CRITICAL STUDIES – The Old Mill (1937)

Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies piece, The Old Mill(1937) depicts a variety of wildlife living in and around an old abandoned windmill, and each of their experiences when a violent thunder strom threatens to destroy their habitat. This 9 minute film was a piece designed to test out Disney’s new Multiplane Camera, a camera which moves several images across the screen on different levels and at various different speeds, creating the illusion of depth. The old mill features effects like splashes, lighting, and well-researched animal expressions that would not have been possible even 5 years prior to its production, it therefore depicts how far animation had come, and was going to go at that point. many of the techniques used in this film would later be used to create some of Disney’s Feature films, especially Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, also made in 1937.

I Enjoyed this piece becuase it looks stunning; it’s clear from the delicately painted backgrounds, strong colours and smooth movement that the best available technology and skill of the time went into the production, but not only that, it retains the charm of animations around that time, the noises (which seem so organic and primitive compared to the multi-layered sound effects of today) and the movements (with actions repeated consistently to save animation and floating lines to emphasise certain expressions) mirror those of much earlier animations such as Steamboat Willie and early Felix The Cat cartoons.  Also, the orchestral music that syncs effortlessly with the action reminds me of Disney’s Fantasia(1940) which leads me to believe that Fantasia was greatly influenced by The Old Mill. This film features a small group of frogs, who discover music through experimentation with the different sounds that each of them make with their own voices, and the different sounds that naturally occur around the pond area, such as reeds tapping against the fence to make a xylophone sound. This is alot like Steamboat Willie where Mickey and Minnie mouse make an impromptu melody with various different makeshift instruments they find around the deck of the boat, showing that this theme delighted audiences back then, and is still used today in some features.

There are alot of themes in this film that are widely prevalent in cartoons of the time, such as love, danger, tradgedy and redemption. We first are taken through the area of the mill viewing the various inhabitants and their various relationships, a family of bluebirds, a couple of romancing doves and a solemn old owl. A loving husband bluebird returns from forraging to his wife whom is warming their eggs, then when terror ensues with the storm and threatens to destroy not only their home but their family, it is interesting to see how the mother is saved by a missing notch in the crank of the wind mill turbines. She remains safe for the duration of the storm. The bats in the rafters and the mice in the wooden framework hide away from the storm, and end up okay. The storm peeks and the mill is almost completely destroyed, but once the sunshine quickly returns, the inhabitants resume their lives as normal, having each overcome the storm in their own way.

facts and dates from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Mill

CRITICAL STUDIES – the whimsical world of Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, is undoubtedly the most famous and esteemed Japanese animation director today. He has animated and directed over thirty films during a career spanning nearly fifty years and, at the current age of 71, he is still looking for ways to astound and delight his adoring worldwide audience; with his most recent film, Kari-gurashi no Arietti (2010) an adaption of Mary Norton’s ‘The Borrowers’, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi , written by Hayao Miyazaki. This story revolves around a lonely and sickness-prone little boy named Sho, who lives with his great aunt and housekeeper in a lovely summer house, but having been separated from his friends, he has no one to play with. Unbeknown to Sho, living with her family under the floorboards of his house is a tiny borrower girl named Arrietty (western spelling) who is eager to explore the wonders of the world of ‘Human Beans’, but after a mishap upon her first borrowing, Arrietty and her family’s presence become apparent not only to Sho, but to his greedy housekeeper, who strove to expose the tiny people to the world. With the help of Sho, Arrietty and her family embark on a mission to escape the house without detection.

His influence reaches the four corners of the globe, bestowing him the title of ‘the Walt Disney of Japan’. But what makes this particular animator so great? His works seem to reject the clichéd and overused concepts and storylines that have featured in film for decades, such as ‘Hero vs. Villain’ and the concept of victory and defeat, or conventional love stories. He puts across themes that reflect real life, in the form of beautifully drawn whimsical stories, as well as extremely relatable characters. Focusing on Studio Ghibli’s Sprited Away (2001), the ending does not involve the protagonist defeating the antagonising force she’s been contronted with, but by adapting and acquiring the ability to survive it, giving a very striking sense of realism to such a whimsical piece.This reveals the truth that there is not always an absolute victory that we can ask for beyond the adaption of one’s self. Chihiro(the main character) does not adapt to the evil because of some kind of special characteristic such as beauty or intelligence or strength which is why it is such a good influence for young children; it shows that even those without special talents can still overcome their problems and fears. Whereas usually the main protagonist will have some unique attribute that allows them to overcome their problems.

