two days later, the Nazi party shut it down. He continued to contribute to the magazine until it's cancellation in 1944.

He died in Tegernsee, Germany on September 18, 1958.

I shall be translating from the original German.

Impossible

"You have no children, Mr. Guschelhauer?"
"No, we aren't acrobats, you know."

In the Night Spot

"Miss, do you too have something in your character that you constantly have to fight against?"

A Friendly Suggestion

"We can now bring the stories in the Bible into agreement with the natural sciences. According to the latest research, Adam did not accept the apple from Eve; our first mother therefore gave it to a gorilla. An thus Darwin's theory is proven."

Isadora Duncan

"Orpheus and Eurydice. Rhythmic study based on Euripides' Bacchae. Bacchus and Ariadne, a dance based on Titian's painting of the name. "Mein kleine Danz is finished"."

Tivoli

"Min, I wish you could have the same sensation that I do of seeing the inventors of the splendid grammatical construction facere non possum ut non or quin walking amongst these ruins in the flesh." *

A Fit of Debility

"Look at that!" ... "Eh, old man, now I've got to help you up again?"

The Height of Fashion

Inspired by Rabindranath Tagore, fashionable Berlin practices contemplation of the navel.

*Appendage: This is the town of Tivoli outside of Rome. The Latin construction admired by this Gymnasium teacher means "I cannot help (doing something)".

All of these cartoons and translations come from a book called Simplicimuss, a collection of 180 cartoons from the magazine, collected and edited by Stanley Aplebaum.

I hope you enjoyed this first batch of Gulbransson cartoons. Stay tuned for more!!

Alice in Comicbook Land Pt. 4

2010-12-03T20:01:00.000-08:00

Here we are again with Alice's adventures in Looneyville! Hope you enjoy the ride!

See you next time!!

Alice in Comicbook Land Pt. 3

2010-11-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Wonderland. We better hurry or we'll miss the further adventures of our dear friend Alice. Without further ado, ONWARD!

More to come!! Stay tuned!

Comic Strip Samples

2010-11-26T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hello there fellow blogosphere citizens. Today I present you some great comic strip artwork for you to admire. The three artists I've chosen are Charles Payne, Cliff Sterrett, and George Herriman, mostly because they're the ones I could fit onto my scanner. These pictures come from the book The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art by Jerry Robinson (creator of The Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker). I got this book at a used book sale my old college was having. Picked it up for a buck or two. SCORE!!

Charles M. Payne was born in 1873, and began his career in comics in 1896. 14 years later, he created his most famous comic strip S'Matter Pop, whcih ran for thirty years. Charles M. Schulz cited him as an influence on his own work. Tragically, C.M. Payne died penniless in 1964.

Look at those clean lines and clear staging. Even at such a small size, the image reads so well.

Cliff Sterrett was born in 1883. In 1912, he was hired by William Randolph Hearst to be a cartoonist for his syndicate. At this time, Sterrett create his most popular comic strip, Polly and Her Pals. As the years, Sterrett brought in influences of Cubism, Surrealism, and Expressionism into his comic strip (see below). He died in 1964.

This must have been a huge influence on Will Eisner and The Spirit.

George Herriman is perhaps the most well-known and most influential artist I've chosen. His comic masterpiece Krazy Kat has influenced generations of cartoonists, including Charles M. Schulz. R. Crumb has called him "The Leonardo Da Vinci of comics".

George Herriman was born in 1880. Even though he was working in comics by 1902, it wasn't until 1913 that he achieved fame and notoriety with Krazy Kat. Though the strip had few fans outside of the intelligentsia, Herriman always had a staunch supporter in Hearst, who loved the strip. When Herriman died in 1944, Hearst decreed that nobody was to replace Herriman as the artist on his strip. Nobody could.

I hope you all enjoyed this little excursion into comics history. I will get back to posting more of Alice in Wonderland soon.

Alice in Comic-book land Pt.2

2010-11-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow Wonderlanders! It's time we caught up with Alice upon her adventures. Which of Lewis Carroll's wonderful creations will she meet this time? Read on to find out!

Stay tuned for Alice's further adventures!
Same Weirdo time, same Weirdo blog!

Alice in Comic-book land Pt.1

2010-11-20T12:17:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!! I'm finally back, even though probably none of you missed me. I just haven't been feeling inspired lately, but I'm back in a groove. Well, I've been inspired by both the posts of Michael Sporn and Steven Hartley's mosaics. Because of that, I've decided to post the pages from the comic book version of Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

From Dell's Junior Treasury No. 1 (1955)

Cover Illustration and Inside Cover: Bob Grant

Writing: Del Connell

Art: Riley Thompson (Pencils) and Bob Grant (Inks)

Since when did Figaro belong to Alice? I guess he assumed it was safer with her than Geppeto, what with him harassing Figaro and getting swallowed by a Whale.

What? No Walrus and the Carpenter?

I hope you've enjoyed. More to come!

Heinrich Kley: Cartoon Master

2010-10-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

Today I'm getting a little fancier and a bit more , dare I say, sophisticated. Today we're looking at the work of Heinrich Kley, German cartoonist extraordinaire.

Heinrich Kley was born in Karlsruhe, Germany on April 15, 1863. He studied in both Karlsruhe and Munich and by the 1880s was known for his paintings. In 1908, he settled in Munich, where he began submitting cartoons to Jugend and Simplicissimus. These two magazines were satirical publications, in the same vein as Britain's Punch.

Kley was one of the most popular contributors to these magazines. His work was very influential, particularly on the Disney studios surprisingly. His satirical renderings of animals such as elephants were very influential in the designs of the characters in The Dance of the Hours from FANTASIA, as well as the elephants of DUMBO. John Canemaker makes a point of this in his commentary on the DUMBO DVD.

He died in Munich on February 8, 1945.

I will be translating from the original German.

From God's Marionette Theater

"All right, you can pack away the king, too, for the time being. At the moment, he isn't bringing in any customers."

Tourist Season

Tango

Turn in Your Gold to the National Bank

Secondhand Shop

At the Border

The Dance Floor

I hope you enjoyed this. There will be more German cartoon treats.

Auf Wiedersehen!

More MAD Treasures

2010-10-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

As I promised kiddies, more goodies from the original MADmen.

It is obvious that the MAD employees thought very highly of their boss. Bill Gaines had to have been one of the greatest editors to ever have graced any field of publication. As far back as the late forties and early fifties, the heyday of EC Comics, Bill Gaines let his artists be creative. He never tried to censor them or make them conform to a house style. He let them do their job, the way they wanted it done. That alone earns him my respect.

Okay, the big speech is over. I'll let you guys enjoy the funny pictures. Have fun kids.

I love Jack Davis' use of color here. You can feel the heat of the Moroccan sun. Brilliant.

More MAD goodness to come!!!

Treasures of MAD Trips Long Past

2010-10-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Today kiddies, I bring you treats from "the Usual Gang of Idiots". About a year ago, I picked up the biography of William M. Gaines, the publisher of MAD Magazine. Inside were 16 color illustrations, inspired by the famous trips Bill Gaines would take his employees on. I'm showing you the first 8. The rest will come later.

Have fun.

Until Next Time
Happy Trails

More Frazetta For Your Blog!!

2010-10-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hello folks. Sorry I haven't updated for awhile. I've been trying to write something inspiring, but it's not coming to me. So here are more luscious works of art for you to salivate over, straight from the Lord himself. Enjoy.

Until Next Time

Sleepwalking Ducks: Society's Greatest Threat

2010-09-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

Today we dive back into the world of Disney, particularly into the life of the perennially unlucky superstar, Donald Duck. This time he's sleepwalking, all the while his nephews have to deal with the aftermath.

The artist this time is Riley Thompson (10/5/1912 - 01/26/1960). Born in Alhambra, California, he started as an animator at the Leon Schlesinger studio, working on Porky Pig and Merrie Melodies shorts. In 1936, he went to the Walt Disney Studios to work as an animator on various shorts and on Fantasia.

In 1940, he was promoted to director and for the next 10 years, he directed various Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy cartoons. His filmography includes one of my favorite Mickey cartoons, Symphony Hour.

During the fifties, he did a lot of comic book work, mostly for Disney and Walter Lantz titles. For a short time, he was an animator for the Walter Lantz studio. That was his final job for animation, as he died in 1960 for reasons that I don't know.

Thompson has a very interesting drawing style. It's much cartoonier than his colleagues, and more or reflects the squash and stretch effect of animation. I will have more of his work up soon. Enjoy.

From WDC&S Issue No. 123

Writing: Unknown /Art: Riley Thompson

Until Next Time
Happy Trails

T.S. Sullivant: Granddaddy of Cartoonists

2010-09-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

Today kiddies, I bring to you the work of a master cartoonist. It's T.S. Sullivant. There's not much I can say about him that has already been said. He was a highly popular and influential cartoonist in the early years of the 20th century. His influence can be felt in many cartoons, particularly those of the Disney studio.

Here are some samples of his work, done for Judge in the early 1920s. I got these from a book called Cartoons of the Roaring Twenties by R.C. Harvey.

Enjoy.

Until Next Time
Happy Trails

Louis Marak and Great American Wit

2010-09-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

Here today, I bring to you the artwork of a unknown cartoonist. His name is Louis Marak.

I tried looking up who he was. The closest I got was a ceramics professor at Humboldt University. If anybody has any information on this guy, please let me know.

I love his artwork. He seems to draw in a Paul Coker-like style. That seemed to have been pretty popular style in the 1960s and 70s.

*Update: I have just received word that the artist in question is Louis B. Marak, a successful Hallmarks and studio artist. He is a cousin of the ceramics professor, who is named Louis B. Marak. Please thank Barton, Marak's stepson, for sharing this information. He also says that Mr. Marak is alive and still creating art. Tell him thanks from us.

Enjoy.

This is my favorite. This is a good way to design more realistic human characters. I would see an animated if the characters were this appealing.

Until Next Time

Happy Trails

A Sample Of My Work

2010-09-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today I am here to show you lucky viewers samples of my own work. These pieces are from my life drawing class.

The reason I show these is for some honest criticism on how I can improve my draftsmanship. I've been looking over at David Apatoff's Illustration blog. On his most recent post on George Bridgman's life-drawing class, he talks of today being a time of false praise. As an aspiring artist, I do not want that. I want plain honest criticism, pointing out my flaws as well as strengths, so that I know where I stand.

