The Illusionist: The Magic of Animation isn't Dead

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

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

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.

Bakshi Review: Cool World (1992)

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

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Bakshi Review: Fire and Ice (1983)

Plot: The evil Queen Juliana and her son, the sorcerer Nekron, sends forth their glaciers and force humanity to retreat southward. As a way to coerce surrender, Queen Juliana captures the Lord of the Firekeeps daughter Teegra. Now Larn, a survivor of the glaciers, and the warrior Darkwolf must rescue her and stop Juliana.

Virtues: This is the film that has the best use of rotoscope of all of Bakshi's films. They try for more emotion. It makes for better performance and stronger characters. There is fantastic background, based on Frank Frazetta's fantastic work. It suggests a real prehistoric world. The characters also look like they've come out of a Frazetta painting. The story also adds to that feeling seeing as how it was written by legendary comic book scribes Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. Also, Teegra was HOT! (Hey, I'm an 18 year old guy)

Vices: The film doesn't seem to have the same energy or personality as Bakshi's other films. I know I complain about his films' lack of story structure, but Will Finn mentioned to me about how it was just Bakshi's attempt to get rugged personality into his films. There wasn't as much as that in here. Also, rotoscope is nothing compared to that beautiful full animation used in his earlier films like Hey Good Lookin', Heavy Traffic, and Coonskin.

Best Scene: The battle scenes. Those grotesque monsters were way cool.

Final Grade: 7.0 out of 10

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Bakshi Review: American Pop (1981)

Plot: The story of four generations of a Russian-Jewish family and their legacy of Music. Taking place from the 1890's to the 1980's, it sets the characters against the changing popular culture of America, starting with vaudeville and ending with the punk movement.

Virtues: A masterfully artistic art. There are background paintings by Barry Jackson and Louise Zingarelli that are absolutely beautiful. It has a Edward Hopper feel to it, very reminiscent of the Ashcan School of Painting. In one scene, where Pete is selling cocaine to people, Barry Jackson (I assume) did some backgrounds that satirized the punk movement. Besides the art, it has a fantastic story behind. There is a sense of tragedy of how the first three generations are so close to fame, but are tragically struck down in their prime. Zalmie (first generation) has his vocal chords sot out by biplanes. Benny (second generation) is killed by a German in WWII. Tony (third generation) is strung out after the sixties due to the death of his group's lead singer (a mixture of Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin) who is also his lover. At the end, there is a sense of fulfillment when Pete (fourth generation) becomes famous.

Vices: Like The Lord of the Rings, the use of rotoscope in American Pop really limits the emotional performance of the characters. I would have preferred it if they had used the more cartoony/expressionistic art of Barry Jackson or Louise Zingarelli, like the art used in the opening credits. Actually, I would have liked to have seen Mort Drucker-like character design. It would have added more appeal and life into the characters.


Best Scene: The scene where Pete shows off his songs to the record producers. He plays them "Night Moves" by Bob Seger and then it gets really trippy.

Grade: 8.0 out of 10

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Bakshi Review: Hey Good Lookin' (1982)

Plot: In 1950's Brooklyn, two members of a gang called The Stompers named Vinnie and Crazy Shapiro roam around town hanging with their ladies Roz and Eva and getting into rumbles with their rival gang, The Black Chaplins.


Virtues: To me, this is one of Bakshi's best. This is a return to the cartoony style of Bakshi's early films. However, this goes one better because of the great character designs by David Jonas (who designed the main characters) and Louise Zingarelli (one of Bakshi's best artists who designed the side characters) . Every character is distinct in their looks and movement. Their is also some fantastic animation throughout the film. In particular, the scene where we first meet Roz is great. It has a great homage to Tex Avery's Red cartoons. The story behind the animation is also one of Bakshi's best. It flows from scene to scene like a river. Also, the character add to the story. I cannot think of one character who detracts from the entertainment value of this film. However, the greatest character in this movie has to be Crazy Shapiro. Wonderfully played by David Proval (Peace in Wizards), this character definitely lives up to his name.

Vices: What the hell is the talking garbage can doing in this movie? The only other problem is a big one that the film hinges on. I wasn't convinced by the love story. I don't know why Roz fell in love with a lug like Vinnie. However, I did actually feel a love vibe coming from Roz. Vinnie, not so much. The animation didn't support the idea, not until the end, when Roz and Vinnie are reunited nearly 30 years later. However, there's a lot more going on in the film that tries to make up that fact. My final point is that the film switches tone, often too fast for it to feel natural. Heavy Traffic had a more consistent feel to it. However, still highly entertaining, which counts for a lot here.



Best Scene: When Crazy Shapiro and Vinnie wake up on the beach and find they woke up near some showering wives of Italian mobsters. Crazy Shapiro fighting those mobsters and actually winning is hilarious.