I enjoy the fact that while Disney gives us beautifully animated adaptations of heart-warming fairy tales from years passed, where the protagonist uses their unique beauty, strength or intelligence to guide them through the challenges set by the antagonist with the help of their comic relief side kick thrown in for good measure, Ghibli Studios alerts us to actual problems with the real world, while keeping us in the comfort of the whimsical fairytale locations. Miyazaki takes a strong personal stance against many things That he believes are making today’s world worse, such as globalisation, environmental destruction, sexism, war, etc. and he actively protests against these problems within his work. Anti-war themes are used Howl’s Moving Castle(2004), with the main character having strong convictions against it, perhaps for the wrong reasons, but which still hold true to Miyazaki’s own beliefs. He uses very abstract methods to put across these themes, using wild storylines and imagined lands, such as in Nausicaa, Valley of the Wind(1984), which puts across how dangerous environmental neglect can really be, and how powerless man will eventually be to control the future of the earth if something isn’t done to stop it. Similar themes are prevalent in Pom Poko(1994) which shows the world how harmful deforestation is to wildlife. Pom Poko also makes use of one of Miyazaki’s other great passions – Japanese myth and legend. This film features a large clan of mischievous raccoons, a few of which can morph into humans; a popular japanese folk tale.

CRITICAL STUDIES – Hair Raising Hare (1946)

I really like types of movement indicators used for Bugs Bunny, if paused on the point at which the table appears, you’ll see this Monet-esque collection of pastel scribbles used to show the transition. This is such a humbling and traditional technique, but pleasnatly effective – I’d really like to use it somehow.

CRITICAL STUDIES – Alien Song (1999)

Ah, nostalgia.

Not really sure what to tell you about this one, it just holds a special place in my heart and reminds me of back when the internet was just a baby, and we had it in our house for the very first time. This was one of the first CGI animations I ever saw (besides Toy Story. Pfft.). Me and my family found this so amazing and witty back then- it’s incredible to think how far this type of animation has progressed in such a short time… considering how long it took 2-D animation to progress.

CRITICAL STUDIES – Dimensions of Dialogue (Jan Svankmajer1982)

I have to say, I’m not even sure how I feel about this one, it seems like just the kind of deep and meaningful piece that I just can’t get my head around. I just know that it’s an amazing feat of animation whether I enjoy it or not. The suspension of disbelief is, in my close-minded opinion, never really a factor in stop-motion animation, what with all the tell-tale finger plasticine finger prints and frequent lighting adjustments. But this piece just looks so real and so much effort has been put into making it smooth and well paced that I have to keep reminding myself how it was made.

CRITICAL STUDIES – The Story of O-ren Ishii (2003)

I know, right? Holy wow.

This was a favourite of mine since I first saw it all those years ago, and it’s remained so. This is what sparked my interest in japanese animation, which I think mainly focuses on the compitence of illustration, putting the actual animation second, giving this jolty style of movement that looks like a series of beautiful illustrations rather than an animation. But for a piece designed to tell a short story such as this one, I don’t think the animation quality is such a priority; the jolty, abruptness of  the piece really works to convey the tragic events of the scene. Also, it’s such an emotive piece that the illustrations need to be beautiful and detailed to display that kind of sadness felt all the way through, particularly for close-up face shots. I notice, however, that when the fighting starts, the figures tend to distort to ridiulous proportions when they move really fast – this gives a great feeling of natural movement, like on camera when freeze frames of a live-action film would appear blurred. The dynamic camera angles also contribute to this – we feel really close to the girl hiding under the bed because of the close shots, this also emphasises the urgency to stay quiet and small so as not to be seen because of how crampt and close and silent the shots are.  I like how, in other scenes, the camera shake is always representative of the type of camera or vision that would be used to view the scene – in the scene where the two bodyguards burst in on O-ren and Matsumoto, the camera becomes their vision as they search frantically for her, before finding her under the bed. And the rooftop shot is jolty, as if being filmed from a helecoptor.

CRITICAL STUDIES: The Incredibles, Jet Scene

Getting goose-bumps? Yeah, me too.

There’s something about Brad Bird’s The Incredibles(2004) that sets it apart from any other Disney pixar production, perhaps it’s the level of darkness which is clearly avoided in the usual fun-loving Pixar movies of the last ten years, or perhaps it’s my obsession with superheroes that practically forces me to love it. Either way, it’s a wonderful film, but this scene in particular that provides the nail-biting tension that’s on the level of scenes from live-action action films. This is a scene that really builds, fom the moment the close-ups get that little bit closer and more frequent, the audience knows there’s something wrong. Also, the camera shakes really put the aduience in the seat of the driver. The scene builds in volume also, the voice acting of Holly Hunter(who actually learned what all the technical terminology she used means so she could really say it with passion.) gets progressively louder and more desperate as the scene goes on, and although the audience perhaps didnt notice before, once the word ‘children’ is uttered, the tears start to well and we react in the exact same way as the characters in the scene- probably the thing that makes this film feel so real. I also like the fact that the writers seem to have thought of everything bar the group bailing out of the plane – they’ve got Helen trying desperately to get the island tower to call off the missiles, then she tries mentioning the children aboard the plane, and then she tells Violet to put a force-field around the plane. Though none of these attempts are in the least bit fruitful, these are all things a right-minded person would think of, they are all logical and straightforward and exactly what the audience would think of. Bad thing? Good thing? I think the latter.  There are cut scenes to where Mr. Incredible, Syndrome and Mirage are listening to the intercom from the plane, breaking up the action and making it more distorted and choppy and crazy, reflecting the situation.  The scene continues to build. The arguements get louder and more intense, the close-ups zoom in to show just the panicked eyes, and then there’s the last minute rescue before the jet explodes, driving us all back into our seats, satisfied.

