| Home |
| About |
| Archives |
| Links |
| Japanese |
| Anime |
| Arts |
| Books |
| CDs |
| Disney |
| DVDs |
| Games |
| Japanese |
| Jpop |
| Life |
| Manga |
| Movies |
| Pals |
| Photos |
| Poetry |
| Trips |
| Videos |
|
Latest Flickr
|
 Feed |
| 101 Dalmatians / Platinum Edition : 5 of 5 | |
|
5.20.2008
8:08 AM | Link |
 Disney's 1961 animated feature 101 Dalmatians isn't one of my top Disney movies, since it doesn't really touch me emotionally, but I still love it for its important spot in the evolution of animation! This two-disc Platinum Edition makes a point of that fact, starting with the documentary appropriately titled Redefining the Line, since 101 Dalmatians was the first Disney feature to Xerox the animators' original drawings onto cels, essentially eliminating the inking department and giving the feature a rougher, artsy look (which Walt originally didn't like, since it was a huge departure from the perfect fantasy look of his earlier films). The documentary is only 30 minutes, but it has tons of animator interviews and covers lots of great facts - I had no idea the cars in the movie were created as paper models and shot, working much like CG models today! I'm also ashamed to say I didn't know about the Lady and the Tramp cameos until now, which are really cool. There's also a wonderful bonus feature that reenacts correspondence between Walt and the author of the original story, which is fascinating and beautifully put together! The movie itself is fantastic, of course, but even better with the popup trivia track (always a favorite feature of mine), that covers detailed information such as the director for each segment as it occurs, and pointing out the cartoon the dogs watch on TV is the 1929 Silly Symphony Springtime. I always enjoy watching 101 Dalmatians for the detail in Roger's apartment, the beautiful backgrounds, and I love the way Cruella's smoke is almost a character by itself! It was great to enjoy another fantastic Platinum Edition, and I'm looking forward to the next release!
|
| Ollie lives on | |
|
4.17.2008
7:09 AM | Link |
 I thought I would mention that Ollie Johnston, the last of Disney's famous Nine Old Men, recently passed away. There are so many animation blogs that have paid tribute much better than I can, but since Disney animation is so important to me, I at least wanted to say something. Every time I watch a Disney animated feature, I always get excited to see the animators' names in the opening credits, and when some of the Nine Old Men are in the list (especially Ollie or Frank Thomas), I know I'll be seeing something special. The work that Ollie did to advance the art of animation has had profound effect on every animator today, as anyone who reads The Illusion of Life (Frank & Ollie's huge book of animation technique) will realize. Thank goodness that even during Disney's "dark days", they still had the foresight to train today's generation of animators before the Nine Old Men left the company. Everyone I admire today was personally mentored by these incredible artists! I'll always be thankful for Ollie and everyone else who truly created this form of entertainment that I enjoy so much. Now you should read Brad Bird's thoughts about Ollie, since his words are much more fascinating than mine!
|
| The Jungle Book : 4 of 5 | |
|
4.01.2008
6:55 AM | Link |
 It feels strange to be writing about the last Disney Platinum Edition DVD when a new one is already out, but I'm happy to say that this is a great presentation of the last Disney animated feature with Walt's involvement. There's a nice 45-minute documentary included (which is nice since so many recent DVDs barely squeeze out 15 minutes of information), and I learned a lot about the development of this movie! I never knew about the former "dark version" (closer to Kipling's original) written by Bill Peet, or the subsequent argument with Walt that made him leave the studio, after which Walt changed the story into what we all love today, including the girl from the man village at the end, which was originally controversial among the animators. There's plenty of animation discussion with Andreas Deja looking over some original drawings (I love that stuff!), plus conversation about the first use of "star voices" and the replacement of the original set of songs - The Bare Necessities was almost dropped! There's even footage of Louie Prima's band going nuts in their recording session, which is great stuff. Of course, the movie itself is wonderful, and has some of the best character animation on film. I always cringe a little when they repeat gags to save money (such as Ka's accordion joke which is in twice, cel for cel), but they definitely make up for it with scenes like Baloo tucking Mowgli into bed with leaves, and of course King Louie's dance is pretty awesome! The Jungle Book is really an enjoyable movie, and learning about its history and rocky development makes me appreciate it even more.
