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Hybrid Animation, Integrating 2D and 3D Assets

As a beginner animator, I would like to touch on a final note to an increasingly interesting subject for me, which is the ability to personally create and develop my own passion project and express the ideas I would like to explore and share to the world. Recently, I have been more exposed to animated media, by personal interest and by the fact that I am studying animation, but even more relevant, I was amazed when witnessing the premier of a feature length move (The Worlds Divde, 2023) that was created entirely by a single animator (Denver Jackson) using and combining a variety of 2D and 3D techniques to create a final product. The use of both approaches is not new in the industry, but they seem to be resulting in more exciting and visually interesting projects, like Spiderman’s Spiderverse for example. Originally my main goal was to create a graphic novel, but learning about the capabilities and the ever growing ease of use and accessibility to new tools for animating, in some ways even AI included, is drawing for me a new picture of what it is possible when thinking of ways to tell a story using hybrid animation.

Looking for information about the rising importance on how to bring these resources together I stumbled in a couple of internet articles and a book while researching this topic. From the book in question that goes around this matter, Hybrid Animation, Inteegrating 2D and 3D Assets(2010) by Tina O’Hailey, I focused in the first chapter, Hybrid Animation: The Main Problems. Although it might feel a little dated, in essence it touches into the broad issues that must be faced when working using distinct methods and the various obstacles that present when merging both procedures together. I found interesting that it expands the notion of what 2D or 3D are, for example, 2D as any media that works in two planes, not just drawings, and 3D as physical assets, stop motion or even live action, not just 3D computer graphics. The chapter goes through the pros and cons of each technique and the way they affect general workflow two, but mainly putting an emphasis into the visual style and narrative objective, which is what will ultimately determine how much of what will be used to achieve a desired result.

The author itself, Tina, centered her studies in computer animation and programming. She participated in a wide range of productions, in studios such as Walt Disney, Dreamworks and Electronic Arts. Her role rested upon the task of coordinating a diverse cast of talents and methods into a production pipeline, and she continued on to teach what she learned in the industry at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Even though the read is not very technically detailed, it offers a good introduction to new and even established animators, who are interested in utilizing different practices to expand the reach of their creative endeavors. It could serve as a quick overview in regards to the challenges and opportunities that sprout from a non traditional workflow, leaving the door open for experimentation and discovery. I feel positive that a new rise for animation is coming, with the wide catalog of tools and new approaches that will benefit the animation industry overall, bringing new capabilities to independent animators and pushing creative competition among big and small studios or creators.

Reference:

https://www.prayananimation.com/blog/the-rise-of-2d-3d-hybrid-animation-what-does-it-mean-for-the-industry/#

https://filmindustry.network/the-future-of-animation-is-there-potential-for-a-new-renaissance/39346

[alxislo]

Vincent (1982)

To conclude this journey through decades of animation, I step towards the beginning of the 80s, when the short Vincent was showed to the public on October 1st, 1982 at the Chicago International Film Festival. No other theatrical or official release was made. This project, directed by young Tim Burton, was financed by the Walt Disney Studio in order to explore and invest on the possibilities of his particular talents. Produced by Rick Heinrichs and voiced by horror movie star Vincent Price, the short stands as a prelude for future stop motion projects under Tim Burton that would bring a new rise to the medium.

Technique

Although the short is visibly stop-motion animation, puppetry, claymation and props, it still makes use of a number of 2D elements in the shape of backgrounds, effects or specific scenes that benefited from it’s use towards the visual narration. The short also makes use of a couple of techniques to better transition between the scenes and different mediums. The first being the use of black and white instead of color, which sets the somber tone of the short but meant that it visually blended the scenes together. The other one would be the use of match cutting, which consisted on using the same visual or narrative elements of a scene to essentially cover the cut between one to the next.

Representation

First of all this short takes inspiration from a variety of different influences that are displayed in clear reference in the visuals such as the black and white movies from the 1920s German expressionist productions, B-horror and Vincent Price’s films, as well as literal, from the construction of the verse like Dr. Seuss rhythmic narration to it’s content citing Edgar Allan Poe. All mashed up together inside the mind of a young boy, in likelihood to the directors own experience, and result in a collage that summarizes and pays tribute to sinister fantasy.

The show begins with the title screen displaying “Vincent” when a cat enters the scene and walks into Vincent’s room while he is playing the flute. At this moment the narrator begins to recite the backbone of the short, which is a poem written in rhyming couplets that expose young boy Vincent Malloy’s idolization for Vincent Price and the macabre. In his mind and in the short Vincent Malloy “turns” into an image of Vincent Price, going around the house while experiencing his visions between his fantasy and the dull reality. Here the narration and the contrast between dark and clear scenes with the use of black and white help to contra position the two Vincents. In his visions, he does such horrors like dipping his aunt in wax for his imaginary wax museum or evilly experiment with his dog in hopes of turning him into a zombie. His artistic affections also come to show in the ways of painting and reading, specially his admiration for Edgar Allan Poe. He gets so carried away by the stories that he reads that ends up inadvertently digging into his mothers flower bed, thinking of it as a grave. In consequence, Vincent is sent to his room, with the narration adding to a very dramatic imprisonment conveying feelings of torment and loneliness.

