My Stop-Motion Animation

Day 7 - Up

Though I've seen almost all of the Disney-Pixar collaborations, not one has grabbed my attention like Up (2009) has. This family-oriented film is one of only two animated films ever nominated for a best picture Oscar; this achievement was only possible with this year's addition of five slots. Edward Asner's weathered voice was the only logical choice for the film and the grumpy yet lovable main character of Carl.

Up may follow many traditional conventions of orthodox animation, but its plot is unique to itself. It follows an unlikely main character past his prime on an extraordinary adventure of a lifetime. The beginning of the film starts like others with a young boy, Carl, imagining a life of adventure at Paradise Falls in South America. Yet within the next several minutes, you're whiplashed through his life stopping in his old age at a point after his wife has passed. Contractors are threatening to take his property, so after a lifetime of working in the balloon business, he takes the initiative to transform his home into a flying house and finally makes his way to Paradise Falls. However, an unlikely companion has made his way onto Carl's flying house, thus altering his straightforward plans.

The fact that Up's main character is an elderly man brings warmth and captivation to the film; it's not often that an elderly is portrayed in such a spotlight. In most modern blockbusters, the elderly are most often portrayed as cynical, obnoxious, or weak. Even as an animation and as a character with some extremely unrealistic feats, Carl is a breath of fresh air. The film demonstrates that life passes quickly, but you're never too old to do what you've always dreamed of accomplishing.

Day 6 - Big Muddy Animation Showcase

Since I had heard that the animation showcase for the Big Muddy Film Festival was phenomenal this year, I made my way to Longbranch Coffeehouse this afternoon to witness it for myself. There were nine entries shown, some of which were exquisitely beautiful and captivating. Of the nine entries, three animated shorts stood out above all others: Let's Pollute, Skylight, and Father and Sister.

Let's Pollute by Geefwee Boedoe and Skylight by David Baas were both hysterical in their individual renditions of environmental issues through a style resembling public announcement spots from the 1950s. Skylight is a short animation that begins in Antarctica where a skylight, or a hole in the ozone, roasts the adorable penguins residing there. The film shows different types of animals turning into roasted turkeys and ends with a turkey turning into ham. It tells the environmental issues of greenhouse gases in a funny and relate-able way for viewers of all ages. Let's Pollute does the same thing but uses comical human beings to demonstrate the effects of pollution while telling you that pollution is important. It shows a family being taught to pollute and gives pollution rules to follow, but at the end of the film you see how disgusting the world is, and the now-polluting family is riddled with tumorous growths on their faces.

The first film we were shown was Father and Sister by Seyeon Kim. This film was clever and comical as well, but did not tell an environmental story; instead it told the story of a priest and a nun. A bee follows the flower-toting nun into the church, where he causes a comical course of action to occur. The priest is in his office and thinks that the nun is attempting to strip for him, when in reality, she was simply attempting to swat at the bee and mishaps would happen accidentally. The father runs into confession, holds a cross up as if fending off the devil, and so forth. In the end, you sense a bond between the nun and the priest as the bee flees out of the church and they look into each other's eyes.

The animation showcase was outstanding, and I hope other CP 449 students got the chance to go. If you didn't get to go this year, I urge you to check out the Big Muddy Film Festival in 2011!

Day 5 - Popeye

One of my favorite cartoon characters is one of the most well-known and beloved characters in American history. He has grown with our culture and evolved through the years since his creation as a comic strip character. From paper beginnings to television endings, Popeye and his adored spinach have maintained an elevated position in our society and will continue to remain for decades to come.

Popeye was created by Elzie Crisler Segar as a character for his already popular comic strip Thimble Theatre. After quickly taking over the comic strip, Popeye made his way to the screen with a self-named animated series. His image as an American icon developed from there; Popeye starred in feature films, numerous advertisements, and was even portrayed by Robin Williams in a live-action film. His theme song is well-known, as are his fellow characters, most notably Olive Oyl, Bluto, and his four minature-me nephews.

