In 1953, Disney released “Ben and Me”. This Oscar winning short was adapted from the children’s book of the same title, by Robert Lawson. While the book was based on more historical fact, the film aims for entertainment. The film serves both as a sort of biography of Ben Franklin, and an overview of the American revolution.
Have a great Fourth of July weekend, and don’t throw fire crackers with your animating hand!
Disney/Pixar’s “Wall·E” had a huge weekend, with over 62 million dollars in it’s first weekend. It has been a great year so far for animated films. Have you seen “Wall·E” yet? What did you think?
“All The Cats Join In” from Make Mine Music is one of my favorite cartoon shorts. It’s got a great swingin’ track, cute Fred Moore girls, fluid animated jitterbugging, and ice cream! If you click on the links below and visit two highly recommended animation blogs, The Blackwing Diaries and Mayerson on Animation, you can get a detailed peek into the making of this clean-cut classic.
Mark Mayerson: PAGE ONE, PAGE TWO.
Blackwing (Jenny Lerew’s blog): PAGE ONE, PAGE TWO.
Lerew has tons of additional Fred Moore info on her site and sketches of assorted Fred Moore girls, including this sassy lass from “All the Cats Join In.” YOWSA!
If you have been watching the basketball match up between Boston and LA, then you’ve probably seen this spot for “WALL·E”. The more I see of this character, the more interested I am in the film. WALL·E doesn’t seem to have a whole lot to work with in terms of physical poseability, but the range of expression that the Pixar animators are able to get out of the character is great.
Be sure to check out “WALL·E” when it hits theaters on June 27th.
“Der Fuehrer’s Face”
During World War II, animation was a popular way to rally support for the troops, educate the country about how they could help out with the war effort, and serve as propaganda for the world.
“Daffy-The Commando”
In addition to traditional length shorts, there were also several interstitial pieces created, such as “Any Bonds Today?”
As you can see, many of these cartoons featured charactures that played upon racial stereotypes… many of which are not politically correct in the eyes of today’s audiences. The big studios have gone to great lengths to keep many such cartoons as hard to find as possible for fear of a backlash. Maybe this is why we don’t see many war cartoons like we used to? There are still a few cartoons that handle such material, but do so in a much different way. For instance, have a look at this fight between Cartman and [Read more…]
Mother’s Day is tomorrow, Sunday, May 11th here in the United States. I thought I’d do a post that shows off two examples of great animated Moms.
In “Dumbo”, Mrs. Jumbo (we never see Mr Jumbo) gets put into solitary confinement for defending her son at the circus (and destroying the circus tent in the process). Dumbo is sad because of his mother’s situation, so Timothy the Mouse takes him to see her. It’s a very powerful sequence, even without the music, but the soundtrack really drives home the mood of the piece.
That’s not the best Mom in animation though. That accolade would have to go to Elastic Girl/Mrs Incredible/Helen Parr from “The Incredibles”. Have a look at this sequence:
The set up of Helen Parr going from normal Mom stuff (like talking with Dash and Violet, and then dealing with the baby sitter on phone) to crisis management is very well [Read more…]
LOS ANGELES - Mickey and Minnie Mouse were on hand Friday when Michael Eisner got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Eisner gained fame in Hollywood as president of Paramount Pictures and then CEO of The Walt Disney Co.
At a ceremony, he credited John Travolta with much of his success.
“I am overwhelmed and I want to thank John Travolta for flying here from a film shoot,” Eisner, 66, said. “Anything John was associated with while I was at Paramount was a hit. He is my lucky stone. And my success is also tied to the people I worked with.”
This interview was a treat for me to do because Alex Kirwan was one of my first champions and also the catalyst for me to get into Calarts’ animation program. His character design class was one of my fondest and funnest memories of Calarts. Alex was and still is one of the nicest, most genuine, brightest talents in the animation industry.
[Read more…]