|
| Space Ghost and Dino Boy / The Complete Series : 4 of 5 | |
|
3.05.2008
8:08 AM | Link |
 I remember watching Space Ghost cartoons when I was much younger, and even drawing a few pictures in the same futuristic style. I used to love the space ship designs and weird creatures created by the genius Alex Toth, so I was really happy to see this DVD set was released, and even happier to receive it as another birthday gift from Matt & Kumiko! Space Ghost was one of those cartoons from the late 60's in the "limited animation" style that Hanna-Barbera did so often, full of cheesy plots and goofy dialogue, but it's still exciting to watch. Along with Jan & Jace, two teenagers who help fight galactic crime, and their monkey Blip, Space Ghost romps around the universe battling classic villains such as Zorak and Brak. There's so much to enjoy here, from the cool artwork (I love how space is always deep blue) to the hilarious one-liners (such as when a scientist says "I don't know what I've created, but it's ten times larger than it should be!"). Each episode has three parts - two seven-minute Space Ghost stories plus a Dino Boy in the Lost Valley cartoon. Dino Boy isn't as interesting, but it's still enjoyable - Ugh the caveman is always there for the rescue (or to be rescued) and Bronty the baby dinosaur's voice sounds like Scooby Doo. Along with all this cartoon fun is an incredible documentary about Alex Toth - I was stunned by the length and quality of this bonus feature, which easily tops the wimpy documentaries on most other animation DVDs! It runs a full 1.5 hours, and covers Toth's early days at DC Comics and follows his career through tons of interviews and correspondence. I was really impressed with this DVD set, and my interest in Space Ghost is definitely renewed!
|
| Animaniacs Vol 1 : 5 of 5 | |
|
2.07.2008
6:53 PM | Link |
 I hadn't watched an episode of Animaniacs in years, so it was so great to see this fantastic show again! I think I appreciate it even more then I did back in the early 90s, now that I'm more of an animation buff and I can appreciate the way this series really captured the wacky style of the classic Warner Bros cartoons. Each episode is made up of smaller cartoons featuring a huge cast of original characters, so besides Wakko, Yakko and Dot (who are hilarious with their enthusiastic "Hello Nurse!" for every hot girl), there are also stories featuring Slappy Squirrel, Runt & Rita, and of course, Pinky and the Brain (who later got their own show). There are so many inside jokes written just for animation fans, covering everything from Popeye to the Jetsons, but my favorite was when Slappy sits down to watch the "Wonderful World of Walnuts" and the theme is a parody of the old Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (I'll bet not many kids picked up on that one!). Speaking of music, this was the only series to be using a full orchestra at the time, and it sounds utterly incredible and the scoring is perfect. Of course, everyone knows some of the amazing songs from the series, such as Wakko's World (where he sings all of the nations of the world), and Bernadette Peters sounds great singing Rita's heartfelt tunes (I wanted to use subtitles so I could sing along, but unfortunately they didn't include them in English!). One of the DVDs includes some nice interviews with the actors, and it's really fun to watch them speaking with their character's voice! Animaniacs was actually a big budget production, especially with Steven Spielberg producing, so they were really able to create a truthful tribute to the genre, and I had a wonderful time becoming a fan all over again!
|
| Looney Tunes / Golden Collection Vol 5 : 5 of 5 | |
|
1.05.2008
9:17 PM | Link |
 For the past few years I've been keeping the post-Christmas tradition of watching the latest Warner Bros. cartoon DVDs first out of my pile of booty, and this year was no different! This collection was fascinating to me, because after five years of restoring and releasing these shorts, they seem to have gotten to some more obscure cartoons that I don't remember seeing as a child (or at least haven't seen 100 times before!). The first disc is filled with Bugs & Daffy, including A Pest in the House, which is one of my favorites (where Daffy won't let the guy get any sleep in the hotel)! On the other hand, it also includes Transylvania 6-5000, which is simply terrible - if you need to appreciate the incredible music of Carl Stalling, just listen to the horrible soundtrack of this cartoon (which Stalling did not do, of course!). The second disc contains all fairy tales, which means lots of Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk gags, but also has interesting shorts like Tom Thumb in Trouble, created by Chuck Jones doing his best to capture the Disney style of animation (and it looks great!). The third disc is all Bob Clampett hilarity, including another favorite of mine, Buckaroo Bugs (who could ever forget Red Hot Ryder?). It was also nice to see Beaky Buzzard again! The final disc is all older black & white cartoons, some with incredible live action (photograph) backgrounds, which I had never seen before! Eating Off the Cuff and Wholly Smoke were both incredible on this disc. Once again, the bonus material is fantastic, and the commentaries are priceless (as always, I enjoy hearing John Kricfalusi declare his undying love for Clampett). There's also a nice semi-recent (from 2000) Chuck Jones documentary, a few short Behind the Tunes features, plus three old TV specials (which are actually pretty lame). I think the restoration process was a little lacking this time around (my eyes kept finding hairs and scratches that I know could have been removed), but in general everything looks spectacular, and once again, I can't recommend these Golden Collection DVD sets enough for any animation fan!