Her mother enters the room to announce he can go out to play, but only barely interrupting his fantasy, as he struggles in character to reply with words, but conveying in letter that he is bound to the house and can never leave outside. His mother gets irritated by him for living in his fantasy, and scolds him by stating that the source his fantasies are just foolish childishness. As his mother leaves the room his dark delusions begin to overwhelm Vincent’s mind, his imaginary terrors and fears coming back to haunt and torment him. With creeping figures that start to manifest and harass Vincent, he can not bare his fictional burden and faints do to the piling horrors of his mind, playing his in character death at the end of the short. The sequence reflects on and plays upon the perception of a children’s imaginary world, either menacing or not, where in a child’s mind the line between reality and fantasy gets blurred and less defined.

Reception

There is almost no information I could find regarding it’s release, probably because it was not very publicly screened. Other than it’s debut at the Chicago festival, it has had several other appearances at similar events during the course of the years. It won the audience award at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in 1984 and although the short seems to have had good reception, the studio that produced it did not seem to have a fit for it in its repertoire. They only went as far as to bundle it with bonus material in other Tim Burton’s DVD titles. Nowadays it appears to be cherished as the catalyst for much of the Burton universe that sprang from that point and evolved through his future work.

References

https://www.awn.com/mag/issue1.9/articles/frierson1.9.html

https://www.cultureslate.com/editorials/revisiting-tim-burtons-short-film-vincent-40-years-later

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084868/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm

[alxislo]

Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974)

For the decade of the 70s I turn my attention towards the growing animated series productions that came with the rise of television. In this case it is Heidi, Girl of the Alps, a Japanese animation which forms part of the World Masterpiece Theater productions for Nippon Animation that originally aired through 1974. The project rested upon the hands of upcoming masters of the craft, with Isao Takahata in charge of direction, Hayao Miyazaki in the roles of animation, direction, layouts and scenery and Yōichi Kotabe responsible for character design. The first to will go on to co-found Studio Ghibli and the latter would contribute to create iconic figures working at Nintendo.

Technique

First of all, the show is an adaptation from a book of the same name published in the late 19th century. A noteworthy characteristic on the production of this show involved a month spent on location, Switzerland, by the main production team in order to accurately portray the setting. It was a paramount goal to render the scenes as authentic and close to real life experiences as possible. This objective also had an impact on the animating style and techniques, as Heidi was set to feel human, mundane and grounded to reality. Perhaps more importantly in a technical term, it fully introduced and embraced the “layout system”. It consists on laying out a rough cut that helps link the storyboard and animation by providing a work frame containing information and guidelines which the animators could more easily follow. It quickly set the standard for subsequent animation workflows. Moreover, in order to pursue a more natural and true feel to the animation, a distinct approach was made by having the cel animation adapt to the backgrounds instead of a more traditional way of creating backgrounds for the animation.

Representation

Out of the 52 episodes I focused on the first three, which is the introduction arc that basically presents the main cast, setting, context and tone of the show. The voice of a female narrator also provides some context and information about situations and characters at various points throughout each episode.

First episode: To the Alm Mountain.

In this first installment, we learn that Heidi is a five year old orphan girl living with her aunt Dete, who often leaves her in care of others resulting in a rather lonely life for Heidi. Her aunt recently got a job offer in Frankfurt and can no longer look out for the small child, so she decides to leave Heidi in the care of her next closest kin, in this case her grandfather who lives a secluded life in the Swiss Alps. We witness the journey from town to the Swiss alpine region, all the while scenes of nature and country life marvel Heidi and the spectator. As they arrive to Heidi’s birth town in the Alps, locals complain to Dete about the idea of leaving the young girl in the care of her infamous harsh tempered grandfather. After a short but heated argument with Dete, Heidi’s grandfather has to accept her not without incredible frustration. Heidi does not get too bothered by the fact and instead gets fascinated by all the little wonders of the countryside. Non the later she meets an older male kid, Peter, who doubles Heidi’s age and is a goat herder of the local town, just like his father was. They both run out to the pastures in a beautiful musical and joyful scene with the goats jumping and running around. Even after being left alone with her harsh grandfather Heidi is shown to be happy and cheerful as she finds comfort and excitement in discovering her new home.

