ducktracy

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ancient image from 2019 i think of fondly and frequently

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i keep forgetting how funny and ahead of their time the black and white cartoons are

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!!!NEW REVIEW!!!

while mostly known in the public conscious now for its shock value, there is something to be said about the effectiveness of The Ducktators--comedic or effectiveness in propaganda--in that it still makes the rounds 82 years later. through its cinematic grandiosity, sharp humor, self indulgence, and directorial confidence, it's safe to call Ducktators Norm McCabe's sharpest film. a praise he would probably hate, given that he showed clear discomfort with his films later on in his life. as inferred through the title, the short burlesques the rise of the Axis powers and enforces a powerful but resounding message that is still as relevant today as it was in 1942: Hitler sucks.

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METROPOLIS (2001) - Directed by りんたろうRintaro

Art Director / CG Art Director : 平田秀一 Shuuichi Hirata

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I watched Metropolis (2001) last night after seeing it on ur letterboxd and what a fascinating movie. Incredible animation!!

oh i'm SO glad you did!! isn't it magnificent? i was very very close to tearing up!! thank you for reminding me, i have a photoset i saved in my drafts. it's such a unique movie, it moves in a way i've never quite seen, the art and the music and everything is just so... inventive! some of the most gorgeous background work i've ever seen in my life. and Tezuka's design sense embodies the meaning of charm! that was my first time watching a Rintaro film, but looking at his credentials, it seems he went way back with Tezuka; i'm curious what it was like for him to adapt it

just stunning!!! augh!!!!

for those not in the know, Metropolis 2001 is an adaption of Osamu Tezuka's 1949 manga of the same name, which is a very tangential adaption of Fritz Lang's 1927 film (which i still need to see)--i think i read that Tezuka had never seen the original, and based the manga after a poster he saw for it? and it's my understanding that the Rintaro film made some more firm allusions to the original Lang film.

my only basis of reference was this beautiful Stephen DeStefano parody for the LT comics, with Daffy and Porky--watching it i was like "oh, this must be referencing the original, because i remember it from the comics"

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I just realized the episode being called "Ed's Benedict" is almost certainly a reference to Ed Benedict

LOL i like the way you think!! it's actually a reference to eggs benedict, which is a common breakfast dish... and, of course, his name being Edward, and he thinks he laid an egg... i'm honestly surprised Ed Edd n Eddy hasn't made this reference? i could've sworn it was an episode title. gettin' my wires crossed

i got to see some Ed Benedict (the person, that is) drawings in person a few years ago, however! Top Cat's my favorite Hanna-Barbera show (though i've been meaning to watch Quick Draw McGraw, as it has Mike Maltese working on it and i've had friends describe the Quick Draw/Baba Looey dynamic as a psuedo Maltesian Daffy and Porky dynamic), so i was very close to snagging this

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*through gritted teeth* the world is GOOD. people are kind. Humans are NOT inheritly selfish. you will make it through this year. recovery is possible. people you don't know yet will love you. You are going to do things you can't even imagine right now. You are going to read a rlly good book. You are going to eat some rlly good food. You are going to experience joy again. Things can get better. Situations can change. You can choose to be kinder. The world can change for the better.

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!!!NEW REVIEW!!!

if there is one thing that Friz Freleng knew well, it would be fairytales. and what better way to present a fairytale than through the ever popular, colloquial, and easy-to-inject-some-wartime-propaganda-into spot-gag format? Foney Fables offers an interesting glimpse of what a fairytale themed spot-gag looks like in 1942. Freleng and writer Mike Maltese continue to demonstrate a promising unification of their penchant for dry, irreverent humor, whether it be through the dysfunctional home life of Tom Thumb, a turf war between wolves in sheep's clothing, or jerkass boys who cry wolf who bear a startling resemblance to Bugs Bunny in their vocal mannerisms.

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im expecting!

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by the way: HOW ARE YOU GUYS?! how ya doin'! anything fun, exciting, or just plain pleasant happening in your spheres? i feel like i talk at you guys more than i could talk with you guys. so tell me about your day, or if anything nice has happened, or if you're looking forward to something, or what have you!

on my end i've been staying pleasantly busy with work--i'm expanding my artistic muscles and it's been strrreeeessful, but very rewarding and i feel it paying off! cookin' up some fun stuff! i've also listening to Paul F. Thompkins' watchalong podcasts as i do it (since i loved his co-commentary on Comedy Bang Bang's Music Man watchalong), watched/listened Miracle on 34th Street and it's makin' me pine for the holidays! i got to go to the corner store and get myself a treat which i usually don't do on weekdays, so that was a fun little adventure as well :) gonna unwind with a cartoon or two and then spend the rest of my evening writing about cartoons! ...with some video games and reading in-between, of course!