|
| Bee Movie : 3 of 5 | |
|
11.18.2007
5:03 PM | Link |
 I always try to see every animated feature that hits the theater, just to show my support for animation in general, but I was especially excited to see Bee Movie, because I knew Jerry Seinfeld would be a great voice actor, and because DreamWorks Animation keeps getting better! After so many insect-related movies in the past few years, you would think they would start to run out of ideas, but Bee Movie is filled with creativity. I really koved the introduction to the film, seeing the incredible honey factory, and enjoying all the bee puns (and there are a million of those, right down to the beehive hairdos on all the girls!). The animation is definitely fun, and I was glad to see the quirky style of the human characters (definitely not up to The Incredibles standards, but they're on the right track), but even though I enjoyed the bees themselves, I think the character design didn't allow for enough emotion to come through. The story starts out predictably with Barry the bee seeking an exciting life outside the hive, then gets really wacky with the whole "bees vs. humans" court trial, and then suddenly tacks on a third act to bring the moral home. Normally I would say the story is a little disjointed, but the final scenes in the airplane are pretty funny, so I guess it's worth it for the sake of the finale! As a suspected, Seinfeld's voice really works in the movie (he's just playing himself, of course, but he's so natural!), and Renee Zellweger is great as well (but no one can top Patrick Warburton, who seems to have a contract to do at least one voice in every animated feature ever released). I'm glad Bee Movie has done well at the box office, and I'm always happy to see studios making animated features for me to support and enjoy!
|
| The Iron Giant / Special Edition : 5 of 5 | |
|
9.12.2007
8:00 AM | Link |
 I've been a fan of this movie since it was originally released, and I even already owned it on DVD, but I decided to get this Special Edition DVD because it looked like it would be out of print soon, and of course it took me months to getting around to watching it! I'm sure the movie itself is better quality on this version, but since I'm not completely a video expert, I mainly enjoy special editions for the bonus features, which unfortunately aren't spectacular here (but better than the original DVD). My favorite feature is the use of in-context behind the scenes features that are accessibile when an icon appears while watching the film, but it would have been great to be able to watch these mini-documentaries all at once. But all of that aside, I still love this film for its incredible story, its ground-breaking use of "flat" CGI (modeled in 3D but rendered to have a 2D look), and the genius of Brad Bird and all that he brings to an animated feature. I was particularly blown away at the end of the film when the Giant realizes what he must do to save everyone, and as he flies away, Hogarth simply says "I love you" with all the honest, open emotion a boy can have. It's such a pure moment that no other director would think of including in an animated film! The Iron Giant is definitely an animation landmark that I think more people need to discover, so it was wonderful to enjoy it again!
|
| Surf's Up : 4 of 5 | |
|
6.19.2007
6:48 AM | Link |
 Lots of comments have been made about the avalanche of penguin movies lately, but believe me, surfing penguins make much more sense than tap-dancing ones! I've been looking forward to this movie from the first time I saw the trailer, so my pal Melinda and I decided to see it soon after it came out, and we really enjoyed it! Surf's Up is shot as a documentary covering Cody Maverick, a penguin from Shiverpool who dreams of competing in a big world surfing championship to be like his idol, Big Z. The fake documentary film style is sheer genius! It definitely reminded me of all the Bruce Brown films I've enjoyed in the past, and the creative "hand-held" camera work looks fantastic. Most of the dialogue takes place in interviews, which have incredible natural voice work, and work as a great device to make the typical song-montages much less boring than usual! Of course, the water animation is another breakthrough for CG animation, but I think the character design far outshines it. Each penguin has great expressions, very different body and face types (similar to The Incredibles, in a way), and I love the details like the tropical tattoo patterns their feathers make. The story is great as well, and really captures the surfing spirit that I admire so much. Surf's Up is a surprisingly wonderful film, and definitely one of the best from Sony Pictures Animation!