Second episode: Grandfather’s Mountain Cabin

This episode mostly covers Heidi’s grandfather change of attitude towards her and how she wins his heart through her innocence and joyousness. She treats him playfully and cheerfully, and soon he starts falling into her initiative, becoming patient, supporting her ideas and engaging with her to the point of childish conversations and sharing laughter. He shows her around the rather austere cabin and sit to share a meal of bread, cheese and goat milk. With no proper chair for Heidi to sit, her grandfather goes out of his way to make a stool for her. Heidi also begins to befriend the goats herded by Peter, although she is not as successful with her grandfathers St. Bernard dog, Joseph. As the relationship with her grandfather becomes closer, he keeps getting more attached to her, devoting to her care as we see how he worries about her sleep when a stormy night hits the mountain side towards the end of the episode.

Third episode: The Mountain Pasture

In this last episode, Heidi goes out for the day, with her grandfather’s permission, to join Peter up the mountain for his goats to pasture. There is a lovely little sequence of the mountain pasture, landscape, nature and Heidi collecting flowers as they make their way up. When they reach the summit of the pasture grounds Peter sets of for a nap but Heidi feels eager to explore and wander. After a near accident of almost falling of a cliff, Peter aids Heidi back up and they proceed to sit for a meal. Up there, one can attest to Heidi’s compassionate and innocent personality in a couple of ways; first she shares most of her ration of food with Peter seeing him unsatisfied and secondly discouraging him to scold a goat for some wrong doings. As the day goes by Heidi discovers some interesting mountain wildlife, as promised by Peter. Apart from the animals she feels amazed by watching the sunset colors reflected in the mountains. Again always reinforcing the strong connection of life and nature. Heidi feels sad when she discovers that the flowers she picked up are all withered by the time she gets back, falling into the realization of having to let go. For the end of the day she shares dinner with her grandfather over a conversation of Heidi's day. Grandfather vaguely states why he lives alone up his cabin, to be away from people and stand on his own, like the hawk Heidi witnessed up in the mountain.

Reception

The show was an instant big hit in Japan, specially with children who were marveled by the cheerful character who they could easily relate to her joy and wonder. It also demonstrated high popularity with girls, revealing the value of a yet unexploited female market from then onward. Japan became enamored by the innocence and connection to nature portrayed in the series and Heidi quickly turned into a beloved character to this day. So much so that the series is still being broadcasted in Japan. Not only was it successful in its home country, but the show was dubbed in all major languages and spread widely around the world. Heidi had such an impact in the general popular imagination that it scraped the point of cultural appropriation, drawing such a picture of life in the Swiss Alps that it became a stamp for Swiss culture internationally. It goes to show how big of an impact a work of animation can have in worldwide culture. Moving closer to the present day, its popularity has promoted the creation of themed towns and museums both in Japan and Switzerland, with a large percentage of Japanese truism traveling to the Alpine country. Finally the show got a CG animated series remake in 2015 by a Belgian studio, in an international collaboration from German, French and Australian teams.

References

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070968/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/HeidiGirlOfTheAlps

https://animetudes.com/2021/07/18/heidi-girl-of-the-alps/

https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2019/07/heidi-big-in-japan/

https://blog.alltheanime.com/the-day-heidi-was-born/

https://ghibli.fandom.com/wiki/Heidi,_Girl_of_the_Alps#cite_note-4

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2015-01-29/heidi-girl-of-the-alps-draws-japanese-tourists-to-switzerland/.83805

[alxislo]

The Hangman (1964)

Towards the middle of the 60s, The Hangman was released sometime around January of 1964. The short film was co-directed by Les Goldman and Paul Julian. The short is a visual adaptation of the poem by the same name written by Maurice Ogden and published a decade before in 1954.

Technique

This short makes no use of traditional cel animation. Instead it relies on simple still images that are either panned, flashed, dragged or dissolved to add visual movement. Only in a couple of occasions do we see an object or subject be animated to portray a transformation or movement. What is most relevant about this animation’s stills are the eerie images created by Paul Julian, with a style that was heavily influenced by the UPA movement at the time, using simple but clear and powerful visual representations. It all gets tied together with the narrators voice reciting the poem together with the somber musical accompaniment.