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pardon the borked formatting in parts (i added alt text to fix/translate it), but i had to share this delightful anecdote from Michael Sporn's blog in which inbetweener Lu Guarnier animated a gag cut of Porky getting cut in half with an axe, with big boss Porky lovin' Leon as witness

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The serenade (1914) - Brynolf Wennerberg

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The Outbursts Of Everett True (June26th1919)

Art by AD Condo

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this'll be the last post i make about this, but i wanted to thank everyone again for your patience with my online fickleness through what's been a particularly tumultuous time for me mentally 🙇💛 i think the gravity of being in a deeply, deeply abusive relationship with myself has finally crashed down on me and i can no longer bury my head in the sand and ignore it out of deep stubbornness and pride (fear). i'm uprooting my entire way of being, and instead of foolishly projecting the image of happiness and violently demonizing myself for not actually being able to feel what i project, i intend to pursue it wholly and genuinely

it's gotten to the point where my resentment for myself has begun to leech into my view of how others perceive me, and that scares me deeply and is a big catalyst in all of this. for example, i've hated so much of my art and my reviews and myself that i've begun to assume everyone else must hate it, too, and that i'm thereby oppressed by that... or, perhaps i should embrace my talents and learn to love them, and also learn to stop contorting them to what i think people expect to see and hear--perhaps if i be my unequivocal self, esoteric and difficult to fully parse as that can be, people will naturally find interest and i can trust that they want to learn and engage more in that, rather than putting myself through an easily digestible wringer and getting upset at both my bastardization of self and beginning to project the lack of gratitude i have for myself unto other people and look for hidden meanings that simply aren't there. i couldn't love myself because it wasn't my full self, and i interpreted lukewarm reactions that weren't even there as a rejection of my half-self, and taking that to mean that my full, true self would be vehemently hated... just as i feel towards my true self

it's very difficult, as i'm often at war with myself. i'm constantly rationalizing with myself and arguing with myself at the same time, fostering polar opposite attitudes and emotions and means of being and instead of embracing that, i shun it away and am only even more at war with myself. i know it's absolutely not true, but for years i keep decrying "i'm so taken for granted!! i never get the energy back that i put back! how can so many people ignore what i put out into the world? i'm doing a service for them, and everything i do gets ignored!". again, i do not truly believe this at all--for every thought i have, there's always a tiny little but persistent voice arguing the opposite that i frequently have to rationalize out of existence. with how much my self worth and self respect and independence has completely tanked over years and years and years, i've no longer been able to rationalize those thoughts--and that's also been a large catalyst for "something's gotta give". that nagging voice spits those thoughts because it's me that's taking myself for granted, i never give myself the kindness nor time nor understanding that i give others, and i have never done what's truly best for me.

i'm very upset with how i've been accidentally projecting these horrible ideals i have about myself unto my perception of other people--particularly because i truly am so grateful for all of the kindness and support i receive. for the longest time, it's all i've had, because i have no reservoir of that for myself. i keep hoping that if i project the image of confidence, it'll become ingrained. but the truth is that i deeply resent myself and have for years! i don't ever allow myself to do anything in service of myself. i've alluded to it recently, but for as many kind comments as i get about people feeling inspired by me being my passionate self, they're all going to get quite the wakeup call, because that's only been a very diluted fraction of my true self. the true me is 50x more passionate and perhaps 50x more esoteric--i've always been afraid of being "too much", but i always tell the story about how i never felt more empowered and able to relate to a character than i do Daffy and how watching him be "too much" and the catharsis that gave him, and how i myself was able to be so enchanted and seen by that... well, perhaps it's time to lean into that

all of this is to say: thank you for your patience, both now and in general. i'm making a lot of changes. usually when i go on one of these bouts, i charge through them because i know i'm bound to be on a depressive low again. i end up exhausting myself and burning out worse and hating myself more for it. so: i'm going to be taking it slow and steady on my own terms. i'll play by my rules, because there are no rules. i'm formally ceasing any and all tendencies to exist for other people--believe it or not, i am a person, and maybe i should get to know this person and embrace them and be them instead of denying myself of myself and suffering so immensely as a result. enforcing boundaries, having self respect, being communicative. i can only hope people will like me for me. and if they don't, no longer will it be any skin off my teeth.