So to all of you true artists out there, I leave these before you to judge and give me criticism. It will hurt my ego, but it will be for the best.

To start off, here are some 2-5 minute gesture drawings

These are my class-long drawings

This is my two-day drawing. Our final in-class assignment.

I hope you found something you liked.

Until Next Time

The Magical Illustrations of The Rubayyat

2010-09-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

The Rubayyat by Omar Khayam is a wonderful piece of Arabic literature (as well as the inspiration for a hilarious Rocky and Bullwinkle story). As I read it, I find its beautiful poetry to still be able to speak volumes, even in this, our modern world. It goes to show that the more things change, the more things stay the same.

I feel that such beautiful writing should be accompanied by art that is equally as beautiful. And that Is what we get here. Omar Khayyam is joined by the extremely talented illustrator Joseph Isom. So far, these are the only illustrations I know of that he did. I have no background information on him.

Does David Apatoff have any information on him? David is the curator of the Illustration Art blog here.

Such a strong sense of composition and design. Everything is staged so clearly that even at a small size, you know exactly what is happening in the painting.

This is one of my favorites. Oh, who am I kidding? I can't choose a favorite.

Another aspect of his talent that floors me is how each piece has a different color scheme, each suggesting a different mood and atmosphere.

My god, these are beautiful!! I must bow to his talents!! I can only dream to have his talent.

Until Next Time
Happy Trails

Whose Tarzan is the True King of the Jungle?

2010-09-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs (9/1/1875 - 3/19/1950) has been adapted into many media, but we're here to talk about the comics version.

The Tarzan comic strip debuted on January 7, 1929, drawn by Hal Foster, future creator of the long-lasting adventure classic, Prince Valiant. After him came a legendary run by renowned comics artist Burne Hogarth, and many others.

So now here's the question. Whose Tarzan reigns supreme?

Hal Foster

Burne Hogarth

You decide!!!

Until Next Time

Beware The Ogrons

2010-09-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

A little change of pace for Comics Corner this time. It's not Disney. This time we're dealing in science-fiction. A cautionary tale from our favorite Time Lord. Heed his words, oh children of the Earth!!

Warlord of the Ogrons (Doctor Who Issue No. 5)

Writing: Steve Moore Art: Steve Dillon

Until Next Time

Happy Trails

Don't let the Daleks get you!!

Gyro's Gear is Loose

2010-09-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

More Disney Goodness Boys and Girls!!!

This time it's our favorite inventor from Duckburg, Gyro Gearloose!! I know it's short, but I hope you all enjoy it.

From Walt Disney's Uncle ScroogeIssue No. 18

Writing/Art: Carl Barks

Until Next Time

Frank Frazetta For The Win!!!

2010-08-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today, I bring you the mastery of the late, great artist Frank Frazetta.

Today's sampler features his pen and ink illustrations. There are various illustration for the Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs and one made for The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Now let us bask in his greatness and watch as I weep at my putrid draftsmanship in the corner.

Until Next Time
Happy Trails

MAD Magazine Madness!!

2010-08-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

I am a HUGE MAD Magazine Fan. I love collecting the old issues (50s - 60s are my favorites). Here is a cool little 60 Minutes segment from the early 80s about the magazine. Enjoy.

Until Next Time

Happy Trails

Do the Duck Fair

2010-08-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here's another piece of Disney delight. Here is the third and final story from the comic Donald Duck and the Flying Horse.

Jack Bradbury was a former Disney animator until leaving the studio to go into comic books. He worked a lot for Dell Comics (the publishers of the Disney comics). His artwork is good in other books, but he is not that good at drawing the Ducks. When I see his work, it always looks like the beaks aren't that well-attached to their faces, like they glued them on wrong.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

From Walt Disney's Donald Duck Issue No. 27

Writing: Unknown Art: Jack Bradbury

Until Next Time
Happy Trails

More DuckTales to come.

Guess Who's Going To Be Dinner?

2010-08-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

More Disney goodness!! It just keeps coming. I'm going to give it to you until it comes out your ears. Aren't you glad to have a blogger like me?

Anyway, this story concerns The Big Bad Wolf, his son, and his eternal struggle to get The Three Little Pigs into his oven. Only this time a new player is added into this classic farce.

There's also a nice little cameo from some of the birds from Cinderella

From WDC&S No. 115 (April 1950)

Writing/Art: Gil Turner

Until Next Time

Happy Trails

Bucky Bug Goes To Town

2010-08-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here is another installment of Eric's Comics Corner. It's more delightful narrative from Walt Disney Company.

The main character this time is Bucky Bug. This series is interesting because these characters only existed in the comics. They originally appeared in the initial Silly Symphonies comic strip. Another fact that I find odd about this comic is everyone speaks in rhymes. I would have a joke for that, but I'm not that funny.

From WDC&S No. 115

Writing: Unknown Artist: Jim Pabian

More delightful Disney comics to come.

More Preston Blair

2010-08-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Here are more Preston Blair studies from my notebook. I've posted the original page for comparison. These poses I tried to measure exactly how large the proportions, down to the last centimeter. It's probably not a good way to do it, but these are from earlier on in my training.

I hope you enjoy.

Little side-note: I finally bought myself some Col-Erase pencils (red to be exact), and I am going to start using those for my under-drawings. Thanks for the tip Robert. You're a real pal.

Until Next Time
Happy Trails

A Bit On Manuel Gonzales

2010-08-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

Today I am here to talk about one of the artists whose work I posted about earlier. I think it's important that we learn more about the artists who bring the classic Disney characters to life on the comic book page.

Today, it's Manuel Gonzales.

Manuel Gonzales is a Spanish-born artist (born 3/3/1913) who started out as a painter in his native land. He migrated to the United States in the mid-1930s, where he got a job as a staff artist at the Walt Disney Studios in 1936. In 1938, he was given the job of drawing the Mickey Mouse Sunday page when Floyd Gottfredson left it to work exclusively on the dailies.

On the Sunday pages, Gonzales drew the daily life adventures of Mickey and friends, in stark contrast to the grand adventures of Gottfredson's dailies. It seems to adhere closer to the animated shorts. He continued to draw them until his retirement in 1981.

Along with this, he illustrated the newspaper comics versions of such Disney classics as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. He inked a few daily strips of Donald Duck for Al Taliaferro and illustrated a few Disney books for Golden Press and Whitman Publishing.

Manuel Gonzales died in March of 1993.

His artwork is solid and well-drawn, although sometimes his Mickey is a little squat without much on that animated verve of the cartoon Mickey.

His style is somewhat similar to Paul Murry (responsible for the work above), although much more appealing and better drawn than Murry's.

His version of Pluto is wonderful. Pluto is cute and appealing, and it looks solid and three-dimensional.

A good solid artist whose work should be appreciated.

Until Next Time
Happy Trails

Mickey One-Pagers

2010-08-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

More treasures from my collection. Here are some Mickey Mouse strips. I find the artwork superb, although the writing to me is a bit pedestrian. Nothing that really sparkles in my eyes. I hope you all enjoy.

Writing: Bill Walsh Art: Manuel Gonzales

WDC&S No. 115

WDC&S No. 123

WDC&S No. 131

Until next time
Happy Trails

Preston Blair Practices

2010-08-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

For the first time on this blog, I am going to show you some of the drawings I have made. These are Preston Blair practice drawings I have made. I have placed the original book pages alongside my drawings for comparison.

Even the harshest of criticisms are welcome.

Well folks, do I have a shot at being a great cartoonist, or am I a hopeless yutz with delusions of grandeur?

Are My Dreams Futile?: A Litany of Woe

2010-08-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about this very often, and it still plagues me.

Ever since I really got into animation, I have wanted to make feature films with my own stories and characters. I would like to do more adult stories (not tits and ass stories). I had hoped to contribute something positive to the world of animation.

I have always had my doubts about if I would do that, but youthful optimism (or idiocy) has always prevailed. However, ever since I have read The Hollywood Economist: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies by Edward jay Epstein has almost killed my hopes.

In this book, Epstein shows us how people earn and make money in the world of film. In today's Hollywood, so much money is poured into certain films, that Hollywood executives do everything possible in order for the film to make money. That is why so much of Hollywood emphasizes franchise films. They are more guaranteed, at least in their minds, to make money for their companies.

This makes me fear for those who strive for originality, particularly those in the world of animation. Even in Independent and Foreign circles, it is getting harder to get films made. The film companies like to make films that have a strong American backing.

Now, I know there have been a lucky few who have had the chance to make their own films, like my hero Ralph Bakshi, but that occurred during a time of great upheaval, when the old studio system was dying off and new voices were encouraged. Today's Hollywood encourages routine and almost discourages new voices. One example of this is mentioned in Epstein's book, when an aspiring filmmaker brought forth an idea to a film executive. The executive said, "Too bad this movie hasn't been made before, or we could have done the remake."

Need I say more?

Donald vs. Gladstone

2010-08-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Here is more fantastic Disney artwork from my comic book collection. Today, it's a ten pager from "The Good Duck Artist" himself, Carl Barks!! This story is another installment in the eternal struggle between Donald Duck and his everlucky cousin (and nemesis), Gladstone Gander. I hope you enjoy.

"Gladstone's Luck" (WDC&S No. 131)

Writing/Art: Carl Barks

More Disney goodness to come!!

Happy Trails

Al Taliaferro Ducks

2010-08-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

These comics are more pieces of the comic book collection I own.

These are drawn by Al Taliaferro. He began as an animator for The Walt Disney Studios in 1931 shortly before joining the comics department. He was an inker early on Floyd Gottfredson's run on the Mickey Mouse strip. After working on the Silly Symphonies strip, he began his run on Donald Duck. That gig would run for 30 years, from 1938 to his death in 1969.

He was the artist to originally introduce Donald's famous nephews, one full year before their appearance in the animated short Donald's Nephews. He also co-created other Donald Duck mainstays like Gus Goose, Grandma Duck, and Daisy Duck. Out of all the artists I've seen, Al Taliaferro is the artist who most closely captured the look of the animated shorts.

All of these are from Walt Disney's Comics and Stories Issue No. 115

Writer: Bob Karp Artist: Al Taliaferro

More Taliaferro to come!

Happy Trails

Haunted Houses and Talking Ducks

2010-08-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

Today I bring you a piece of the collection of Disney Comics I own.

The earliest issue I own is Walt Disney's Comics and Stories no. 115 from April 1950.