|
| Looney Tunes / Golden Collection Vol 4 : 5 of 5 | |
|
12.30.2006
10:24 PM | Link |
 I've already finished the first of many DVD sets I received for Christmas, starting with another spectacular set of Warner Bros cartoon genius! I've enjoyed these collections for four years now, and it seems like they could keep making them forever - I have no idea when they will run out of cartoons. This year the set begins with the usual focus on Bugs Bunny, and finally includes Knighty Knight Bugs, with Yosemite Sam as the hilarious Black Knight. The second disc contains shorts directed by Frank Tashlin, with lots of commentary on his cinematic style, plus the only cartoon with Porky's brothers. The third disc is a real treat, completely filled with Speedy Gonzales cartoons in all of their Mexican stereotypical glory! I loved laughing at all of the drunken songs in Spanish, and it was cool to see the very first Speedy with a much different character design (he even had a gold tooth!). The final disc is all cat cartoons, but not as much Sylvester as you would expect. There are lots of great one-shots and other secondary characters here, such as the adorable kitten who sleeps on the big bulldog's back, and even a weird cat that was voiced by the actor who did the original voice of Goofy! The bonus documentaries are pretty good, but I didn't really care for the old one narrated by Orson Wells. The newer one about Friz Freleng was excellent, though, along with the many Behind the Tunes featurettes. Sixty cartoons later, I'm even more impressed with Looney Tunes, but now I have to wait a whole year for the next set!
|
| Dream on Silly Dreamer : 3 of 5 | |
|
8.02.2006
5:39 PM | Link |
 Since I often read various animation websites, I knew about this movie way back when it was first being screened, and I wish I could have seen it then. I ordered it soon after it came out on DVD, since it's an important piece of Disney history, but then I kept forgetting to watch it (in spite of my pal Jerry's great review). Well, I finally took the time to take it in, and it was really fascinating. This is a short 40-minute documentary that gives a brief history of how Disney treated their animation talent - moving them out of Walt's animation campus into warehouses, then treating them like heroes (with giant bonuses) after the wild successes of Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King (during the Disney Renaissance), and then finally making the crazy decision to switch to only computer animation, and firing around 1,300 talented animation professionals world-wide! It really was just about the stupidest thing Disney could have done, since most box office failures were due to over-management - definitely not solely the fault of the creative staff. The documentary itself is well done with animated interstitials, but I think the DVD actually has too much bonus material - it seemed like twice the footage of the film itself. It's nice seeing this movie now that things have changed at Disney with John Lasseter (including new 2D animation), so I can only hope that the sad story of this film will be totally reversed! |
| Looney Tunes / Golden Collection Vol 3 : 5 of 5 | |
|
1.09.2006
11:35 PM | Link |
 I've finished watching the first of many great DVD sets I got for Christmas, and this new Looney Tunes set is really fantastic! There's no need to go on about how great the cartoons look, since I've mentioned the beautiful restoration in the past (and finally they've included a little documentary about the process). The DVDs in this set include one for Bugs Bunny, one for Porky Pig, one full of Hollywood references, and one miscellaneous disc. As usual, the audio commentaries are terrific - I love all of the different styles, from Jerry Beck getting old-timers' perspectives on a cartoon, to John Kricfalusi bad-mouthing every director on the planet except his hero, Bob Clampett! There are some classics included that have always been my favorites, such as Robin Hood Daffy, The House That Jack Built (for some reason I always thought "celebrity mice" are hilarious), and all those great "things that come to life" shorts (where characters on books and groceries jump off their labels and sing and dance). I also love to see things like the first appearance of Pepe LePew, an early Foghorn Leghorn that sounds like Yosemite Sam, and really old characters that just didn't make it, like Porky's friend Beans. There are some really good documentaries included covering the big directors, too. Besides an annoying Whoopi Goldberg introduction, these DVDs are pure gold - I guess that's why they call them the Golden Collection!
|
| Wallace & Gromit / Curse of the Were-Rabbit : 3 of 5 | |
|
10.28.2005
6:14 PM | Link |
 Since I have to see every animated feature to show my support of the art form, I had to see this Wallace & Gromit movie! I've seen a few of the other Wallace & Gromit films before, so I'm kind of a fan, but then again, I like just about anything filmed with stop-motion animation. In this movie, our heroes are kind of like a rabbit capture service, hired to protect everyone's prize vegetables for an upcoming contest. Wallace is always inventing, of course, and his ideas lead to the creation of the Were-Rabbit, a huge hoppity beast! I thought the plot twists and action sequences were especially good, and the design of the miniature sets was just amazing. Since this is true clay-mation (as opposed to the wireframe puppets of Corpse Bride), the motion has a jittery feel to it, but that just adds to the charm of the technique. The character designs are hilarious, since everyone has big teeth and tall, skinny heads, and the bunnies (hundreds of them!) look really cute bouncing around, even though they aren't really fluffy (the Were-Rabbit himself does have real fur, though!). Gromit steals the show, since his emotions and feelings seem even more evident even though his character doesn't have a voice. This was a really fun semi-Halloween movie, and I'm glad DreamWorks got it into the theater.