Representation

The short, which derives directly from a poem, is full of meaning and symbolism. The story takes place in a generic town with the arrival of the Hangman. He erects his gallows in front of the town’s courthouse, claiming to be for him who serves him best when asked by the townspeople. The Hangman seems to represent an external force that begins to meddle within a community. By standing in the face of the courthouse it aims to challenge and undermine the established figure of law and order. Things start to turn grim when the Hangman hangs his first innocent victim, a foreigner, where onlookers do not seem to be too moved by the loss of an outsider. Only one individual condemns the Hangman’s actions, but without anyone else’s support, he is swiftly dispatched and silenced by the rope. Quickly, the townsfolk learn not intervene with the Hangman’s doings in fear of being his next victim. As the days go by, he continues to carry on with his cruel deeds, laying hand upon the most vulnerable within the society, namely in this short wrongdoers, infidels, Jews or blacks. It could be perceived how a menacing force begins by targeting the minorities within a community, laying strict punishment on whoever attempts to confront it. Not only are the people being lost to this force, but it is clearly symbolized throughout the short how in doing so, pieces that make up the community are also being chipped away, such as sciences, art, beauty, religion and justice. In a similar depiction, buildings are being eaten away and consumed to feed this ever growing power, to the point that it overshadows the establishment, the courthouse, and pretty much everything else around it. As the killings continue unopposed it becomes evident that the primary premise of the short are the consequences derived from the inaction of the bystander in the face of violence and injustice. The show goes as far as portraying citizens wearing cloths over their heads, unable, or more likely unwilling to see, hear or say anything. The Holocaust could be named as an easy example, although the argument is much more universal and can be applied to any other from of oppression or tyranny. Towards the end, there are no more people left in the town, and so the narrator steps naively to fulfill the purpose of the gallows stated from the beginning. He is to hang by the rope for his cowardice as he has served this force well with his compliance and as such, is guilty from his indifference with no one left to stand by him.

Reception

I was not able to find information about the conditions for it’s original release and the reception with the audience. In any case, it appears that it was overall well praised, as I discovered it was a candidate for the Oscar nominations and received an award at the Locarno International Film Festival. Further down the next decade, a 1972 poll by Film & Video News revealed that this short was a favorite American production among schools and libraries in the US. In actuality, I could read that this short still very much holds it’s value as it encompasses the grim reality of human behavior that can be applied to a variety of contexts throughout time and location.

References

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242499/?ref_=ttls_li_tt

https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon-info/56751-Hangman

https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/a-macabre-animated-gem-for-the-ages

https://www.openculture.com/?p=1053873

https://cors.archive.org/details/the_hangman_1964

https://archive.org/details/sim_film-video-news_1972-12_29_6/page/18/mode/2up

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheHangman

[alxislo]

Rabbit Fire (1951)

Moving on to the middle of the XX century, the short film Rabbit Fire directed by Chuck Jones was released for the Warner Bros. In 1951. The first release of the Hunting Trilogy of shorts belonging to the Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.

Technique

There is not much information that I could find about this short in regard to its production techniques, although upon watching the short there is perceptible use of the by now traditional hand-drawn cel animation. A feel of visual stage stiffens is derived from the use of still or panned backgrounds, as there are no perspective changes through the entire run. In the audio department, it is notable to mention the voice acting by Mel Blanc, who was able to do in character impressions of his own characters, a remarkably difficult ability to master inside his profession.

Representation

The short opens with the hunter Elmer Fudd out for the sport in the wilderness. In an attempt to save his own skin, Daffy Duck mischievously tries to take the upper hand in the game by setting up Bugs Bunny into Elmer’s path. Bugs easily discourages Elmer from his hunt when they meet and convinces him it is duck season. It is at this moment that the interaction between the three starts to take place, as Daffy, wanting to be in control of the situation by trying to outwit Bugs, struggles to convince Elmer into hunting for rabbits instead of ducks. Mainly, the two animal characters are just trying to get off the hook from Elmer’s rifle by placing the target on the other. The main gag comes in the various ways Daffy falls victim to Elmer’s gun every time he gets played by his own attempts to fool Bugs into being the hunted target. Through word play and impersonations between the two, all of Daffy’s attempts to be in control backfire, literally, although without any lethal consequences thanks to cartoon immunity to injuries. On the other hand Bugs sharper thinking and overall cleverness keeps him at all times one step ahead and in control of the situation. Elmer falls into being the ignorant character who is easily manipulated and influenced by whatever outcome becomes from Bugs’ and Daffy’s quarrels and disputes. It is not until Elmer takes the initiative to go for both hunt candidates that the duo start working together by using disguises. Daffy takes the role of a hunting dog and Bugs cross-dresses into a woman, trying to enamor and distract Elmer through his travesti but failing as he shortly is able to look through their façade. Being compromised, they go back into arguing about the corresponding hunting season, only to surprisingly and comically find out that it is “Elmer” season. The tables suddenly turn and the hunted become the hunters, where in their final act they impersonate their aggressor closing a full circle with the beginning of the short.

Reception

Once again, there was not much information I could found related to the actual theatrical release and reception, other than it was presented on theaters. The short was re-released with the “Blue-Ribbon” edited format for television later on. It received an honorable mention to the 50 greatest cartoons of all time, although it’s sequel in the trilogy, which is basically the exact same act with different gags, owns a place on the list at number 30. The clever timing of gags combined with ingenious and playful dialogues set the stage for the now classic rivalry between the main characters its characters for the first time in this short and tighten the formula for generations to come.