Art: Walt Kelly

After this, and an inside comic strip, is the first story of our comic book. Drawn by regular Mickey Mouse artist Paul Murry, it shows he was slightly better at drawing the Ducks than the Mice. Less mushy, but still plenty of energy in the poses and drawings.

Writer: Unknown Artist: Paul Murry

There will be more to come later.

Coming soon: Al Taliaferro Donald strips

The Joys of The Silly Symphonies

2010-08-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

For the longest time, I didn't really like the Silly Symphonies cartoons. I respected them for helping to advance the art of animation. It wasn't until recently that I began to truly appreciate their artistry and brilliance. I've picked out a few of my favorites.

Who Killed Cock Robin? (1935)

This is a cartoon masterpiece. It has a brilliant story structure, with a great sense of biting satire. This cartoon also contains the phenomenal animation of Jenny Wren by Hamilton Luske. You truly feel her weight and she exudes a personality. You truly feel that she has thoughts and feelings.

Toby Tortoise Returns (1936)

One of the funniest Disney cartoons ever!!! Lots of risque jokes and cartoony animation. Extremely entertaining film.

Woodland Cafe (1937)

This film is extremely entertaining. Lots of great animation, lively music, and great visual storytelling. Apart from the unfortunate racial stereotypes, it's fantastic.

Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938)

It's a parody of Mother Goose using 1930s Hollywood celebrities. Nuff said!

And finally,

Ferdinand The Bull (1938)

Okay, this isn't a Silly Symphony, but I had to include it, because it's a brilliant short subject. I loved the book, and apart from the caricatures of the staff for the bullfighting staff, the film stays very true to the look of book's illustrations.

I hope you've enjoyed these.
Happy Trails

Character Analysis: The Work of Graham Linehan

2010-07-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

This is Graham Linehan. He is a television writer and director. This man has created three of the most popular British/Irish sitcoms of the past 15 years. I am of course referring to Father Ted, Black Books, and The IT Crowd. As different as these shows, there is a key similarity between the three: the relationship of the core characters.

I find that the core characters of these shows fall into three categories.

Type 1: Neurotic Insider
Examples:

Father Ted Crilly from Father Ted
Fran Katzenjammer from Black Books
Jen Barber from The IT Crowd

These characters is seemingly the most normal of the group. They have a chance to fit into normal society, but they are constantly kept on the fringe due to both their own neuroses and the actions of the other two types of characters.

Type 2: Awkward Manchild
Examples:

Father Dougal McGuire from Father Ted
Manny Bianco from Black Books
Maurice Moss from The IT Crowd

These ones are simply an awkward misfit. They are the intermediate level of weirdness. They vary in intelligence or level of social skills, but usually they are the sidekicks of the group. These types also are bunglers, and have a tendency to destroy things unintentionally. They annoy the other characters by their bugling and naivete.

Type 3: Willful Recluse

Examples:

Father Jack Hackett from Father Ted
Bernard Black from Black Books
Roy Tenneman and Richard Avenal from The IT Crowd

This group are basically comedic sociopaths who are happy and indeed proud of their outsider status. They don't do anything for themselves. They depend on Type #1 to do nearly everything for them, from cooking to dressing them.

The relationships of these characters are strange and yet they work for some reason.

Type #1 is usually the caretaker of the others. They try to keep the other types out of trouble, or at least present them as respectable normal people in society, but they usually fail. This is true of all three shows. Jen intermediates between the IT crew and the rest of the company they work for. Father Ted usually takes over all priestly duties, as Jack and Dougal are incapable of doing them. Fran has to make sure Manny and Bernard don't kill each other.

Type #1 is usually the one to interact with Type #3. Type #2 usually stays out of the way. The best example is how Father Ted is the only one to talk to Father Jack. While it's not true for Manny and Bernard, or Roy and Maurice, but Jen is the only one to talk to Richard.

Besides this, 3 resists all changes to their lives unless prodded by 1. Father Jack refuses to give up drinking until Ted hides away all of his booze for Lent.

Type #2 will do little things to change their lives, like clean up their house or take a class to widen their horizons, but usually they are content with their lives and they like things as they are.

In spite of their differences, these three depend on each other and they cannot bear to break the group apart. They need each other to survive. My best example is how in the last episode of Father Ted, Ted cannot bring himself to leave the other people of the parochial house. Although they may not like each other, these three character types are better off together than apart.

Interestingly enough, these characters, each character type probably could not exist by itself, or with others of their type. The neurotic insiders would probably backstab and undo each other. The awkward man-children would probably never do anything, or they would destroy their home. The recluses would probably kill each other or starve to death due to their lack of initiative.

Now, I know that these characters have greater depth and differences, but this is generally how these characters are placed. I also know that I haven't classified Mrs. Doyle anywhere, but she is a bit of a mystery to me. She is something different from the others.

I hope you all enjoyed my intellectual dissection of these TV productions. I hope you enjoyed it and can benefit from it.

Happy Trails

Father Ted: Inspired Insanity

2010-07-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

One of the most inspired comedies to ever have graced the television screen is a gem from Ireland known as Father Ted. Created by Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews, the show premiered on the 21st of April, 1995 on Channel 4.

For those not in the know, the show concerns three priests banished to the fictional backwater world of Craggy Island. Craggy Island seems to be the place where all of the people who can't fit into normal Irish society are sent.

This is our main character, Father Ted Crilly. He's a relatively straight character, but he has a bit more character and nuance to him than the others. Ted is either the victim of the others idiosyncrasies or just cruel fate. That's what keeps him on the island, although he would rather be in Las Vegas. He was sent to the island due to some "financial irregularities", although he'll tell you that the money was resting in his account.

This here is Dougal McGuire, the idiot Robin to Ted's Batman. He is an idiot of the most profound kind. Not only that, but he is slightly crazy, as he can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy. A lot of the time, it's his idiocy that destroys any chance of Ted succeeding in life.

This is Father Jack Hackett. The ultimate drunk. He can drink anything, including floor polishes. He is cantankerous, and most of his dialogue is made up of strings of vulgarities. At points, he seems like a household pet than an actual priest. Always a fan favorite.

This is Mrs. Doyle, the housekeeper of the Craggy Island parochial house. She takes her job very seriously. Hospitable is not enough of a word to describe her. You'll never run out of tea in her house.

This show is a terrific surreal satire of all things Irish and Catholic. The reality of this world looks very much like our own, but then it veers out into left field. It takes all of the archetypes of rural Irish life, and takes it to such surreal extreme ends. Father Jack is not just a drunk, but a bizarre drunk, capable of ingesting floor polish and able to survive the effects of it. Being sober is like a hallucinogenic drug to Father Jack.

A big theme of the show is priests in a modern world. The priests in this world are very pop-culture savvy. In fact, in an interview with the creators, the show is an outgrowth of the idea that modern priests don't like being seen as priests. Ted is the epitome of that. If Ted had his way, he would be out in Las Vegas living the high life.

One of my favorite aspects of this show is that each character has a distinct personality, with their own mannerisms and eccentricities. This is a breath of fresh air in the world of Friends-like shows of interchangeable characters sharing wisecracks. Its atmosphere was distinctly Irish, and yet completely universal. That, and it is so cartoony and exaggerated. No modern-day cartoon can compare to this.

I happened to discover this show late one night on PBS. I was waiting for my dad to come home from work. As I watched it, I began laughing harder and harder. When my dad did come home, I showed him the show and we laughed hysterically. It has become one of our favorite shows and we still love it to this day.

I recommend this show to everyone looking for something outside of the mainstream.

Happy Trails

Leslie Illingworth (1902 - 1979)

2010-07-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

This time, I'm covering a cartoonist that has been said to have been superior to David Low! (oh the blasphemy!!) His name was Leslie Illingworth.

According to his biography, he was born in South Wales on September 2, 1902. Although he worked for many magazines and newspapers in his early years, his main employers were The Daily Mail and the illustrious English humor magazine Punch. In 1945, he became the main political cartoonist for the famous magazine. He left The Daily Mail in 1969. After that, he was mostly retired until he suffered a fatal stroke on December 20, 1979.

Although he is not as famous as David Low, he was just as loathed by the Third Reich. It has been shown that Adolf Hitler himself collected Illingworth's cartoons in his bunker and scribbled insults all over them. That would make any political cartoonist proud.

Walt Disney Treasures Reissues: My Dream

2010-07-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a pretty quick post. I am just here to say that I hope one day that the Walt Disney Company rereleases the Walt Disney Treasures DVDs.

The reason I bring this up is because I got a copy of the above DVD set from the library today. I put in the first disc and it wasn't able to play. Also, I am unable to fork out out the near seventy bucks that it would take to get it on Amazon.

I came in late to collecting the Walt Disney Treasures sets. I have four sets, but I want the others, particularly the cartoons. I think Disney should do it. I feel they could make a financial gain from this. You have new generations of die-hard Disney fans who will be unable to get their hands on the treats that lie on these DVDs. Give them a chance. They could do it in the same manner as the features.

I think I should start a letter-writing campaign to see if I can get this accomplished. It's worth a try.

The Importance of Keeping a Journal

2010-06-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

I am here today, after months of absence, to offer you guys some practical advice. This entry into my oeuvre discusses the practical uses of keeping a journal.

We know that journals are good for recording personal thoughts and scientific observations. Well, artists can take a cue from our scientific brethren. I find that I best remember something if I write it down, particularly if I can paraphrase it. This helped me out a lot in school. This way, I had a better grasp of the material because I certainly wasn't going to be able to recall all of the information in the textbooks my myself.

Basically, what I'm saying is record all of your observations about life, about everything you can find out.

In essence, make your artistic observations in journals. I think that this is a logical extension of using sketchbooks. Artists are constantly being told to carry sketchbooks to observe and draw what you see. Well, why not use the cousin of sketchbooks to do the exact same thing? Allow me to elaborate.

As I have been reading over the many blogs I visit, many artists encourage up and comers to observe and to not let themselves fall into a formula. Well, a sketchbook gives us pictorial inspiration, but sometimes ideas are better expressed in words. This is where the journals come in. You write down observations that can't be sketched.

Start off with analyzing movies, books, comics (both in strip and book form), and other modes of storytelling. Write out how the stories they tell unfold. Analyze the characters to find those notes of falsehood or contrivance that will plague you if you do not weed them out. Study performers and describe their performance style. Study artists and their work and dissect it to see how it works. Always be on the lookout for new ideas and fresh perspectives.