|
| Corpse Bride : 5 of 5 | |
|
10.03.2005
7:22 PM | Link |
 I'm a big fan of stop-motion animation, and I loved The Nightmare Before Christmas, so of course I knew I was going to enjoy Corpse Bride. I just didn't realize how fantastic it was going to be! The quality of animation and the look of the film is so spectacular that I originally thought it was computer-generated when I first saw the trailer (I think a lot of people were mistaken, too!). Everything is just so perfectly constructed and shot (using digital cameras, rather than film!), that the movie becomes a surrealist illustration brought to life. The character design is completely wonderful - so creative and original, including characters with huge hair-dos, giant noses and chins, super skinny and ridiculously large, and each design fits the character's personality perfectly! I thought it was cool how the "land of the living" was almost 100% grey tones, while the "land of the dead" had lots of color and lighting! Besides being a technical marvel, the story is really good, too, about a clumsy young man who "accidently" marries a corpse and is thrust into a crazy world of skeletons and creepy creatures. I also have to say that the Danny Elfman music is perfect, and the songs are really fun (everything is extremely reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas, but you can't fault him for being consistent). This is definitely a movie I can't wait to buy on DVD, and it will be fun to watch every year before Halloween!
|
| Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Vol 2 / 5 of 5 | |
|
8.05.2005
6:43 PM | Link |
 Believe it or not, I got this excellent DVD set for Christmas, so I've still been enjoying some of my gifts even this late in the year! This set is just as spectacular as Volume 1, again including four DVDs full of truly wonderful Warner Bros. classics, all restored to such a degree that they look brand new. The first disc focuses on Bugs Bunny and includes some of the older Tex Avery Bugs cartoons, which are sheer genius (such as Tortoise Beats Hare), and some of my favorite more obscure characters, like Crusher the wrestler, and Witch Hazel (who always zooms away leaving hairpins flying in the air!). The second disc is devoted to Road Runner (who was short-changed in Volume 1), and Dad and I watched this entire disc during the Christmas holiday since we love Road Runner cartoons so much. The third set has mostly Sylvester & Tweety, but also some great Daffy Duck shorts, with an emphasis on Bob Clampett's work. John Kricfalusi's (of Ren & Stimpy fame) commentary on Clampett's Daffy is amazingly engrossing and really stirred up my appreciation for Clampett's cartoon prowess (and also explained some cool techniques like "smear animation"). The final disc has lots of Hollywood parodies and music-based cartoons, including some excellent classical music commentary that really analyzes the use of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody! Finally, the whole set is worth it just for What's Opera Doc?, probably the best Warner Bros. cartoon ever, with two commentaries, separate music and vocal tracks, and a documentary featurette. I'm definitely ready for Volume 3 this Christmas!
|
| Hi Hi headache | |
|
4.06.2005
10:58 PM | Link |
 I guess I should say something more about Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, since it's been on so long now that I've been watching a lot of repeats lately. I thought the idea for the show was kind of cool, since I'm already excited to see anything fresh with a Japanese touch, and I was already a Puffy fan (since my pal Barron got me hooked on them) with several CDs popping up on my iPod. The show was kind of a let-down at first, since the crazy episodes were just so frenetic - the first episode I watched kind of gave me a headache! I love the live segments with the real Ami and Yumi, and whenever a re-run shows up on TiVo, I always watch these parts again. The theme song is pretty cool, too, and the concert footage opening is nice. I think the little stories are getting better, at least the pacing is watchable, and they're getting a little more free with the Japanese dialog here and there (which is fun for me to figure out). The best thing they've done so far is include an actual Puffy video right in the middle of the show - it was totally unexpected, but so great! Despite my initial reaction, I guess I'll keep watching, since it can always get better.
|
| Real superheroes | |
|
3.10.2005
9:07 PM | Link |
 With the plots on Smallville getting more ridiculous by the minute (the person who came up with the whole witch possession thing should be fired!), it's good to know the real superhero stories are alive and kickin' on Justice League Unlimited! I'm always several episodes behind since I save them up on TiVo, but every time I watch one I'm impressed by the story quality. Where else can you see Superman divert lava inside a volcano to prevent its eruption, or Batman take out a missile by magnetizing his jet? I still don't like the theme song, and the CG work is a little to lo-fi for my taste, but the characterization and the plots rock. (Oh, I should also mention that the Black Canary episode should win the Sexiest Animated Heroine award, hands down!)
|
| Piano playing and shrink takes | |
|
1.25.2005
6:54 PM | Link |
 I've been watching lots of old Disney cartoons lately (big surprise!), and something that always stands out for me in these vintage shorts is the care they took to animate playing piano realistically. I've seen so many modern cartoons where the character just randomly bangs on the keyboard, which is usually static (probably painted on the background). But in these old Disney cartoons, Mickey and Minnie are both accomplished pianists! Their hands actually hit the keyboard in the general octave the melody suggests, and the keys themselves actually animate, so you can see chords actually formed. Sometimes the hands move so realistically that I'd swear they were animating the actual musical phrase as it would be played in reality! It's fascinating to me that they would take the time to put so much detail into this, but maybe the audiences of the 1930's had so many more people that played piano at home for entertainment, that they had to be convincing. In any case, it's certainly enjoyable and really impressive to me!