References

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043953/

https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon-info/282-Rabbit-Fire

https://chuckjones.com/blog/rabbit-fire/

https://mubi.com/en/lists/the-50-greatest-cartoons-as-selected-by-1000-animation-professionals

https://web.archive.org/web/20050702055625/http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/cteq/03/28/chuck_jones/whats_opera_doc_rabbit_fire_feline_frameup.html

PS. During my research for this entry I stumbled upon this encyclopedic website about tropes in media that I found rather interesting:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/RabbitFire

[alxislo]

Working with Disney

On a different note, for this entry I will be taking the opportunity to have a short insight into those who dedicated their efforts to the animation industry. In particular, a glimpse into what it was like to work along side Walt Disney, from the perspective of two of his artists, Ollie Johnston and Marcellite Garner.

Oliver Martin “Ollie” Johnston (1912-2008)

He studied journalism at Stanford University and arts at Chouinard Art Institute, and started working at Walt Disney Studios in 1935. Being a skilled animator, he worked his way up the company through the years to become a supervisor and a top directing animator. As a senior member, he worked in animating a diverse cast of famous Disney characters in practically all of its major feature films during his period at the studio until he retired from it in 1978. No longer dedicated to production after his leave, he still continued to contribute to the animation industry through his publications on the art of animation, most notably “Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life” co-written with his best friend and colleague Frank Thomas. He also contributed to the art as a trainer, advisor and through conferences given during the rest of his working years. He was awarded the Winsor McCay Award and National Medal of the Arts for his profound contributions to the medium.

Being such a prominent individual in the industry, there are vast information sources that can be found about this iconic artist. Numerous articles online cite his career and highlight the twelve principles of animation he and his friend Frank developed, and even has his own dedicated website: frankanolie.com. There exists a number of documentary films about his life and work like "Frank and Ollie"(1995) and "Growing up with Nine Old Men" (2012) by Frank’s son, Theodore Thomas, and makes appearances in other documentaries like “Walt Disney: The Man Behind the Myth” (2001) by Jean-Pierre Isbouts. He is also present in “Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation” book by John Canemaker and Don Peri’s book “Working with Disney”, from where I read his interview for this post.

I chose his interview as he was one of the closest artists to Disney, being a member of the “Nine Old Men”, Walt’s elite group of hand picked top animators at his studio. Furthermore, for his remarkable and long lasting participation in the industry, from the golden days of animation at the studio’s beginning to the present era, being a figure who shaped the profession and dictated many of its basic principles that are present to this day.

From the reading, I took the impression that Disney was a real business man and entrepreneur, making his vision and dreams a reality not by his own hands, but through his charisma and leadership. He devoted his energy into various projects simultaneously, not just the animation studio. Wanting to be personally involved in each of them, almost everything had to pass and be approved by him. Notably he was not the kind of person who could be persuaded away from his convictions and ideas, and the studio became a real place of experimentation, shaping up an entire industry from the ground along the path of running his business.

But it seems that success did not come with it’s drawbacks at the workplace. Walt always tried to be generous with everyone and offered incentives to his employees, but as the number of artist and staff grew exponentially, this special benefits began to segregate the workforce and were seen as privileges awarded to senior members and those with higher payrolls. It seems this kind of management was what led to increased conflicts that eventually resulted in the animators strike, tearing apart the familiarity among workers at the studio.

It was interesting to learn from the perspective of an animator the concept of “inverted actors”. In some sense animators had to play the role as actors, but not by their own persona but through their drawings, the ability to observe, understand and act according to a personality in their minds and able to represent it in a compelling visual manner. I read how it was evident that Walt was pure actor, he did not animate, but transferred his vision to his artists. More so too, how the voice acting also plays an instrumental role in the character, as the animator has to work and give visual life to the vocal performance, highlighting once again the importance of personality to the characters. On this final regard, it shows why more shorts and cartoons could be found and seen from other studios later on, as the different approach from Disney animation focused in story and character development, evident through feature length rather than exploiting shorts that relied on comedy and gags.

Marcellite Garner (1910-1993)

She began working at the studio on February 1930, allocated to the Ink and Paint Department which consisted on female employees only. She is most notably recognized for lending her voice to Minnie Mouse during the time she spent at the studio. She left the studio in 1941, the same year of the Disney animators’ strike, but her leave was related to her first child being born. Even though she would continue on working at other studios, she would be coming back for short periods at the Disney Studios to make further contributions from time to time.

There is not much information I could find compared to Ollie, other than the interview I read in Don Peri’s book and a couple of websites that summarize her biography in one paragraph with lists of the, mostly uncredited, projects she participated during her time at the studio.

I chose Marcellite primarily to have the perspective from a woman, one who’s role was directly related to the animation production, through the inking department, and who had a little closer interaction with Walt through her voice acting participation as Minnie.