Don't just stop with analyzing the media. Real life will always be your greatest asset in expanding your artistic and storytelling vocabulary. Write down how people relate and interact with each other. Study your family, friends, strangers, etc. and try to analyze their personalities and how those personalities relate and the conflict between them. Also, look into the world of history and you will find plenty of vibrant characters that not even Charles Dickens could conceive.

This idea is best used if you have both a journal and a sketchbook with you. The two must be used as harmonious extensions of your mind. The journal is there to put it into words that you can process in your head and create visual representation of these ideas in your sketchbook.

However, I don't mean forfeit all of life's experiences to simple observation. Live life as you see fit, but always keep some part of your brain to notice the little things. It might just help you out later.

I don't know if this will lead us out of the desert of cliches and mediocrity and into the promised land of better, more substantial films. It couldn't hurt. Anyway, thank you for reading my inane ramblings. Enjoy your day.

Same Weirdo Time
Same Weirdo Blog

Victor "Vicky" Weisz (1913-1966)

2010-01-29T15:38:00.000-08:00

Here's another post on the great political cartoonists from across the pond.

This time it's Victor Weisz, aka "Vicky". He was born in Berlin, Germany on April 25, 1913 to Hungarian -Jewish parents. When the Nazis took over the magazine he was working for in 1935, he fled to England. He then worked as a freelancer for various newspapers, including The Daily Mirror and The Evening Standard until he inherited Philip Zec's job as political cartoonist for That Daily Mirror in 1954.

Here are samples of his work:

In the 1950s, Vicky satirized Prime Minister Harold McMillan as "Supermac" (see below)

Unfortunately, Victor Weisz suffered from depression and insomnia. He committed suicide on February 22, 1966

For more on the work of the great British political cartoonists, go to The British Cartoon Archive

Until next time
Happy Trails

David Low (1891 - 1963)

2010-01-09T20:50:00.000-08:00

Today I bring you another post on Great Britain's foremost political cartoonist, David Low. He began his illustrious career at The Evening Standard in 1927, where he stayed until 1950, where he began a three-year run at The Daily Herald. After that, he produced cartoons for The Manchester Guardian until his death in 1963.

This is one of Low's most famous cartoons.

Upon his death, Low was described to be, "the dominant cartoonist in the Western world." Many New Zealand students are taught the origins of World War Two with textbooks using his cartoons as illustrations. It was also said that Adolf Hitler had a personal hatred for David Low, and had actually written his name in The Black Book, a book containing lists of the names of people who were to be arrested after the German invasion of Great Britain. That must mean Low was doing his job right.

Until next time.

The Art of Philip Zec : British Political Cartoonist Extraordinaire

2009-12-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

These are a few examples of the great work of British Political cartoonist Philip Zec. He worked for The Daily Mirror in London from the 1930s until 1958.

This is one of his most famous cartoons.

Until Next Time

Film as Revelation

2009-12-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

Today's post is dealing with a topic that I don't think I can fully verbalize. I'm here to talk about movies. However, I'm specifically talking about certain types of movies. These are the types of films that affect a person so much, that they transcend being a mere movie and become an experience.

What I mean by this is that the film affects on such a deep level, that it helps shape your mind, who you are at your core. Also, these are the films that you love despite any and all flaws it may have. These films only come a few times in one's life, or at least for me. I think that's the reason why it's really hard for movies to impress me fully. I enjoy movies, but there are few movies that I love wholly, especially animated films. I think it's because I've studied animation so much that my standards have become impossibly high that I'm bound for disappointment.

I'm looking for that next film experience that will enrich my life.

Here are a few that already have:

What are yours?

My Feelings on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)

2009-12-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

I've recently rewatched Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We recently bought the Diamond Edition (although it would have been better if we waited for the 2-disc DVD set because we don't have a Blu-Ray player), and I've been reanalyzing my view of it.Let me say that my view of this films has changed over the years. When we first got the videotape of the film, I remember thinking it was a girly film, and not leaving a big impression on me. As I got older and learned more about animation, I learned to respect its place in the history of my beloved artform, but I still didn't think it was that great of a movie. I had a fair share of qualms with it

However, I've grown older and more mature (hopefully) and have come to admire it and like it as well. I think it was after reading Michael Barrier's Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age and all of the time he focused on this film that caused me to look it over again. I popped in the VHS tape we had and watched it. To my surprise, I was actually enjoying it. A few more viewings, and I was getting what the fuss was about. it truly is a good film.

First off, the visuals of the film are spectacular. The backgrounds are so wonderfully painted, filled with a wide variety of colors, but they're more muted colors with a wide variety of shades. More animated movies should watch this to get a look at what a good color scheme is. It also provides excellent atmosphere. I can really feel the influence of artist Gustaf Tenngren in the film. I think my favorite scenes for pure atmosphere are the scene in which Snow White runs into the forest and it looks like the forest is alive and ready to devour her and the scene with the Hag Queen in her dungeon.

Secondly, the animation is fantastic. All of the characters are animated wonderfully, giving them a great depth. I know a lot of people have heaped praise on them already, but I have to single out a couple of animators for their work. First off, Fred Moore and Bill Tytla did fantastic with the dwarfs. They added such life and vitality to them. Of course, it helps when the voice actors do a good job giving you juicy material to work with. However, the dwarfs that really leave me entertained are Grumpy and Dopey. They're the ones that have the most personality. Grumpy is more than just grumpy. He's superstitious, wary of strangers, and plain stubborn to boot. However, we see him transform into a more kind-hearted character as he falls in love with Snow White. That and I really do suspect that he is the true leader of the group. He just lets Doc think he's in charge, but when push comes to shove, Grumpy leads the charge. All you have to do is look at the big chase scene at the climax and you'll see my point.

Dopey is the other Dwarf I like because he reminds me of Harpo Marx. Childlike and a bit impish. That, and he is a horny little devil. Don't believe me; watch the scene where he tries to get one last kiss from Snow White. There's more than just affection on his mind.

The other animators I have to give praise to are the artists who worked on The Wicked Queen. Actually, I've noticed a little quirk in the animation that helps provide quite a contrast in her character, almost like revealing two different sides of her. When Art Babbitt and his assistants animate her (when she is in her royal form), the animation is graceful, precise, and cold, very much representing her as we know her. In her animation, we do see subtle facial expressions, like the best actors of the time. Her body language is a bit melodramatic, but it adds such emphasis to the scenes she's in. In contrast, the Hag Queen is more hammy and openly evil. She;s not cold, but just evil in that pure sense. She also has hammy, but also subtle body gestures. It's almost ;like she is revealing her true self, her more human emotions. Norm Ferguson and his assistants did a masterful job.

Now, I still have a few qualms about the film. Some of the most important story points are hard to believe. First off, Snow White's romance with the Prince feels forced, but I guess I can chalk that up to fairy-tale conventions. Secondly, I cannot believe that the Dwarfs would all fall instantly in love with her that fast. If I'm supposed to believe that these dwarfs are living, thinking characters, then I can't accept that there wouldn't be any hesitation to keep Snow White in the house. Maybe I'm missing something about her character. Perhaps I just don't understand the character dynamics of this movie. Can someone explain that to me?

However, apart from those little trepidations, everything else about the film is marvelous. I love the musical score and the songs. My favorite is still "Heigh-Ho".

When talking about story, the pace of the storytelling is marvelous. Every scene of the film flows, even if the scenes are just little bits of padding, like the scenes with the small animals. Come to think of it, they may not be padding at all. Perhaps these animals help to serve Snow White's character. Their undying devotion perhaps helps to highlight her own essential purity and goodness.

Also, it makes a great use of editing, montage, and all other tools of filmmaking. I would have to study more about that aspect of film in order to go in-depth.

I finally understand why this is a masterpiece. I understand why Walt was so proud of it.

Until next time.

Pathos: What The Hell Is It?

2009-11-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

Pathos. The word brings to us images of suffering and despair, whether it be from films or from life itself. However, what does it really mean?

Webster's Dictionary (at least the version I have) states that pathos means, "the quality in something which arouses pity, sorrow, sympathy, etc." This concept has intrigued me for quite some time. I've heard many people refer to the word when it comes to entertainment. Disney animators talk about how it makes up the core of their character animation. John Kricfalusi has said that Disney films are full of fake pathos. How does one tell the difference between "Fake Pathos" and "Genuine Pathos"? Well let's take a look at different examples of pathos in the media, particularly film, and film animation.

Jim Smith, animator/manly cartoonist, has described his definition of pathos as, "Emotional content, not just sadness or sentiment, but honest emotion as opposed to contrived."

Mr. Smith, while discussing the topic with yours truly, has cited the classic comic strip "Popeye" by E.C. Segar as an example of genuine pathos. For example, in one strip, Popeye gives money to an orphanage because he was once an orphan himself. Jim Smith gets a manly lump in his throat every time he reads it. Sorry I couldn't find the matching picture, but spanking can be a source of pathos, as it is a common experience to children, representing a parent's disapproval.

Mr. Smith has also mentioned the beloved Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life" as a strong narrative with genuine pathos. In particular, he cites the line "Zuzu's petals" as a tearjerker. I have nothing to argue against it (since I've never seen it), so I'll go along with it. It seems that even some of the most bitter of curmudgeons are moved by this story. I'll attribute that to a great performance by Jimy Stewart and wonderful direction by Frank Capra.

Now, what is an example of "fake pathos"? The best example I could find is the story of The Vampire's Assistant. I remember seeing this with my cousin while we were at a Bainbridge Island theater. It concerns two boys, Darren and Steve (pictured below). Both go to a freakshow, where Steve recognizes a vampire working for them named Crepsley. Steve wants Crepsley to turn him into a bloodsucker, but is refused for having "bad blood" (How does that work?). When Steve finds out that Darren has been made into a vampire, Steve feels betrayed and swears revenge.

We're given a bit of backstory for Steve, where it states that his parents never notice him, or some such crap, and how he feels like Darren stabbed him in the back by becoming a vampire, but there's no indication of why we should give a damn. He actually says in the movie that his friendship with Darren is secret, and he doesn't want people to know about it. All in all, I don't feel any sympathy for him, so there goes the dark but sympathetic anti-hero angle, and he's too much of a whiny dipshit to take seriously as a villain. I was praying he would have his head ripped off by a random werewolf attack. I actually got the same feeling about the characters, particularly the villain, of Meet the Robinsons.