Speaking of animation, I recently learned what a "shrink take" is (thanks to the commentary track on my Ren and Stimpy DVDs). I had heard the term before and never really found a good definition, but now that I've watched Ren do a good shrink take frame by frame, I can tell you! Just before a character is about to scream or do something where their head enlarges for comic effect, they draw the head super-small (which is the "shrink") for just a frame or two before. So, when the character's head goes from tiny to really big, the effect is even funnier. How's that for animation education? |
| The Art of the Incredibles : 4 of 5 | |
|
12.23.2004
10:36 PM | Link |
 I finished my first Christmas book today (which I opened a few days ago), which is my first Pixar art book to add to my collection of Disney art books. I knew this book would be beautiful, and indeed it is, filled to the brim with amazing (see, I didn't say "incredible") pre-production drawings, paintings, and digital artwork. Several pages include comments from the director and many artists, but the pictures themselves speak the loudest! They are all reproduced in spectacular color, many of them full page (including an awesome four-page fold-out of the color script - I would love to have it on my wall!). One of my favorite sections includes close-ups of some of the memorabilia from Mr. Incredible's wall, and I especially enjoyed the many collages also (which look like a cross between Mary Blair and Matisse). Unfortunately, there are no real production stills - I usually complain when art books include too many of those, but I wish this one had a few, mainly so I could stare at the details with my jaw on the floor. As usual, when I experience books like these I wish I had a career in creative entertainment, but I can stay content idolizing these brilliant artists instead.
|
| The Polar Express: 4 of 5 | |
|
11.13.2004
8:36 PM | Link |
 I had lots of thoughts for and against this film before seeing it. I'm generally not a fan of computer animation that tries to capture true human characters, because they often look stiff and unnatural. I also haven't read the book, so I didn't know what to expect from the story. On the positive side, I was definitely in the mood for a Christmas movie, plus I got to see it in IMAX 3D, which made it a spectacular event (completely sold out, in fact). So, the Christmas spirit won me over and I really loved the film! The story is a good one - I love any movie that takes me to Santa's workshop. They definitely expanded the book into more of an adventure (I've been told), so there are parts that seem a little unnecessary, but the Christmas message and the emotional moments definitely make it worth it! Sometimes they go a little crazy with the camera angle freedom that animation allows, and some of the songs are not so hot (especially the hot chocolate number), but the duet on the back of the train is a wonderful new Christmas song that I'd love to hear again. I'm definitely feeling Christmasy now, and I'm sure I'll want to buy the DVD to make this a yearly viewing!
|
| My hero Mark Henn | |
|
10.17.2004
10:13 AM | Link |
 I only recently discovered (from watching the bonus material on the Aladdin DVD) that nearly every beautiful Disney heroine from recent years has been designed and animated by the same artist - Mark Henn. The amazing hair and eyes of Ariel, the dreamy face of Belle, the incredible waist of Jasmine, and the athletic elegance of Mulan all came from Mark's pen - he's officially my hero! I've read that he's making the transition to CGI with Disney, so I hope to see more of his beautiful characters in the new medium (even though I wish both worlds could co-exist!). Everytime I think about animation, I dream about it as an alternate life for myself - I have such respect for the work that has been produced that it just seems like the most rewarding job! Of course, I would probably crumble under the kind of deadlines and pressure they deal with, but it's only my dream, so I can dream I would have the stamina to tough it out, too. (I've since learned that while Mark animated all of these lovely ladies, the actual character design for Ariel was primarily by Glen Keane, who I also respect and admire, and Belle's design was by James Baxter.)
|
| Good show, bad show | |
|
8.14.2004
11:05 PM | Link |
 I was a big fan of the animated series Justice League on Cartoon Network, and after the awesome show finale, I had big expectations for the show's successor, Justice League Unlimited. I finally got around to watching the first episode on TiVo, and I'm totally impressed! The opening scenes of the huge orbiting spaceport filled with hundreds of heroes (plus lots of "civilians" doing the mundane work - I wonder if Bruce Wayne pays them?) really got things off to a great start. It seems like each episode will focus on a small team of heroes, so I'm hoping we'll get to cycle through a bunch of cool superfolks. This episode featured Green Lantern (from the previous series), Green Arrow, Supergirl (cute and snotty), and some dude made of energy named Captain Atom. It was fun to see a disjointed team interact and fight a monster in China! The only I don't like is the new music - way to groovy to keep the intensity of the action going.