The element of Popeye that has always fascinated me is the continuously available cans of spinach. The leafy vegetable is one most children despise to eat, and yet Popeye gives it supernatural appeal. When he eats it, he can instantly overcome any challenge with superhuman strength, speed, and knowledge. This definitely has an effect on children that have grown up watching Popeye and his crew; to see such a prominent figure achieving great things by eating spinach influences them to eat it in hopes of gaining the powers as well. This influence that Popeye has on viewers will remain strong as long as he continues to remain a famous American character.

Day 4 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Yesterday, I decided to take a walk down memory lane and watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; I hadn't seen this particular Disney classic in years, so it was definitely a wonderful feeling upon seeing it once more. Disney's first feature-length animated film is a popular family classic that demonstrates the mass appeal of orthodox cel-animation, of which Disney would become an industry leader.

Snow White is an orthodox animation in all aspects. It follows a classical narrative form that includes a situation, conflict, obstacles, and resolution following logical continuity. The characters are well-constructed and understood by the audience to be realistic in a sense despite being fixed in a 2-D form. There's also no presence of an artist which was common in past animations that evolved from the lightning sketch act.

One of the most important elements of an orthodox animation, particularly Disney's classics, is sound. Disney's main characters often break out into song, and music accompanies the action adjusting to the mood. The music of films, whether live-action or animated, has always fascinated me because it can affect your entire viewing experience. I am particularly fond of Disney movies despite the fact that some people think they are overrated; they cheer me up when I'm in a bad mood, and make me feel better when I'm feeling nostalgic or sick. If you're feeling down due to the cold winter blues, I suggest a dose of Disney!

Day 3 - Deadsy

Many of the short films we watched on Monday were captivating and demonstrated different styles of animation. The film I found most fascinating was the experimental Deadsy by British animator David Anderson. The style and techniques used, as well as the meanings hidden within, create an innovative and thought-provoking short film out of Deadsy.

Deadsy was created using puppets and xerography. The film combines the use of a live-action narrator and a skeleton puppet whose images have been xeroxed to create a distorted and distinctive environment. I liked that the film still maintained a realistic appearance in comparison to Disney's 101 Dalmatians which was also done in xerography; it definitely has an artist's personal mode woven into it.

When we watched the film in class, I had trouble following it because of the dialogue and the meaning gender transition and sexuality has. However, I found the film on YouTube later, and after watching it a few more times and reading about it in our Understanding Animation textbook, I discovered the presumed meaning behind Deadsy. The book discusses the violence portrayed through the language of the dialogue and the mechanical body of Deadsy. The chaotic colors, movement, and music added to the idea of a violent meaning submerged in a hallucinatory world. The gender transformation demonstrates the connection between violence and sexuality and how it is affected by gender. This film is worth being viewed and interpreted as both an individual and an audience; it will open your eyes to the possibilities animation has.

Day 2 - The Wonderful World of Rosenwald

While surfing the web, I discovered a website of a versatile artist by the name of Laurie Rosenwald. She has a unique personal style that she has successfully demonstrated on her website through the creation of ads, books, paintings, a line of dish-ware, and animated short films. Her approach to animation combines collage and drawing to achieve an almost experimental style of animation.

Her collage techniques remind me of children's book author, Eric Carle. He wrote and illustrated some of the most beloved children's books of all time with a unique collage style of various colors of different found materials. Rosenwald's style is personalized by the use of scrap papers and magazine cutouts, whimsical drawings, and small objects to create a fantastical version of our "real world." Her animation is obvious and deliberate; for example, she creates stop-motion movement for her characters' mouths by taking small paper squares decorated with various drawings of the mouths and interchanging them.

Though her world is simplistic, it is full of beauty and tailored to her style -- thus, addicting. It's obvious Rosenwald enjoys what she does by her extensive portfolio. When I discovered the site, I sifted through every page of it, absorbing and analyzing her work. To understand the magic of her work, visit http://rosenworld.com and take a poke around. And here's a direct link to her animation: http://www.rosenworld.com/?page_id=914/