As with Ollie, she mentions how Disney was more an actor than animator, as he used to describe scenes and characters by acting them. He placed heavy attention to detail in everything that was done and was much more concerned with the final result of a production compared to other studios as could be stated from Marcellite’s point of view. In her position as an inker, it stood out to me the use of the “shaded lines” technique at Disney, which added values to the line art of the animation instead of using consistent bold lines, resulting in a more polished and compelling finish.

Even though segregation between men and women was in practice from the very beginning, she recalls always having a fair treatment at the studio. It pulled my attention to know from her, as well as Ollie, that Walt never really complimented the work of it’s employees. At least for her as a woman at Disney, the success of the studio did not changed the constant workflow of production, and being good at your position meant that pretty much is where you stayed. She shares how as the studio became larger, it increased the distance between artists and further segregated the workforce. Once the strike arrived, she remained sympathetic to the studio and was not very keen into the unionizing fashion of the time, but the damage to the workplace was irreparable, loosing that sense of companionship, innocence and camaraderie that distinguished the studio in its early years.

Conclusion

Walt Disney was a visionary, one who knew how to delegate and steer and encourage a team. He also knew how to pull his resources and do the most with what he had. And if he did not had it, he was the kind of go-getter individual and someone who could always find a silver lining.

References

Peri, Don. Working with Disney. University Press of Mississippi, 2011.

Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. Vintage, 2007.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0426508/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/ollie-johnston/

https://www.arts.gov/honors/medals/ollie-johnston

https://arlingtonmuseum.org/explore-more/the-twelve-principles-of-animation

https://animationresources.org/biography-ollie-johnston/

https://www.animationmagazine.net/2011/10/ollie-johnston-even-old-men-need-a-lift/

https://www.frankanollie.com

Peri, Don. Working with Walt. University Press of Mississippi, 2008.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0307732/

https://www.themoviedb.org/person/232415-marcellite-garner

https://d23.com/a-to-z/garner-wall-marcellite/

[alxislo]

Mickey and The Beanstalk (1947)

Jumping ahead a pair of decades, and a couple of years after WWII, the animated film Fun and Fancy Free by Walt Disney Productions was released in September 1947, a production that contained two short stories merged in one feature film. For this entry I will only focus on the second half of the film that contains the short Mickey and the Beanstalk, which in my opinion is the most memorable one and relevant of the two, having future re releases as a stand alone short.

Technique

In general terms the original production is a combination of live-action and animation, featuring scenes that combine the two, animated characters in live-action scenes and vice versa. As for the techniques involved in the animation per se, I could not find direct reference, but it seems evident to me the use of cel animation and the use of the multiplane camera, The latter consisted on a device that allowed to create the illusion of perspective by manipulating the depth of the distinct elements and backgrounds in a scene. As for the camera part it was shot on Technicolor, which just like the multiplane, was nothing new by this point in time where the technology had already been in use for more than a decade at the Disney Studios. Most notably, in terms of production, Mickey and the Beanstalk was meant to be a stand alone feature film as early as the late 30s, but like many other projects at the studio, it became affected by the strike in 1941 and specially by the war period, as all projects were stalled in favor of sponsored government contracts and war propaganda productions. Because of financial constrains after the war, the studio began pairing together distinct shorts and releasing them as feature films, this way the unfinished Mickey and the Beanstalk was re adapted and “packaged” with Bongo into the Fun and Fancy Free release.

Representation

Around midway through the feature film, the short is introduced in a live action birthday sequence where famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen starts narrating little Luana Patten the story of “Happy Valley”. The short itself is an adaptation from the classic story of Jack and the Beanstalk. In this case we are presented with a charming and jolly location called Happy Valley, where a singing harp brings life and prosperity to its inhabitants, but after she is kidnapped from her castle by a strange entity a cast of ruin and desolation is brought upon the land. Inside one of the crippling dwellings, a very depressing scene of starving peasants featuring Mickey, Donald and Goofy takes place. Madness eventually takes over Donald as he attempts to eat silverware and dispatch the household cow. Mickey decides to trade the cow for provisions but returns home with some allegedly magic beans. In the quarrel that follows the news, the beans are seen lost to a hole in the floor, from where they end up sprouting and growing through the night, taking the three characters, and the house, up to the sky. They awake to a floating giant land dominated by a great castle, and upon reaching and entering the building they are delighted to find a table full of food. While enjoying the feast, they encounter the abducted singing harp, just when a merry and puerile giant arrives at the scene. He eventually discovers the intruders, and after a failed first attempt of outwitting the giant and rescuing the harp, the trio, representing Jack, manages to retrieve the it. After their rushed escape back down, they make haste in cutting down the stalk, resulting in the chasing giant to end up plummeting to the ground. The short and film ends with a closing live-action sequence in which the giant reapers and wanders off still looking for Mickey. In short all the main elements of the classic story are present and the main plot stays basically the same; in essence a powerful force that snatches the livelihood of a population, which in turn overcomes the force by means of determination and cunning.