On the other hand, the last Teen Titans episode I saw was the worst ever! This one was about some alternate universe Robin (named Larry) who pops into the Titans' world and turns everything into goofy crayon drawings. There was almost nothing good about this one (except maybe Beast Boy talking backwards, which was kind of funny). I hope this lousy episode was just a fluke (but at least Justice League Unlimited will keep me happy)! |
| The Triplets of Belleville : 3 of 5 | |
|
2.22.2004
11:47 AM | Link |
 I was glad to see this movie finally come to Austin, since I had read a lot about it on the web, and I really wanted to see all the films nominated for Best Animated Feature Film! This is definitely an animated film unlike any other - it can certainly be considered an "art film", but it does have nice characters to enjoy (but no real character development, per se). It's hard to describe the plot, but generally it involves a grandmother and her grandson, whom she trains to compete in the Tour de France. During the race he's captured by the mafia, and it's up to Grandma and Champion (the hilariously flabby dog) to rescue him - with the help of the Triplets, of course! The Triplets are a has-been singing group (featured in an incredible 20's style opening number) who live alone and eat frogs (I'm not making this up!). Artistically, the film is incredible with detailed backgrounds and completely surreal character design (extremes of fat of skinny, for example). My favorite sequences are the dreams of Champion the dog, answering once and for all what dogs really dream about.
|
| Looney Tunes: The Golden Collection : 5 of 5 | |
|
1.31.2004
11:36 AM | Link |
 I had been hoping that someday there would be a DVD set of the classic Warner Brothers cartoons for a long time, so I was so happy that they finally made this collection (and that I received it for Christmas!). There is so much to love about this set! The cartoons themselves (over 50 of them) have been magically restored - the colors are so bright and the lines are so crisp, that I would almost swear they had been completely reanimated this year. I just can't get over how spectacular and new they look! The selection of cartoons does a great job of providing an overview of all the major (and most of the minor) characters - there are many "landmark" cartoons that aren't here, but I'm sure they will be on another set someday. Each of the four discs also has great documentaries - some made a long time ago, and some made specifically for this set, and they are completely full of fascinating facts. There are lots of commentaries, too, though these are the weakest part of the set - most of them just speak generally about the director or animators, but I wish they would talk more specifically about the cartoon itself. On top of all of this, there are also "music only" tracks, which are just amazing to watch and listen to the incredible music timing. What a fantastic set!
|
| Astro in action | |
|
1.17.2004
10:16 AM | Link |
 Yokatta! The latest Astro Boy cartoon series (produced in Japan, of course) has finally started on Kids WB. I just watched the first episode and I totally loved it (looking past a few goofy, but very slight, changes for the American audience)! The animation is really beautiful - the backgrounds of the incredible futuristic city are just fantastic, and all of the characters are completely true to Tezuka's design. It was so exciting to watch Astro learn how to fly, and especially cool to see things that aren't shown in the books, like how his boots slide open and transform into his rockets. Now I have a new reason to enjoy Saturday mornings! Doyoobi no Asa ga suki desu!
|
| Duck Dodgers | |
|
9.28.2003
10:12 AM | Link |
 It's great that there are so many new cartoons lately! Cartoon Network recently started their Duck Dodgers series, and it's not bad. It's got to be difficult to build an entire show from a single classic six minute cartoon (Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century, one of the best cartoons ever, of course), but so far they're doing fine, although I miss some of the funkier backgrounds from the original. Duck Dodgers isn't on my "don't miss" list, though - for the record, everyone must watch Teen Titans, Samurai Jack, Big O, Family Guy, (and most of the other Adult Swim shows), and Justice League (if they ever start the new season). Watching these shows will bring happiness and joy to all WEBmikey readers!
|
| Relaxing with Aurora | |
|
9.11.2003
6:40 PM | Link |
 Hello, minasan (everyone)! It's so nice to have some free time from my schedule of work (which is especially busy right now), Nihongo no kurasu (Japanese class), and rehearsing with the Heroes. I just had a nice glass of wine and read a few chapters of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (which is an interesting book, by the way), and now I'm going to watch the bonus material on the Sleeping Beauty DVD (super cool) and smoke my pipe. Ahhhhh.