Perhaps that's the difference between genuine and fake pathos: the strength of the story and the emotional investment in the characters. The reason why we feel sympathy for characters like Popeye is because they have endeared themselves to us, because they are strong interesting characters. For example, back in the 20s or 30s, Sandy the Dog, of Little Orphan Annie fame, was injured and no less than Henry Ford himself sent a letter to the syndicate that distributed the strip asking if Sandy would survive. That's the kind of power a good character can have on people.

Another way of distinguishing true and fake pathos is how hard one tries to get people to sympathize with characters. John K. has stated that Disney uses camera cuts and music, as well as sad background stories, to achieve pathos. I find that to be a major blunder, especially in recent animated films. Let's take a look at Meet the Robinsons again. The film tries too hard to find empathy, but the characters are so nondescript and lackluster that I was left cold. However, they used every trick Disney could use to get an emotional reaction, from the sad music to the main character's backstory as an orphan. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling it. Too forced for my tastes. Does that make me coldhearted?

A perfect example of a film with true pathos, despite its length and lack of familiar characters, is the classic Chuck Jones cartoon One Froggy Evening. It succeeds on narrative and use of archetypes, but also because everything feels as if it occurs naturally. Even though Chuck Jones' cartoons sometimes feel as if the characters are preordained to act a certain way, the reactions feel natural. Let's take a look at our main character. He's a joe-shmoe working to make a living. He finds the singing frog and sees a way to fame and fortune, a way out of the drudgery, like all of us want. However, he is foiled at every turn by some divine interference which states that nobody but him can see the frog sing and dance.

That causes him to go from this...

To this
Tom Kenny has stated that he found this cartoon to be "existentially sad".

I get a similar reaction when I view Ralph Bakshi's Heavy Traffic. It seems to be the whole feel of the film. One scene in particular always moves me in way I can't quite describe. It is the scene at the nostalgic nightclub, where Michael meets up with his mother Ida. Afterwards she has a drunken conversation with him, she wanders where soon she is surrounded by old family photographs. She soon sees her old wedding photo, and finally collapses, realizing how she has wasted her life, and youth, by being married to Angelo Corleone. It's a very quiet, but powerful scene. There are no tears, but simple realization and resignation. I don't tear up, but I feel the complete despair and emptiness of Ida.

You can view it here on this clip from YouTube.

Thank you for reading my little mini-essay on pathos. I guess ultimately, pathos lies in the eye of the beholder. It's all up to you.

Now, to finish, I'm going to show you one of the few scenes in film that causes me to bawl like a baby. If you don't shed at least one tear, then you are a heartless communist.

Until next time boys and girls.
Thank you Jim Smith for the inspiration.

Evaluating Admiration and Role Model

2009-11-07T18:59:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about my heroes in the world of cartoons and animation. I've been reading up on a lot of these people for quite some time. I'm quite surprised by the wide variety of opinions about certain figures in cartoon history.

For example, we have the established view of history, with the respected critics and their views of events, such as the view of Disney as the godsend and the be-all-end-all of animation, and that the other studios produced mere "entertainment". That would be the view that Disney wants to impart on us. Another view offers us the view of Disney as the Anti-Christ, who sucked all the joy and made cartoons rebel against their inherent nature. This goes on for every figure in the medium, from animators like Freddie Moore and Rod Scribner, to directors such as Chuck Jones and Ralph Bakshi.

Ever since I started visiting animation blogs, a whole new world has opened my eyes and my mind. I've only ever heard one side of the story about these legends. It was at first hard to listen to such criticisms, because I had pretty much been indoctrinated. For example, John Kricfalusi has stated on a few occasions about Chuck Jones' habit of having Daffy being the loser in those cartoons simply because he preordained it. Or how he picks apart a lot of Disney films, a lot of which I have grown up with. This was a little hard for me to deal with me, because so much praise had been placed upon them that I just began to parrot them.

Now, I've heard opposing opinions and have since then gained a more rounded understanding of these people. I can see a bit of how Chuck Jones can seem to have a sense of preordainment towards his characters, or how Ralph Bakshi does have weak storytelling abilities.

Visiting these sites have opened my eyes to my heros faults, but allowed me to view their strengths as well. I now have a more analytic, discerning mind that allows me to cut through the bullshit the studios throw at us.

The point I've gotten from all of these blogs and postings is that you must understand your influences, and learn from their strengths and failings. Thus you can learn to avoid those mistakes, and thus keep from repeating them. That is something that I don't see in the media today. You hear a lot about a person's artistic influences, but you don't hear about what they learned to keep and what to avoid.

I know this seems like an obvious statement to make, but there are those that don't learn this. They don't learn to have a discerning eye. Thus they never advance as artists. Current animation studios keep rehashing all of the ideas of the old studios, with out understanding what made those old cartoons great in the first place. Cartoon Network works a lot in that angular, 1950s style, but don't know how to properly draw that style.

I think this industry, in fact all industries need to learn to use critical thinking and analysis. Sorry if I seem to be rambling, but this was just something I had to write down. I couldn't think of any proper order to put this in, so I'm just writing what comes to mind. Thanks to those who actually read this insane babbling.

For reading this, I shall reward you with some funny cartoons.
Have Fun,

Until next time kiddies.

A Little Inspiration Part 2: The Young Ones

2009-07-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Nothing really special today, just posting an episode of one of the funniest and weirdest sitcoms to have ever hit the small screen: BBC's The Young Ones

You know, the British seem to be a bit more experimental in their comedy programming than we Yanks. I've never seen an American sitcom where all the characters can be blown up in one episode and appear just fine in the next, furniture talks, and random rock bands appear in the living room to perform. That's one point for the Brits.

This episode is called Bambi

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

The Young Ones is owned by the BBC.

Happy Trails

Frank Bellamy: The Good Doctor Artist

2009-06-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

This is the work of Frank Bellamy, a British illustrator/comic book artist. He worked in the pages of TV Century 21. He is best known for his work on comics and illustrations for properties such as Doctor Who, Thunderbirds, as well as Dan Dare and the newspaper comic strip Garth.

Excellent page layouts, quite easy to read, and fantastic use of color. Obviously the British had a bit more respect for the medium than we Yanks.

For more information about Frank Bellamy as well as to see more artwork, please visit the site below:

http://frankbellamy.blogspot.com/

Happy Trails

Character Design and Its Role in Animation.

2009-06-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today boys and girls, we venture into the role of character design in animation. It is a part of animation that is largely neglected in modern work (at least in major studios).

John Kricfalusi, a man whom I respect, even if I don't always agree with him, has a few good points about character design.

His five points of character design:

1.) Functional - Understandable logical form
Simple sensible forms
Can be moved easily

2.) Aesthetic - Pleasing Balance of shapes

3.) Recognizeable - Distinct from other characters

4.) Personality - Allowing the viewer to know a character's personality simply by the way they
look

5.) Original - Not a knock-off of a previous character

Fore more of this post go to: http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2007/08/character-design-primer.html

Now, I would like to add a sixth part to that list. It's one that I've been thinking about for awhile.

6.) Believable - Allowing the viewer to believe in the story you're telling or the world your
characters reside in.

Let me explain what I mean. I mean that some designs are better suited for different styles of story. Wouldn't characters looking like these...

would look very strange in a more film noir-like cartoon, wouldn't you say?

On the other hand, animation is all about caricature, and if we lose that element, animation is no longer exciting and it becomes a pale imitation of live-action. It would be a vast and grueling undertaking for animators to try and move character that looked like this

or like these

The question then arises: "What is that right level of caricature where the characters are believable in their environment, but are still fun to animate?"

A great example would be the character designs of the characters in Ralph Bakshi's "Hey Good Lookin'". Each of the characters, even minor characters, has a distinct look to them, different to every other person, just like real people, but they still have a cartoony feel, much like what Jack Davis or Mort Drucker do, a MAD Magazine feeling.

Vinnie (above) looks nothing like Crazy Shapiro (below)

If you want to see what I'm talking, go over to YouTube and watch the movie. You'll see what I mean.

Many of the side characters were designed by the late and wonderfully talented artist Louise Zingarelli. The main characters were done by David Jonas. I wish there was more "Hey Good Lookin'" artwork in the Bakshi book.

Another good idea would be to look at some of the old adventure strips like "Dick Tracy". Chester Gould was a great storyteller, but was also, as he described himself, a "big-foot cartoonist that got side-tracked."

I know that character design is only one step in the animation process, but it should be given careful consideration. From there we can build upon it and make a great film. However, this is only my opinion. I gladly await to hear yours.

Happy Trails

Great Animation: What Is It?

2009-06-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

Hello again dear readers. I know I've been gone awhile, but not that many people read my blog, and why should people since there are so many others that much more knowledgeable about the subjects I talk about out there.

Okay, sorry about the self-pity. Now onto today's subject.

Ever since I decided to become an animator and working towards that goal, I have looked over many animation blogs (just look at the side of this page to see how many I look over), and reading over their articles, a thought keeps popping back into my mind...

What, in fact, does make great animation?

I've heard one argument after another by many different sources, such as Michael Barrier, Bob Jaques, John Kricfalusi, and Michael Sporn.

Michael Barrier, when discussing Milt Kahl and his work, had this to say:

"Those characters, and others that Kahl designed and animated later, have what seems to me not real warmth but a calculated appeal whose artificiality Kahl's beautiful drawings can't quite conceal."

"Ironically, it is "sincerity," that Disney shibboleth, that is most conspicuously lacking in Kahl's work."

What exactly is "sincerity"? Does it exactly equal good animation. Isn't good draftsmanship enough. Can an animator be a horrible draftsman, but if he/she has "sincerity", can they make great animation. I have actually heard that said about legendary animators Art Babbitt and Ed Love, although I can't remember where.

He also had an interesting statement he wrote about Don Bluth animation-style, which happened to appear in his review of the 2002 Disney flick Treasure Planet:

"It is the kind of animation that results when animators try to achieve the vaunted Disney "sincerity"—that is, animation in which the characters really seem to believe in what they're doing—by having the characters behave as if they know that they're appearing in a film.

What's involved is not mere staginess, the usual mugging or playing to the audience. In Bluth animation, the characters are not entertaining hams, or, even less, ironically self-aware; instead, they are as painfully awkward as adolescents on a first date. The characters' insistent self-awareness is what makes Bluth animation so uncomfortably distinctive."