ANIMATION TIMELINE – 1930-NOW

In 1932, Silly Symphonies(a series of short films which focused on the combination of animation and short musical compositions) and Walt Disney released Flowers and Trees which was the first to use the technicolour three colour process. It was used as more of a test, as it was originally supposed to be released in black and white, but after Disney saw some technicolour tests that had been made for the movie, it was remade in colour and then released.

The Popeye The Sailor Man cartoon series first aired in 1933, having been the star of King Feature’s Thimble Theatre comic strip for four years. He was created by  Elzie Crisler Segar, and became one of the most popular cartoon characters of the 1930’s. Since then, near enough the entire globe is aware of Popeye and his amazing spinach-induced strength; he has franchised worldwide, and has appeared in cartoons, comic strips, films and a live action film in 1980 starring Robin Williams.

In 1935, Warner Bros. entertainment brought out a Merry Melodies production, I Haven’t Got a Hat featuring the stuttering, high voiced character Porky Pig, a character that went on to star in several more productions. Porky Pig went on to become so popular he was used as the mascott for Loony Toons entertainment, appearing at the end of many of the shows to announce the ending, and coining the widely known phrase; “Th-th-th-th-that’s all folks!”

I really enjoyed this one, it’s engaging to a point of actually keeping my attetion for a full 7 minutes; quite a feat for such an early cartoon. This piece has the Tex Avery kind of feel, and the soft pastel colours work really well to maintain a wholesome and mellow feel. I also really enoy the dialogue; it has the candid, organic feel that features in so many early films and I found some parts of it hilarious. perhaps not for the originally intended reasons, perhaps simply for the novelty of funny voices, but they really appealed to me all the same, and I’d like to incorporate this kind of style with my own future animations. The general style of the film is inkeeping with Disney’s style of the time: using personified animal characters drawn in pretty much the same style performing slapstick comedy with jaunty orchestral music playing in the background, but this is one of my favourite early cartoons, the characters are well established, and a talent show is a great way to showcase their individual personalities.

In 1937, Disney released its first feature-length animated film, it was over 90-minutes long and therefore could compete with the live action films of the time. Based on the fairytale of Snow White by the Brothers Grimm, it opened the doors for decades of fairytales to be told by Disney, and the Disney style was established. It features a Young princess named snow white who bears a clear resemblence to Max Fleischer’s Betty Boop, both of whom have the face and hairstyle which was popular among female film stars of the time. Disney adapted the story to appeal to audiences of the time, particularly children, such as having Snow White dance and sing with the creatures she meets in the forest, and giving names to each of the dwarves according to their character. Whereas, the Brothers Grimm didn’t name the dwarves at all in the original fairytale.

CRITICAL STUDIES: animation timeline – feats of film

Well of course we have to start with Eadweard Muybridge. He was commissioned in the 1870’s by businessman and race-horse owner Leland Stanford to settle the question of whether or not, and if so, then when, all four of a horses hooves leave the ground at any one time during a gallop. Most paintings at the time depicted the horse with hind legs extended backwards and front legs extended forward.  by 1877 Muybridge had captured the horse moving using a series of cameras, each triggered in succession as the horse galloped past. The outcome was astonishing – during the gallop the horse tucks all four of its hooves inward at one time with nothing to support it for that instant, contradicting the beliefs of many artists of the time.

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm20.html

  In 1906, J. Stuart Blackton realeased what is still said to be the very first animated film; Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. This animation featured a cartoonist making chalk drawings of a man and a woman displaying several expressions, two chalk smears gradually reversing in time to reveal a couple facing each other before gradually disappearing, and  a clown performing tricks with a poodle. Blackton used a combination of film and photogaphy to make this stop-motion piece a success. It was a delight to audiences of the time whom had never seen anything like it.   

Next there came Winsor Mccay’s first animated attempt, Little Nemo which was an animated adaption of his newspaper comic Little Nemo in Slumberland which ran from 1905-1914. It features the characters of Little Nemo arriving in various ways into the scene and performing movements that would be commonly found in the newspaper comic. It’s drawn with the same care and precision as the comic, so each of the around 3000 frames looks like it could be an indiviual illustration. Each frame was coloured, making it the first animation in colour. The movements are slow and there is no background, showing how early and experimental this animation really was, but it retains a charm that cannot be found in modern animation. The beautiful drawings and the amount of effort that went into creating an amazing piece from such limited rescources makes this one of my personal favourites of early animation.