Reception

The film was released in theaters, amid birthday publicity related to the movies own theme and the fact that Mickey was celebrating 20 years. It was also his re appearance in a feature film for the first time after the war. Reception of the film in general was mixed, according to publications and reviews from Variety and The New York Times. Some criticize its release as a failure of imagination and inability to bring a compelling cohesive story instead of stitched up packaged movies. On the other hand, sequences like the growing beanstalk through the night were praised for its captivating animation. Overall the short Mickey and the Beanstalk seemed to be the most successful and best received out of the two shorts contained in Fun and Fancy Free.

Mickey and the Beanstalk short saw later re releases in the coming years, not as a theatrical release though, but as a stand alone episode contained in future collections of animated shorts. Changes to the narration of the story took place in the subsequent releases, but in this case I watched the original 1947 film release via stream on Disney+, although I remember seeing this wholesome story way back as a child in a Spanish dubbed episode. I believe this short still stands the test of time, as it is a representation of a classic story that is accompanied with memorable scenes that can still be seen referenced today.

References

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168071/?ref_=tt_urv

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/75826/fun-and-fancy-free#articles-reviews?articleId=1530018

https://d23.com/know-10-fascinating-facts-fun-fancy-free/

https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25174-FUN-ANDFANCYFREE?sid=f6c46bcd-f148-4c6b-9923-2beb8ddb5f06&sr=15.017786&cp=1&pos=0

https://www.nytimes.com/1947/09/29/archives/fun-and-fancy-free-a-disney-cartoon-with-bongoescaped-circus-bear.html

https://archive.org/details/variety167-1947-08/page/n119/mode/2up

https://learn.toonboom.com/modules/basic-concepts/topic/multiplane

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The Skeleton Dance (1929)

With the upcoming spooky festivities in mind around the time of posting for my journal, I decided to have a look at this short film from the turn to the thirties. The Skeleton Dance, directed by Walt Disney, was released in August, 1929, just before the crash and great depression of the 30s. This piece of work is regarded as a major contribution to the craft and has been able to remain relevant to this day.

Technique

This cartoon short is as much a visual as it is a musical creation. Sound was becoming an integrated novelty in film at the time, and it was only natural that this animated piece was envisioned and developed to go hand in hand with the music. The idea for such an arrangement could be attributed to Carl Stalling, Walt Disney’s first music composer, who was called for the role of providing tracks for Disney Cartoons’ new approach to productions. Apart from the continuing contributions from Walt’s leading animator, Ub Iwerks, the major breakthroughs came from the audio department. In order to properly merge the music composition into the times and cues of the animation, Carl developed the “tick system”, which provided the musicians with “clicks” for a beat that was timed with the moving frames. This system became the “click track”, a method that became common practice for audio recording to this day.

Representation

The beginning of the short sets the mood with a spooky atmosphere. In the midst of howling wind gusts and thunder, creatures of the night like owls, bats and spiders start to appear in the set of a cemetery. The scary tone of eerie shadows and creeping branches starts to give way as a pair of cats introduces the first gags. They set the scene for presenting a skeleton character that has jumped out of his grave. After it mingles rather cautiously around the tomb stoned grounds he later gets accompanied by three other boney figures. When the sound starts turning into some fast whimsy tunes they begin their dancing choreography in a stage like manner towards the viewer. As the night progresses, this danse macabre becomes more wild and silly, to the point where one of the dancers is turned into a musical instrument thanks to its skeletal condition. They are so carried away dancing and enjoying life, or rather death, that morning catches them by surprise, causing them to hurry and stumble all together back into the grave.

Reception

The short was released to the public at the Carthay Circle Theatre, one of the most prominent theaters of Los Angeles at the time. As noted by publications like Variety and The Film Daily for its preview, the cartoon was praised for its originality and comedic value, and the formula was a success providing laughter to the general audience. It achieved its goal as a pilot episode to bring Disney's Silly Symphony series of musical cartoons to life, where considerable technical testing and experimentation took place for future Disney films and productions.

So relevant was this first episode, that it holds the 18th place among the 50 Greatest Cartoons according to animation professionals, and it is included to this day within the streaming catalog of Disney+ where I was able to watch it, almost a century from its release. The universality on the subject of death and the simplicity of its gags has made this short easily relatable and timeless. It is not hard to find the memes and gags directly related to this work nowadays, specially around this time of year!