These criticisms leave me wondering how one would leap to that conclusion. Those are pretty harsh words for Mr. Bluth and his disciples. I guess that these criticisms are the result of how one feels while watching it.

Here's a quote from Max Fleischer about how he thinks animation should be: “If it can be done in real life, it’s not animation”.

If that's the case, then the work of his studio would reign supreme, seeing as how everything in their films could never be done in real life. Have you ever seen a woman with a phallic nose transform into a frying pan , complete with two eggs. Or how about a chicken coop morphing into a demonic face while chasing a chicken thief.

John Kricfalusi and Thad Komorowski have similar ideas. While they do differ about specifics (and the fact that they hate each other guts), they both believe in animation that is fun and entertaining, such as the work of Irv Spence in the Tom and Jerry series or Rod Scribner's work for Clampett.

Animation director Michael Sporn has this to say about great animation:

"My preference will always go to the flawed yet emotional animation."

The layfolk often see that quality animation means smooth full animation, like one would get from a feature film.

I guess the ultimate answer to this question is it's open to interpretation. I guess great animation is what you want it to be. My personal preference is animation that has specific facial and body expressions. This allows you to know what the character is all about. I would like to read what you readers have to say about this. Drop a line in the comments.

Until then, Happy Trails.

Help Me: I'm Technologically Illiterate!

2009-02-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

Now, many would think that, as I am twenty years old and living in the computer age, that I would know the ins and outs of computers and be able to do anything with one. This is, unfortunately, not the case. It is only by the grace of God that I'm even able to use the basics of Blogger.

Now, as I am an aspiring cartoonist, I would like to post my attempts with using construction and other drawings. However, I don't know how to use the scanner. Now, I could probably learn to use the scanner part, but I need to know how to upload all of that stuff I want to upload, like my construction drawings and my collection of comics.

Next, I need to know which program allows you to overlap the original source of a drawing and a person's copy. Also, how do oyu upload film clips and film snaps? I ask for the help of my friends on Blogger (Joe Bloke? Fellow cartoonists?)

Just leave me a comment and that will help.

The Betty Boop - Cab Calloway Trinity

2009-02-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

Today I only have to show you the amazing cartoons showcasing the wonderfully talented Cab Calloway and surreal animation of the Fleischer Studios. It's sad they no longer make these types of cartoons.

Minnie the Moocher (1932)

I personally prefer the more curvaceous Betty. Don't you?

Snow White (1933)

The Old Man of the Mountain (1933)

I love the design of The Old Man.

Sorry for these lame updates, but I need to figure how to use my scanner and get Photoshop so I can post my construction drawings and various comics.

Until we meet again

(Special thanks to Joe Bloke for commenting on the past couple posts. I'll try to post comics for him next time.)

"What If?" History: A Golden Age Termite Terrace Feature

2008-12-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

Today my loyal followers, I ask an interesting question. Maybe a pointless question, but it's one I will ask nonetheless.

Could the men and women of Termite Terrace have created a feature film during their Golden Age?

There are arguments for both side in my opinion, and I think they both present a strong case.

Arguments for Why
Reason #1: Disney wasn't producing any big features at the time. They were producing the "package films" at this time. Because of this, Disney would not have been much competition for them.

Reason #2: World War Two made the Warner Brothers characters extremely popular. Warner Brothers had the right attitude for the time: brash and irreverent. Disney cartoons by this time seemed too dull and tame. Bugs Bunny toppled Mickey Mouse as the most popular cartoon character. The attitude of the cartoon studio reflected the general output of the Warner Brothers studio at large. Bugs Bunny has the same sarcastic attitude as Humphrey Bogart and Jimmy Cagney.

Reason #3: Termite Terrace produced a plethora of interesting and funny characters that are based in ACTUAL reality.

Reason #4: They could have taken the humor prevalent in their shorts to the features level. A feature from Termite Terrace could have been similar to the work of the Marx Brothers early films or maybe Laurel and Hardy. There could have been asolid situation idea, but was more focused on comedy rather than plot.

Reason #5: The draftsmanship of many of the animators reached new heights during the Golden Age. Great examples include the animation of Hitler in "Russian Rhapsody" or Scribner's animation of Humphrey Bogart in "Bacall to Arms"

However, despite these strengths, there were a lot of reasons working against them and why they couldn't make a film.

Arguments for Why Not
Reason #1: Three words: World War Two

Reason #2: The strength of their characters came from developing them over a period of many cartoons. The Bugs Bunny we know and love was not fully formed, not even by the time of Tex Avery's "A Wild Hare". In a normal animated feature, you have less than 90 minutes to develop a character, and usually the characters aren't as interesting as the ones in the shorts.

Reason #3: Would people have accepted a feature from the same studio who created Bugs Bunny?

Reason #4: With a staff smaller than the one at Disney, to make a feature would have meant that the production of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies would have had to cease for awhile, and do you think that upper-management would have allowed that?

Reason #5: The studio probably wouldn't have promoted the film the way Disney promoted theirs. They didn't have the foresight to see how popular Looney Tunes would become, and hindsight is 20/20.

Reason #6: Budgets would go down in the post-war years

Reason #7: Unlike Disney, Warner Brothers different units didn't have a unified style. There was a house style, but each unit had a different variation of said style
Bob Clampett

Friz Freleng

Chuck Jones

Robert McKimson

Final Verdict: I don't think it would be possible. Unless Termite Terrace had the same resources and funds that Disney had, it just can't be. Oh well, a guy can dream, can't he?

Thanks for listening and Merry Christmas to all.

Barnacle Max the Fleischer

2008-11-17T17:54:00.000-08:00

In this edition of my blog, I'm here to discuss the relationship between the popular sea shanty and the dynamic duo of animation, the Fleischer brothers.

Starting out as a bawdy (to say the least) drinking song about the exploits of a fictional sailor, it eventually became a popular song in 1928 when Bix Beiderbecke and Hoagy Carmichael recorded a more toned-down version.

I believe this video contains the Hoagy Carmichael version

In 1930, the Fleischers animation studio decided to use this song as the basis for one of their new Talkartoons, starring Bimbo and his new girlfriend, Miss Betty Boop. Watch for the wonderful Grim Natwick animation up in Betty's apartment.

1930 Talkartoon

Just five years later, Fleischer once again returned to the old sailor tune so he could face the latest Fleischer, Popeye the Sailor. Put those two two together and you get one of my favorite Popeye cartoons.

1935 Popeye cartoon

It makes me wonder why the Fleischers decided to make all those cartoons about the dirty sailor song. Was it simply a lack of story ideas, or did this gruff and dirty tune appeal to the urban sensibilities of the New York studio? I'll leave that to you.

Until Next Time, Boils and Ghouls

Disney Family Album Vol. 7: Ken Anderson (1909 - 1993)

2008-10-21T16:47:00.000-07:00

Here today boils and ghouls, I do my final posting of The Disney Family Album. That mostly has to do with the fact that I can't find anymore. This one is a bit more unique in that it is not about an animator per say, but about a designer, storyman, and architect. Also, he is a native of my birthplace. This man was the reason why One Hundred and One Dalmatians looks so different than any other Disney film. Just look into the tent and you will find... Ken Anderson.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Until next again, my fiendish friends.

Disney Family Album Vol. 6: Marc Davis (1913 - 2000)

2008-09-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome my friends to my den of insanity and trivia. Today, I give you a glimpse of one of the greatest animators/artists to ever have graced the Disney Studios. His draftsmanship matched that of Milt Kahl (although Kahl refused to admit it). He gave Tinkerbell in Peter Pan her spunk, left you in terror with his animation of Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, and designed some of our favorite attractions at Disneyland, such as the Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Here's Marc Davis.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Until Next Time

Disney Family Album Vol. 5: Wolfgang Reitherman (1909 - 1985)

2008-09-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome one and all to my inner sanctum. Today, I have another Disney Family Album to give. This time around, it's about a certain member of Disney's "Nine Old Men" who would help guide the studio through it's darkest age. Whether he was successful is best left to the individual's opinion. He may not be a name you recognize, but what he animated certainly arises emotion. He terrified us with his work on Monstro in Pinocchio, brought to tears of laughter with hilarious animation in many Goofy shorts, and showed us why it's a bad idea to mess with dragons with his work in Sleeping Beauty. He later directed such Disney classics as One Hundred and One Dalmatians and The Jungle Book. Here is Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Until We Meet Again

Disney Family Album Vol. 4: Eric Larson (1905 - 1988)

2008-09-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

Today my loyal peanut gallery, I bring you an episode about an animator who is not as known, but equally important figure in Disney animation. He animated Figaro in Pinocchio, gave the Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland his sense of movement, and trained the current generation of animators and directors at Disney. Here is Eric Larson.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Until Next Time Kiddies

Disney Family Album Vol. 3: Ward Kimball (1914 - 2002)

2008-09-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

This time around, I present to you an episode about one of my favorite Disney animators, if not one of my favorite animators in general. He was a true iconoclast in a studio that usually didn't encourage it. He was responsible for The Crows in Dumbo, The Mad Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland, and of course, he gave us that wonderful little insect conscience, Jiminy Cricket. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you: Ward Kimball

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Happy Trails

Disney Family Album Vol. 2: Frank (1912 - 2004) and Ollie (1912 - 2008)

2008-09-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Here I present to you a double feature: two episodes of The Disney Family Album for the price of one. These are about the Dynamic Duo of Disney Animation. The ones who brought Bambi and friends to life, not to mention showed us the relationship between a "stupid jungle bum" and his mancub. Here is Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.

Frank Thomas

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Ollie Johnston

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Until We Meet Again

Disney Family Album Vol. 1: Milt Kahl (1909 - 1987)

2008-08-31T10:11:00.000-07:00

Here is an episode of the show Disney Family Album , one that is about one of the studio's greatest animators, Disney's equivalent to Bob McKimson. He is the one responsible for bringing Pinocchio, Shere Khan, and Madame Medusa to life on screen. He was the one the other animators turned to for advice on their work. I hope you enjoy.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Until Next Time

My Defense of Disney's "Alice in Wonderland"

2008-08-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

I have heard many criticisms laid against Disney's Alice in Wonderland by many critics, especially animation historians and critics. As some have read in one of my earlier posts, I feel that Alice is one of Disney's greatest triumphs. I shall do my best to defend my opinion.