Final Grade: 9.0 out of 10


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Bakshi Review: The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Plot: A fellowship of nine must lead a young Hobbit named Frodo Baggins to the land of Mordor to destroy the One Ring created by Sauron before his armies get a hold of it. Originally meant as the first of three films, the project was cut down to two films until the whole operation was scrapped entirely after the first film was completed.



Virtues: There is a stronger story in this one, mainly because Bakshi didn't write the script. The film also has to follow the guidelines of the original Tolkien novels. The artwork adds an aura of darkness and despair to the imagery of the movie. Everything looks like they added black to the original colors. The animation in this movie is good in parts, adding some emotion to the performances, but either than that, nothing really stands out.

Vices: While there is good animation in some parts, the intense use of rotoscope limits the scope of the performances. Besides that, the use of rotoscope doesn't make for good special effects. The Ringwraiths and the Balrog are not really terrifying. The other characters look kind of bland. I've seen some of the original storyboards by David Jonas, and I would have liked to have seen that style animated. This may be a little bias since I saw Peter Jackson's version before I saw Bakshi's version and Bakshi had a shorter schedule than Jackson did. However, I do have to say the story moves a bit slowly and doesn't quite have the grab that the original story has. It's an ambitious, yet ultimately failed experiment.

Final Grade: 6.0 out of 10

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Bakshi Review: Wizards (1977)

Plot: Two wizard brothers, one good and one evil, fight for supremacy over the world. One uses nature, the other technology. The good broher, Avatar, must defeat his brother, Blackwolf, along with his companions: Weehawk, an elfin warrior, Elinore, the warrior princess and Peace, a reformed assassin.

Virtues: I like the aura of this movie. It has a darker feel about it, and this was Bakshi's family movie. It feels like a science-fiction/fantasy comic book, but more like the underground works like Slow Death Funnies or any of Wally Wood's independent work. The character designs are both appealing and cartoonish. It's like a mixture of Vaughn Bode and Wally Wood. Along with that, the rest of the artwork in the movie is first rate, particularly the background work of Ian Miller (he designed the backgrounds for Scorch) and Mike Ploog (he made the drawings that told the prologue of the movie). One of the coolest things about this movie is the rotoscoping used for the battle scenes. It adds an ominous feeling to the feeling, seeing these faceless ghouls coming towards our heroes. It adds excitement to the adventure.

Vices: Story does Bakshi in again. he has so many ideas that he wants to explore in this movie, like over-dependence on technology to the plight of Jewish and their search for a homeland. Unfortunately, he has no way of organizing them all. It would have been better if he had taken one theme and dealt with that by itself. It may have made the movie a little easier to comprehend. The film was filled with moments that added nothing to the movie, such as when Weehawk is fighting something in the darkness of the mountain fairies' cave. Also, the love story of Avatar and Elinore is never established or explored in this movie. Not to mention there are a few plot threads that go nowhere at all 80 minutes is just not quite enough time to tell the story that Bakshi wanted to tell. Then again, this was meant to be the first of a trilogy, but it still feels incomplete as a starter film. In spite of that, I still enjoyed it.

Best scene: The scene where Blackwolf first shows his uncovered propaganda films to his goons and soldiers. The animation by Brenda Banks is both crazy and quite eerie at the same time with the music added. You can obviously see that these goons were out of their bloody minds.

Overall Grade: 7.5 out of 10

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Bakshi Review: Coonskin (1975)

Plot: While planning to escape from prison, a young man is told the updated version of the classic "Uncle Remus" meant for the seventies. Heavy use of satire to blast away through stereotypes.


Virtues: This film has the funniest and most blistering satire in all of Bakshi's films. Like the rest of Ralph Bakshi's ventures, it has an element of truth about humanity in it. It shows mankind as a group of swindlers, pushers, and prejudiced morons (not that far off from reality). It has a cast of strong characters. Brother Rabbit is a clever, manipulative mastermind. Preacher Fox is the false preacher, full of false piety all the while ready to make a few good bucks. Brother Bear is the everyman, the average black man who simply wants to live his life. It has beautiful animation attached to some wonderfully poignant and hilarious scenes. A highlight is a scene by Mark Kausler where a cockroach leaves a woman he loves because he can't support her. This was meant as a tribute to the archy and mehitabel stories, illustrated by Creole cartoonist George Herriman. It was also drawn in Herriman's style. The use of live-action backgrounds give authenticity to the urban feel of the film. The story is now more connected, centered around the three characters adjusting to the city and finally taking out the Godfather. What some have deemed as racist about this movie are indeed its strongest. it forces everybody who views it to confront the ugly stereotypical imagery of America's past head on. It uses the weapon of caricature, one of the tools of animation, as a satirical weapon with a savage bite.