References

https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/skeleton-idea

https://d23.com/this-day/the-skeleton-dance-premieres/

https://musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004257/Carl-Stalling.html

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/the-spooky-story-of-the-skeleton-dance/

https://www.shudder.com/blog/the-skeleton-dance-the-history-of-the-danse-macabre-and-more

https://mubi.com/en/lists/the-50-greatest-cartoons-as-selected-by-1000-animation-professionals

https://archive.org/details/variety96-1929-07/page/n203/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/filmdaily4950newy/page/166/mode/2up

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The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918)

I begin my journey through animation with a very early work from the beginning of last century, The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918), by the animation pioneer Winsor McCay. The choice was a no brainer for me as I have always been fascinated with ocean liner history. I already knew the history and fate of the Lusitania but had never seen this short film, let alone knew it existed.

Technique

This silent black and white film is a combination of live action, and animation, the later being produced with a new method at that time called “cel animation”. It consists on drawing the distinct elements of a scene, like backgrounds or characters, into separate sheets of clear celluloid which eliminates the need to draw the entire scene every time for each single frame. This way the individual elements can be composited and photographed into a single image. Allegedly it took McCay around 25,000 of these drawings for his production, one he had to finance himself.

Representation

The short starts with a live action montage of the animation process with its creator, as it introduces general information about the film and subject through its intertitles. The animation presents the steamer Lusitania as it leaves New York and sails away into the ocean in the midst of World War I, where it is spotted by a patrolling German u-boat that proceeds to strike the ship with a couple of torpedoes in a spectacular graphical animation. Midway through the film it briefly mentions some of the prominent victims of the incident at the time, and the rest of the runtime continues on to depict in horrific and crude liveliness the sinking and demise of both the ship and its passengers. Near the end, the animation presents to the viewer some last images of tragedy and death, which fuel the intertitles accusations for a call to action against the guilty German nation. In a sense, the layout of the film could be categorized as one of the first examples of documentary through the way it narrates the event.

Reception

There is not much I could find about its release and reception, other than it managed to achieve commercial release in 1918 although not a financial success for McCay compared to some of his other work.

After watching the film I can only imagine the emotional impact on unsuspecting viewers at the time, that probably have never witnessed or experienced such a visual catastrophe. Accompanied by the targeted message through the film the effect must have been highly moving, although I assume it dulled out surrounded by the collective war propaganda and media at the time.

I was able to view this short online and experienced it both silent and with a musical arrangement. In any case I found that the animation still holds testament to the early efforts of the craft, but I felt it lacks factual relevance as the event is highly dramatized. Through the video documentaries of Oceanliner Designs, it is possible to have a more fair picture of the events that unfolded that day. On the other hand, I cant deny that the crude scenes made a powerful impression in me, evoking sentiments of dread and horror.

References

https://archive.org/details/Sinking_of_the_Lusitania

https://www.britannica.com/art/cartoon-pictorial-parody

https://centuryfilmproject.org/2018/09/23/the-sinking-of-the-lusitania-1918/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009620/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

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Introduction

I am formerly an architect from Mexico, beginning a new journey in Canada in search of personal and professional change and growth. Currently I am enrolled in a 2D Animation program from where I look forward to participate in the industry of entertainment and creative work. I wish to have the opportunity of transmitting and sharing stories and emotions through professional or personal projects in the future. In the same way, there have been pieces of work that have had an impact on me, influencing my interests in animation, digital art and storytelling. Here are a few examples:

TANGLED (2010) I chose this movie almost by chance as I had scheduled spare time to spend while waiting for an evening bus back to my city. I entered the theater without any expectation but was marveled by the beautiful animation and lovely story. Later did I learned that the reason behind the liveliness of the animation was a result of a blend of traditional principles applied to the cg character animation. In any way, it inspired me with the expressiveness and personality of its characters and the overall charming story.

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL (2019) I remember waiting for this movie release with excitement, but I was not prepared for how much of an impact it made on me. I enjoyed all the visual and action elements in this work and got hooked to the story. As a personal influence it made me took a deeper dive into sci-fi themes in general, and sparked my current dream of exploring and working on ideas to share in the future. From a technical point of view, I was impressed by the continued use of technologies developed for Avatar to give life to the cg characters.

ZIMA BLUE (From LOVE, DEATH & ROBOTS, 2019) I enjoyed watching the diversity of stories and animation styles in this series, but the one that took the cake for me was Zima Blue. I was taken by the visual refinement of the animation, the compositions, highlights and high contrasts. All arranged beautifully in my opinion to deliver a profound but simple argument.

ARCANE (2021) As a last addition, I just very recently saw this work, and was completely amazed by the visual aspect, not to say the overall well rounded story and great dialogs. It felt for me as if every scene was an illustration on its own, with the mix and play of elements to emphasize the storytelling. Somewhere in the lines with new works like Spiderverse, but instead of feeling like a collage, I preferred the visual cohesiveness in Arcane.