Criticism #1: Alice is an unsympathetic character and lacks the heart of Snow White or Cinderella

Response: I find Alice to actually to be a bit more sympathetic than the other two Disney heroines. For one thing, Alice is a bit more realistic in her personality. She has her flaws, like how her curiosity overcomes her common sense, or her short temper. This allows her to participate in the story, not just fulfill the a story point. This is what I felt was one of the biggest weaknesses of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White was not a believable, or interesting, character, just a plot device to allow the story to move along. It is my opinion that if you got rid of Snow White and her Prince, you would have a much better movie. In Alice, the title character adds to the film. She is the counterbalance to all of the insanity, and she will often get herself into trouble, such as towards the end when she insulted the Queen of Hearts without being aware that she was shrinking. Alice's inattentiveness to her surroundings puts her danger, her own personality flaws, not that of her wicked stepmother (ooga-booga) or of the other characters.

Criticism #2: Alice in Wonderland is too episodic, it has no real plot to speak of.

Response: I think I'll let Wikipedia answer this one: "Disney's final version of Alice in Wonderland followed in the traditions of his feature films like Fantasia and The Three Caballeros in that Walt Disney intended for the visuals and the music to be the chief source of entertainment, as opposed to a tightly-constructed narrative like Snow White or Cinderella. Indeed, Lewis Carroll's Alice books have no real plot to speak of, and because of the literary complexity of Carroll's work, they are essentially unfilmable. Instead of trying to produce an animated "staged reading" of Carroll's books, Disney chose to focus on their whimsy and fantasy, using Carroll's prose as a beginning, not as an end unto itself."

Criticism #3: The film version contains none of Lewis Carroll's satire

Response: Most of the humor and satire comes from the narrative, not the characters themselves. Now, I'm pretty sure a narrator constantly relating all the events to the audience would be quite annoying after a short while. However, you can find pieces of satire in the film. First off, look at the scenes with the Dodo and Bill the Lizard. It can be as a semi-biting comment on how the aristocracy takes advantage of the working man. However, the shining example is the court scene at the end of the film. What was probably a sardonic take on the Victorian justice system takes on a whole new meaning in the early nineteen-fifties. I don't think I need to say anymore.

That's about all I got. If anyone would like to discuss, just drop me a line.

Until next time

Disney's Animation Archive

2008-08-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

I've found a website that has a lot of treats for Disney fans everywhere. It is called The Disney Animation Archive. It is an unofficial website, but it's filled with so many goodies.

Such special delights include:

Concept Art

Model Sheets:

Posters:

For more like this, just go here: http://animationarchive.net

Until Next Time

The Art of Jim Steranko's "Talon"

2008-08-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

According to The Jim Steranko Website: "Steranko created a barbarian hero for Marvel Comics named Talon. Marvel rejected Steranko's concept and Jim planned to publish Talon on his own. Although that graphic story has yet to materialize, some great drawings were produced"

For more great Steranko artwork, including a great story called The Block , go here:

http://www.thedrawingsofsteranko.com/

Until Next Time

Helen Kane: America's "Boop-Boop-A-Doop" Girl

2008-07-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Helen Kane is, if known at all, is best known for her influence in the creation of an international animation superstar. Caricaturing her likeness, along with Clara Bow, Fleischer animator Grim Natwick created Betty Boop. However, she was an incredible singer and entertainer during the heyday of the flappers. She was on top of the world until the Great Depression. After that, she was relegated to playing in nightclubs until her death in 1966. During the early thirties, Helen Kane sued the Fleischer's for the unfair competition, and I believe copyright infringement, but the judge ruled against her, saying Kane couldn't prove she invented her style of singing. Enjoy.

A Little Inspiration

2008-07-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Nothing really special, just a little comedic inspiration from our friends across the pond in Ireland. Now, here they are, straight from Craggy Island: Father Ted and crew.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Until Next Time
Happy Trails

Steve Ditko

2008-06-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

Today's post is about a man who I consider to be among the greatest artists of all time, especially among the world of comic books. His work is high up there on one of my greatest influences. Of course, I am referring to the great Steve Ditko. Below is one of the few known existing photographs of the man. He is an intensely private man, refusing to give an official interview since 1966.

One reason he says he doesn't give interviews is because he "wants the work to speak for itself". Among his vast work from the 1950's onward consists of soem of the wildest and most imaginitive characters known to comics, including:

The Question

The Hawk and the Dove

The Creeper

Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts

And of course, everyone's favorite wall-crawler

One of the reasons I love his work so much is because his work has a lot of expressionism. The way he draws his characters makes them seem alive, but he does it in a different way than the way Kirby does it. Kirby does a lot of dramatic posing with his characters, done in a very overly dramatized manner. Ditko brings his characters to life through use of camera angles, moody atmosphere, and wonderful facial expressions. I think it would behoove every comic book artist working today to study his work and learn from him.

One of the things I've always noticed about Ditko's work, especially during his run on Spiderman, was that everybody looked incredibly anxious, often looking like they're just about to have a horrible nervous breakdown. I think that actually fit the Spiderman comic, because, let's face it, a lot of those stories were very depressing. Also, I think it just fit the time period as well. Think about it, it's 1963, we just went through the Cuban Missile Crisis, but we're still living with the fear of nuclear annihilation. I think an artist who could represent those feelings would strike a chord with readers. I think all artists strive for that, striking an emotional core with a reader or viewer.

I may not agree with his politics, but damn it all if he's not one of the greatest artists and storytellers of all.

Here are a few places to find out about this great artist:

Steve Ditko's website (operated by Blake Bell)
http://www.ditko.comics.org/

The BBC Documentary In Search of Steve Ditko http://www.dograt.com/category/cartooning/comic-books/in-search-of-steve-ditko/page/2/

This documentary includes interviews with comics masters such as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, John Romita Sr. (his replacement on Spiderman), Marvel editor Joe Quesada, as well as the one and only... Stan "The Man" Lee. I hope you enjoy.

Until next time,

Happy Trails

My (Hopefully) Respectful Disagreement with Mike Fontanelli

2008-05-28T21:39:00.001-07:00

Looking through the blogs that I read constantly, I found a post by John K. about "The Phantom" by Lee Falk and an explanation about why he doesn't like modern superhero comic books. That didn't bother me; what did bother me was Mike Fontanelli's comments that struck me as a bit hypocritical.

Among his comments were and I quote:

Adult males who still read superhero comics are - I'm trying to be diplomatic here - retarded, and in more ways than one.

After a certain age - say, 12 or so - kids are supposed to stop reading comics, and start reading REAL books, WITHOUT staples. Then, hopefully, start dating girls...

Frank Miller made a fortune by cynically appealing to the most backward segment of an already socially and intellectually-retarded segment of American society: ADULT superhero comic book readers, (i.e: "morons")

For all you adult superhero fanboys out there, (are you listening, Colin?) - if you MUST insist on being a retard, at least don't be a retard with delusions of grandeur. Ask your mom to buy you a REAL book!

This strikes me as odd coming from a man who owns and collects childrens toys. Doesn't that send up a few red flags about one's mental maturity. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I believe that superhero comics can be for anybody. It's all up to the writer and artist to decide what they're product is for. Also, I believe there is no need for anybody to call anybody else a retard. Maybe Mr. Fontanelli should look up the Golden Rule.

However, Mr. Fontanelli does raise good points that comic book writers should look at.

By taking a preposterous concept and making it "darker", he only added a layer of pomposity. As if "moronic" wasn't bad enough, modern superhero comics strive to be moronic AND pretentious!

The old superhero comics didn't have any pretensions. They were fun, old-fashioned escapist entertainment for kids, and the young at heart.

I am finding that many superhero comics writers are trying to be the next Alan Moore or trying to create a new "Dark Knight Returns". The thing that Mr. Fontanelli was missing is that these stories were meant as exploring new territory for superheroes by looking at their sinister aspect, as there always is to any form of fantasy or escapism.

Mr. Fontanelli is always entitled to his opinion, but I just hope he chooses his words more carefully next time. I believe in free speech, but there is a difference between practicing free speech and just being rude.

Until Next Time

The Fall of Modern Civilization (as Evidenced by YouTube)

2008-05-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

Today, I wish to talk about a little event that has told me that we are in the decline of modern civilization. This little birdie came from YouTube (who didn't see that one coming?). Now, I was watching videos, when there was a tagline for a video for an artist showing off his drawings. I watched the video, and I felt he had some talent, but he lacked the basic construction to really pull it off. Here's what I posted:

"A nice attempt, but I would work on the artwork. Your work lacks basic construction. "

Here's the reply I got from the director

"It lacks construction because thats the way I want it. Just look at todays best cartoons like Family Guy, The Simpsons, and SouthPark."

I said I pitied him, and he said I shouldn't look at his work if I didn't like it, so I left it alone. Just today, I got this reply from another viewer:

"I don't know what the hell you talking about dude!! Basic Construction?? It is nothing but basic construction but good construction. Just because it isn't tacked with crazy effects and pumped with photoshop doesn't mean it lacks good quality. You have to have alot of guts to down someone else' work. Look at family guy. His isn't pumped with photoshop it's just good quality basic construction work. His work has even been featured in Bodacious mag. How is that bad construction-loser!!"

Here is the video itself so you be the judge of whether I was right or wrong.

See you later

Theory Corner

2008-03-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

Nothing about cartoons today. Today it's about an idea that I came up with one day. It started when I was watching History Channel International with a friend. We were discussing religion and views on the afterlife.

It was then I presented an idea that I had been formulating for a while. I brought up The String Theory, the theory that, among other things, there could be extra dimensions or universes. I then brought up how my astronomy teacher said that this could explain the appearance of ghosts. This got me thinking.

What if we are simply reborn spirits of people from another dimension. It's another form of reincarnation. If a person dies in another dimension, their spirit is placed into a new body in this dimension. It may provide another explanation as to why people who come from normal families go insane. They were insane in their past life.

I know it sounds a little crazy, but that's why it's just an idea. If the String Theory is correct, who knows what we may find.

See you next time

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2008-01-30T16:25:00.000-08:00

Yes you heard it here. It is my birthday today. I am officially nineteen years old today.

My present just got delivered today. My parents got me the the MAD Archives Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Both volumes cover the first twelve issues of MAD (back when it was a comic book). It features wonderful artwork from Early Mad regulars such as:

Jack Davis

Bill Elder

Harvey Kurtzman

John Severin

Wally Wood
and the unmistakable Basil Wolverton

I'll give you a review of these books at a later date.