Vices: While this film has a more connected story, it still has a disjointed feeling about it. It tries too hard to focus on all three main characters. In some parts, it feels like Bakshi should have stuck to one character and have the film revolve around him. Also, the live-action scenes don't really add anything to the movie. The ending is very confusing and should have been told with more clarity.



Best Scene: There are so many good scenes throughout this movie, it's hard to choose just one.

Overall Grade: 9.0 out of 10

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Bakshi Review: Heavy Traffic (1973)

Plot: The adventures of 24 year old virgin living with his warring parents. He meets all sorts of pimps, pushers, mafiosos, and other assorted colorful characters along the way.

Virtues: This film has a very personal, if fragmented, story. Some will say that it's about Ralph Bakshi's life in the city. I am going to say it's probably based off of many people's experiences, but I digress. There are very funny and poignant scenes, one scene involving Michael's mother Ida reminiscing about her lost youth. Along with that, there are wonderful pieces of character animation, like the animation of Snowflake. Every perverse thought that crosses his mind is simultaneously shown on his face and body language. It is a blatantly honest film about life in the city, complete with gays and mafia men. It doesn't hide anything (every person has a dark side). No film of recent time has had this kind of naked honesty. perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay this film is that it is unashamedly animated. What I mean by that is the film takes advantage of what can only be done in animation. It uses caricature and surreal imagery to show a character's state of mind. It caricatures life , not emulate it. I liken this to a James Gillray etching ints grotesque honesty. It's too bad not many other films have followed his example.

Vices: The fragmented often leaves one very confused on where the film is actually going. It takes several viewings to understand the actions and plot. There is also the annoying philosophical references to pinball and arcade games that make no sense. It's like Bakshi is trying to convey his thoughts, but really doesn't know how. The violence in this film almost tops Fritz the Cat. In a crazy psychedelic sequence, you can see Ida chopping off her husband's manhood (all three of them). Then, there are the times when Ida's breast falls out of her nightgown, and we really don't need to see that.

Best scene: Any scene with Angie and Ida combined in it. They are both hilarious and kind of scary when these two whackjobs go at it. I particularly like the scene when Ida tries to kill Angie by putting his head in their gas oven. These two play off so well together. It's like Al and Peg Bundy but to another level.

Overall Grade: 8.5 out of 10

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Bakshi Review: Fritz the Cat (1972)

Here is my review of the very first animated film to be rated X and the first feature film done by Ralph Bakshi. I'm not very good at this, so bear with me.

Plot: From New York City to the American Desert, a young college-age (also known back then as draft-age) cat named Fritz gets himself caught up in the politics and free love so prevalent of the 1960's.

Virtues: The satire in this film is one of the most biting in all of Bakshi's films. You just have to look at the early scenes with Fritz and the college girls and you understand the feel of the entire movie. It's one of the best satires of the 60's flower-children. Also, the characters in this movie are so very human. They show the dark underbelly of humanity (albeit in anthropomorphized animal form). There is no real villain in this movie, because everybody is an unbearable asshole, from the pig cops to the main character. Also, the animation is quite good. It's nice and cartoony, and it feels honest, if you can understand that.

Vices: For every ying, there is a yang. While the characters are very human, that's the reason there is nobody to root for. By the end of the movie, I wanted to strangle Fritz with my bare hands for how he treated his girlfriend and everybody else. He had a complete disregard for everyone's life. Besides that, there was an overabundance of over-the-top violence in his movie, especially towards the girlfriend of the heroin-addicted Neo-Nazi rabbit, a voluptuous horse-girl in the R. Crumb tradition. I felt it was all a little overdone, but the violence was very true to the sixties, so I'll leave it up to the individual viewer. A really big problem with this movie is the occasionally poor juxtaposition of sound and image. What I mean is the musical score and the animation don't always match. For example, the horse-girl is about to be savagely raped by the revolutionary terrorist group (which her boyfriend is a part of) and the music starts to build toward that moment, but the animation slows the momentum down because the characters just stop in mid-frame.


Best Scene in the Film: Any scene with Duke the Crow. A good example of race relations in the sixties. In reality, a lot of black people were not that friendly with the hippies. I think it had to do with the fact that the flower children made the cost of rent go up, and maybe the fact that the blacks thought hippies attracted a lot of bad people (drug dealers etc.). To me, he was one of the true voices of sanity in the movie. When Fritz is trying to start the riot (while very stoned), Duke tries to calm the crowd down, knowing that a riot will not help anything. It was just too bad that he got killed.

Overall grade: 7.5 out of 10

Well, That's All Folks

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