emphasis on slow and steady. i'm aiming to respond to dozens of DMs that i've neglected for years, on here and other platforms. ditto with inbox messages. i'm aiming for chronology and answering friends and asks i've neglected the longest, so i ask and thank you for your patience for those i keep in more steady contact with. it will be slow and gradual--like, responding to one person a day slow out of a backlog of at least 40 people or so. a major part of my issue in letting these messages pile up and misplaced feelings of being taken for granted is because i've viewed every unanswered message and DM and person reaching out to me as a glaring failure on my part. that they're waiting for a response, i'm failing them for not responding, i'm such a horrible burden and failing them by not giving them the time they deserve... and so i let it all pileup, as i feel i'm not good enough to reach out and respond, and i certainly don't feel i'm good enough to initiate conversations as that just turns me into a liability

in doing so, i've completely missed just how surrounded by gratitude i really am. people reach out because they want to hear from me! they like me enough and value me enough to reach out and engage with them. i'm not a completely misunderstood misanthrope who will never find love or peace or happiness because i'm too esoteric or difficult to understand. people don't not give me the same effort i put out. i just don't let myself reciprocate those kind notions because i feel i'm not deserving of it, or i'll be a huge burden in the process to them. i am grateful and aware of all of the support i receive, but i haven't internalized it. imagine how much i could do for myself and others if i did

so, thank you! it's not my preference to be so candid about the roulette wheel of mental issues that plague my Me. and the nature of said mental issues sort of always has me on the up and down--stability is very foreign to me. i'm always at an extreme up or an extreme down, and lately it's quite literally been a matter of minutes between the two. i can't expect to bootstrap myself out of it, as i have in the past and then that only contributing to the resentment i feel for myself because of it. but i do feel that this latest episode could be equivalent to pupating. the ups and downs and mental issues that so plague me will continue to be there, but i do think these revelations and the desire to actually Do something about it, and sensibly, have and will spark a metamorphosis of some kind. it speaks to something that i'm thinking and feeling these things

i thank you for your patience and understanding and gratitude, especially considering i've been horribly insufficient in all of the same for myself for so long. i really cannot keep living as i have and am going to make changes. they will be slow, steady and longterm. i ask for your patience in this regard. it's going to take me a long while to get up to speed, and i am at a stage where i do need to prioritize myself first and foremost and fully. so responses will be slow and spread out. i'm also internalizing the idea of "it takes as long as it takes" for my creative pursuits, particularly my reviews. things are gonna take awhile. i'm also significantly curbing my social media usage in the process. outwardly, you may not notice much of a difference, especially if we don't keep in contact. but on my end, it's major upheaval and change and i'd like to vocalize it to solidify it and perhaps justify why some of my actions seem contradictory

thank you so much for reading, as well as your continued support through the years. it really is not lost on me. it's not ingrained in me, either, but i'm trying to learn that. thank you for supporting me and voicing your praises where i have could only do the opposite, and vitriolically so. i apologize for inadvertently projecting my completely atrocious self image--or lack thereof, as i truly have not allowed myself to be a person with any sort of independent thought or motive or existence at all--into how i believed others saw me, and the consequences of that therein (such as unanswered DMs and asks across all platforms). but, i was told something very recently that stuck with me: "no more 'sorry's, just doing".

[ducktracy]

!!!NEW REVIEW!!!

in another attempt to emulate the slapstick driven comedy of his peers, Chuck Jones’ Snowman’s Land continues to embrace Disneyisms, whether accidental or purposeful (though Pinto Colvig performing his a-hyuck laugh for a dog-faced incompetent doesn’t sound very coincidental.) set in the Northwest Rockies of Canada, an inept Mountie is tasked with pursuing the wanted criminal Dirty Pierre. though glacial and meandering, Snowman’s debuts and features a number of Warner firsts that would soon grow synonymous with their cartoons, whether it be through gags or music.

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happy birthday to the world’s most famous wabbit! ya don’t look a day over 80–all of your prototypes agree!

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A handful of Christmas cards for the family; hope your holidays are safe and happy!