See Y'all Later
Same Weirdo Time
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Alice in Wonderland (1951) and its effect on Me

2008-01-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

I am here to discuss a film that has helped shape my imagination and my widdle psyche: Disney's animated classic Alice in Wonderland. This is a film I have loved ever since I was a little kid. Along with Fantasia, I would watch this nearly everyday. It just had an entirely different atmosphere than any other Disney I've ever come across (with the exception of The Nightmare Before Christmas). Out of all other Disney films, this is at the top of my list of favorites.

But why this particular film? What makes Alice so special to me that I would place above all else as Disney's greatest film? Well, for starters, it is more visually interesting than many other Disney films. The backgrounds and designs for Wonderland are some of the most fascinating work I have ever seen. You can obviously see the obvious influence of Mary Blair in both the looks and use of color.

Another reason for my praise is the amount of bizarre characters and other creatures in this movie. You can see amazing character designs (if a bit over Disneyfied)

You're never going to see a dog like this in Cinderella. However, you can see the Disney influence in the design in the fact that it has the exact same body as Pluto or maybe Bruno from Cinderella. However, it looks a lot cooler than both of them combined. You can also look at the entire Tulgey Wood scene and see all of the delightful bastard children of Mother Nature. Wonderful designs that have helped warp many people's imagination.

Another great aspect of this film was the incredible animation, particularly the scenes supervised by the wonderful Ward Kimball. In other films, it seems like Kimball is being held back and not allowed to be as crazy and innovative as he wanted to be. In this film, Lewis Carroll's world of illogical logic and satire allowed the puckish Kimball to let loose his amazing imagination. Take for example the wonderful "Tea Party" scene. The whole scene reeks of unadulterated hilarity. I just have to remember the line "There's only one way to stop a MAD WATCH!" and I start giggling like a little school girl.

Another reason why this is at the top of my list is because it doesn't contain what John K. calls "fake pathos", or it contains much less than other Disney films. It was a much more different type of story than "Snow White" or "Cinderella". It's not about good and evil, but the illogic of our world. I think that's why Walt considered it a failure. It was a story he didn't quite understand.

However, I have to say that my top reason for loving this movie so much is the title heroine. To me, she was the most human of the early Disney heroines. She wasn't a naive dimbulb like Snow White who just wished for things to happen. She made things happen, even if her curiosity did get her into more trouble than anticipated. She didn't need someone to rescue her. The type of story she got into allowed her to be an independent person. I always admired that since the women in my life were never demure or weak. They made things happen. Alice had a more defined personality than previous heroines.

Now, this is a little confession that I'm about to make. I had, or have a bit of an attraction to the character. She had such a cute design. Her blonde hair and blue eyes make me swoon (No, I'm not a Nazi). I had a storybook of this movie when I was a kid and I would just stare at pictures for hours, admiring her beauty. You can call me sick, but I'm not the only one. Just look at people on DeviantArt and you'll see what I mean. Besides, other people have had crushes on cartoon characters (Uncle Eddie, I'm talking to you about you and Ms. Olive Oyl).

One of the things that also attracted me to this character was her voice. Kathryn Beaumont did such a fantastic job. She fits the part of the proper, well-mannered English girl. She really nailed it with a bullseye.

This is the only way I've ever known Alice. I didn't read the book until just last year. The Disney Alice is the one that has implanted into my mind, for better or worse.

By the way, I have to mention his excellent comic I've found on the internet called "When Curiosity Meets Insanity" by Brianna Garcia and Rain. It deals with a romance between a grown up Disney Alice and the Mad Hatter (physically based on the one from Disneyland). It features a lot of other Disney characters. Excellent artwork and snappy writing make it a must-read. Check it out.

http://community.livejournal.com/curiousinsane/

See y'all later

Same Weirdo Time

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Jack Davis: World's Greatest Cartoonist

2007-12-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

Jack Davis is a fantastic cartoonist who is an inspiration to all cartoonists who have come after him, especially those who work at MAD Magazine. His influence can be seen in the above illustration is done by Tom Richmond, a caricaturist in the same vein as Davis and Mort Drucker. The use of thick lines to define form and cross-hatching to define mass and shadow is definitely a Jack Davis trait. If used correctly, it is absolutely stunning to look at. You can also see his influence on R. Crumb, with his caricatured looking people with cross-hatched shadows.

A big part of what I love about his work is that it's full of personality and life. The drawings suggest constant movement and emotion. The exaggeration of movement and expression gives the stories he draws an extra dimension of appeal. Al Feldstein is quoted as saying, "He gave a lighter touch to some pretty grisly stories."

His drawing style could be very well adapted for animated cartoons, whether it'd be for a more dramatic feature or a wild, laugh-out comedy.

Last, but not least, is his mastery of watercolors. All of the colors in the above image are so well blended, and no primary or secondary colors. If only modern designers could recognize the use of these type of colors. I hope to find these comic books so I can study his work and improve my own. Jack Davis, thank you for all of the wonderful things you've drawn. We are much obliged.

See You Later

Bakshi Needs Our Help

2007-12-25T11:18:00.000-08:00

Would you like to see some ACTUAL ADULT Animation?

Do you want to see this beloved artform rise from the ashes of mediocrity?

To start it, Bakshi must be able to complete his latest film, "The Last Days of Coney Island". His budgets were all used up and he needs more money.

This might just happen if we buy Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi. The sales of this upcoming book might just convince someobody to give Bakshi some money to finish what he started.

Until Next Time

Merry Christmas to All

2007-12-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Santa brought me what I wanted, how about you?

See You Later!

Bakshi Review: The TV Years

2007-12-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

While a lot of attention is paid towards Bakshi's film work (as people should), people forget the wonderful work that he has done for television over the past forty years. I am here to give my review of each television show he has done.

The Mighty Heroes (1966)

Description: The misadventures of five superheroes against such fiendish villains as The Junker, The Monsterizer, and The Plastic Blaster. Bakshi's first TV cartoon. Produced by Terrytoons for CBS. Five episodes are available on YouTube.

Review: A good cartoon. It is very lively with great poses and cool character designs. However, most of the gags come from the heroes bumping into each other and apologizing to each other. One of the coolest things Terrytoons ever put out, which isn't saying much.

The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse (1987)

Description: The further advntures of the famous Terrytoons character. Produced by Bakshi Animation for CBS. Bakshi was just the producer. Most of the hands-on stuff was done by John Kricfalusi and crack team of hilarious cartoonists. This was seen as the beginning of the "Renaissance of Animation". Cancelled for accusations of inappropriate material (Mighty Mouse supposedly sniffing cocaine). Nine episodes are available on YouTube.

Review: Hilarious animation. Tamer than John K.'s later work, but just as funny. Full of cool cameos by other Terrytoons characters like Gandy Goose and Sourpuss, Hashimoto-San, Deputy Dawg etc. Awesome cartoon in general.

Christmas in Tattertown (1988)

Description: A human girl finds herself in a place called Tattertown looking for her lost doll, Muffet, who has become a despot. Produced by Bakshi animation for Nickelodeon.

Review: I've actually never seen this, but Mr. Bakshi has acquired the rights to this and has confirmed that there will be a DVD release.

The Butter Battle Book (1989)

Description: Two countries try to one up each other by building ever more powerful weapons. Dr. Seuss' satire of the Cold War. Produced by Bakshi Animation for Nickelodeon.

Review: Very faithful adaptation, but not all that great animation. Very limited animation.

Malcolm & Melvin/Babe! He Calls Me (1997)

Description: The adventure of a nerd named Melvin and his friend, a cockroach named Malcolm. Both achieve fame when Malcolm plays trumpet inside Melvin's mouth. However, they have to watch out for Batlaw, a superhero trying to wipe out perversity in the city. Produced, written, and directed by Bakshi for Cartoon Network. Both cartoons are available on YouTube.

Review: Excellent cartoons. Babe! He Calls Me has a more structured narrative. Both are wonderfully animated and have great voice work, including Bakshi as Batlaw.

Spicy City (1997)

Description: A sci-fi show set in a futuristic world known as Spicy City. Each episode is introduced by a host named Raven, a beautiful woman voiced by Michelle Phillips (The Mamas & The Papas). Each episode is a morality tale, full of crooked cops, weirdos, hookers, and other unlikeables. Produced by Bakshi for HBO. All six episodes are available on YouTube.

Review: Excellent show with great character designs, fabulous music, and fantastic stories. The stories are a mixture of Blade Runner, Sin City, and the classic EC Comics. This is an all around success. A shame they cancelled it.

Final Grade: 8.5 out of 10

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Bakshi Review: Cool World (1992)

2007-12-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

Plot: An underground cartoonist, recently released from jail, is seduced by his own creation. However, sex between noids (humans) and doodles (cartoons) is strictly forbidden. When they do have sex, the girl becomes real and all hell breaks loose. This was Bakshi's last completed film.

Virtues: This film is filled with creativity and wonderful art that almost makes up for its low budget. The backgrounds by Barry Jackson add a nightmarish feeling to the film. This is not the kind of Toontown that you'll find at Disneyland. The characters here are much like other Bakshi film stars: everybody is a complete asshole. The only difference in Cool World is that there are actual good guys, people with heroic attributes. The character designs are excellent, done by great cartoonist Milton Knight. The characters look like they popped out of an old Fleischers or Terrytoons short. The voice actors do terrific jobs with their characters, especially Charlie Adler as Nails the Spider. The animation of the doodles is excellent. It's very cartoony.

Vices: Where to start. Let's start with the actors. The live-action people were horribly miscast. Kim Basinger was not meant to play the kind of woman that Holli Would is. Bakshi said he would have preferred to have had Drew Barrymore play the part. By the way, Kim Basinger is not that attractive as a noid. Also, Brad Pitt was too young to play the kind of grisled detective he played. Maybe if he redid the role today it would be better. Also, as cartoony as the animation is, it's also just pure chaos like the old Terrytoons. Nothing ever stops and there's no structure to it. The plot is so full of holes that you could market it as a new type of cheese. Lastly, the mixture of live-action and animation is not that convincing. It doesn't feel like they're touching.

Best Scene: The ending, where Detective Harris (Brad Pitt) is revived as a doodle and is reunited with his love, fellow doodle Lonette. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a happy ending.

Final Grade: 5.5 out of 10

See You Again
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