    

Winsor Mccay then went on to create his perhaps more famous piece, Gertie the Dinosaur(1914) the main character of which, Gertie, became a huge success and still remians a much loved classic cartoon character. The audience enjoyed the different ways in which she reacted to the questions that appeared on screen, and the funny expressions and movements she made with just her head and feet. As in many of the cartoons of the time, Mccay repeats various frames of the animation, some said to appear up to 70 times.   

Feline Follies was directed and animated by Otto Messmer in 1919 and featured Pat Sullivan’s character, Felix the cat. Felix was the star of the silent film cartoon era, drawing a large enough audience to have films and songs written for him, and a cartoon hero that predated Mickey Mouse of the late 1920’s. Unfortunately, with the arrival of late 1920’s Mickey Mouse cartoons which had souns, as apposed to Felix’s silent features, Felix popularity decided to fade. In an attempt to keep up, Messmer and Sullivan reluctantly decided to create Felix cartoons featuring sound in 1929, but the production was a failure and shut down after just one year. Despite his brief time in the sun, Felix the cat’s fame was continued through the large variety of merchandise distributed worldwide, ranging from clothes and toys to postcards and ceramics.

 One of the most notable animated short films of its time was Steamboat Willie(1928) by Walt Disney. This film is known as the debut of fames cartoon character Micky Mouse and it features him and his girlfriend Minnie making music together from various different objects and animals found on a steamboat, much to the distaste of Mickey’s feline captain. This was the first animation with music and sounds synchronised purposely to the action, and not just there to create some background noise. Although none of them really distinguishable, the voices were also all synchronised and personalised to the individual characters of the animation, all of which were performed by Disney himself. It’s style that has become recognised and represented as the animation style of the time, the black and white with a touch of sophisticated grey to emphasise depth and shadow allows the creators to design more interesting backgrounds and varied characters, beyond that of the earlier cartoons which featured no tone. The time can also be recognised by the ways in which things move and express themselves, 1920’s cartoons features alot of personification, almost every mechanical object would have a personality and seem alive. Also, action lines are used to make an action clearer and more emphasised.

 

CRITICAL STUDIES: Animation Timeline – Victorian Parlour Toys

http://intelligentheritage.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/interesting-optical-device-thaumatrope/

 Here’s a brief history on the methods used for animation back in the 1800’s. Various wacky devices were used, growing more and more advanced (with the exception of the flipbook) as the years went by; firstly, we have the Thaumatrope(1824). This is a simple device for tricking the eye into seeing a combination of two pictures, where in reality they are simply two drawings on either side of a circular piece of paper. quickly twirling the strings with the fingers makes the paper disk turn really fast and show each image really fast, and so both pictures are combined. This device demonstrated the ‘Phi Phenomenon’ – the theory that the eye can percieve motion within a series of connected images, rather than just several static images.

http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit07.htm

 Next there was the Phenakistoscope(1831), which consisted of two circular disks, one with a series of drawings around the edge, and the other with viewing slots around the edge. They were spun in one direction on the same axis and when looking through the viewing slots, a moving image could be seen.

 

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/bdc/young_bdc/animation/animation4.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Next was the Zoetrope (It was invented by Ting Huan in China in 180AD, but updated and produced by William George Horner in 1834). The Zoetrope consists of a spinning cylinder with various viewing slots, through which the user can see the spinning pictures which are printed in succession on the inside and appear to move as the cylinder is spun.

  

http://lhs.loswego.k12.or.us/z-alts/Conceptual%20Physics/Unit%201%20Linear%20Motion/10_Flip_Books.htm

 

The next, which is still commonly used today is the flip book (patented in 1868 by John Barnes Linnet). Which is where the pictures are printed onto paper, bound into a book and flipped with the thumb at high speed to create the illusion of movement. This is by far the easiest method of displaying animation to an individual.

http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Optical_Recreations/Praxinoscopes/Praxinoscopes

 Next, we have the Praxinoscope(1877). It was a more advanced version of the Zoetrope, but instead of using viewing slots, the animation could be viewed in mirrors reflecting the pictures from the inside of the outer cyclinder. This produced a more sturdy and consistent effect.

 

And Finally, the Kinetoscope (invented in 1889 but perfected and produced in 1892) consisted of a box about four foot high, wtih a viewing hole on top. People would look through this hole and view a series of pictures printed on about 50 foot of film tape, which was wound around a series of cogs and conveyers turned by an electric motor. The images would move around the conveyers and flash across the viewing hole insuccession creating the illusion of movement.