Lately I've been listening to classical music in my car (KMFA, of course), since it helps me relax when I'm feeling a little stressed. It's amazing how it affects my driving - I'm much more inclined to burn up the highway when I listen to my usual bubblegum pop, but I barely even hit the speed limit listening to Mozart. I'm still working my way through the Disney animated features, so I watched The Aristocats a few days ago. Not a bad film, just not really heartwarming - however, I never noticed how great the backgrounds are until this viewing. The amount of detail is really astounding, with just a touch of that 101 Dalmatians "color outside the lines" feel. Yuko took a week off from my daily NHK news (I'm glad she's back now!) - I wonder how she styled her hair during her vacation? |
| Overwhelmed by art | |
|
7.30.2003
7:59 PM | Link |
 Every time I watch Samurai Jack I always think the same thing - how can every single background of the show be such a work of art?! I'm still as impressed as ever with the animation, characters and story, but I'm just overwhelmed with the background art. The use of bold colors and shapes reminds me of the work Mary Blair (famous for designing It's A Small World) did for Disney - I wish I could paint something like that!
 Disneyland Countdown: 22 days!
|
| Titans, go! | |
|
7.22.2003
9:34 PM | Link |
 I'm totally impressed with Teen Titans, Cartoon Network's latest show! Besides the fact that I've always enjoyed these teenage heroes (with Robin as their leader), they've designed the series in full-blown anime style. I couldn't believe what I was seeing - speed-line action backgrounds, comedy-relief "baby" versions of the characters in funny situations, and even those silly little vein-popping lines on the forehead to show frustration! It's definitely tongue-in-cheek, but with a semi-serious plot. Top that off with an awesome theme song by Puffy AmiYumi (diving even further into the Japanese thing), and you've got me hooked!
Disneyland Countdown: 30 days!
|
| Interesting Spidey | |
|
7.16.2003
8:31 PM | Link |
 I'm not sure what I think of the new Spider-Man cartoon series on MTV. The style is definitely unique - computer generated animation "flattened" to 2D, with the most bizarre color palette I've seen in an action cartoon. The first two episodes were pretty good, once you get past the weird rubbery characters. They seem to be following the movie plotline, since Spidey wants to smooch Mary Jane after every fight. Not exactly your typical nerdy Peter Parker! It's always nice to see a classic hero presented in an "adult" style, so I guess I'll keep watching it.
Disneyland Countdown: 36 days!
|
| Fun & Fancy Free : 3 of 5 | |
|
5.27.2002
7:38 AM | Link |
 Another Disney DVD purchase - I'm working on getting the older releases, since I haven't seen them in years, which makes watching them even more fun! Fun & Fancy Free is a "package feature", which Disney often released after World War II to get back on their feet. Generally they took what they had of stories planned for feature length movies and combined them, so Fun & Fancy Free contains Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk. I remember Bongo so well from my childhood, so it was nice to see it again. Mickey and the Beanstalk is great for many reasons - the last time Walt performed Mickey's voice, the inclusion of Mickey, Donald and Goofy, plus the incredible animation of the beanstalk growing. Beautiful and funny at the same time!
|
| Tarzan : 4 of 5 | |
|
5.22.2002
7:37 AM | Link |
 I have finally committed to collecting all of Disney's animated features on DVD, so I decided to buy the great collectors edition of Tarzan (which was tough to find, since it was out of print in January!). This movie is even better than I remember - even Rosie O'Donnell's goofy voice can't ruin it. The amazing "deep canvas" process to create CG (yet still artistic) backgrounds is stunning, and the character action (especially of Tarzan himself) is incredible - watching him surf the moss on the trees is so much fun! Even though Jane isn't developed enough, she's still pretty interesting for Tarzan to become obsessed with, and I can even take the Phil Collins songs (I'm not so fond of him, but the rhythms are great and the lyrics truly tell the story)!
|
| Dinosaur : 4 of 5 | |
|
5.21.2002
7:36 AM | Link |
 I actually bought this collector's edition set several months ago, but after watching all of the fantastic background material, I never got around to watching the movie! (I guess that's not so bad since I had recently seen it at the theater.) I finally watched it to quench my growing need for Disney stuff in my daily life, and it's just as cool as I remember. I do need to say that the story never quite "gets me", which I really want from a Disney movie, but Dinosaur still gets a 4 for it's fantastic animation and effects. I love how all of the backgrounds are live action film, while the characters are CG on top of that (much like the incredibly cool Walking with Dinosaurs series, but they can talk). Now I really want to ride the Dinosaur ride in Animal Kingdom again!
|
| Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron : 5 of 5 | |
|
5.11.2002
7:29 PM | Link |
 What a fantastic movie - Dreamworks is really working hard to produce some beautiful animation! I was able to see this at a sneak preview two weeks before opening day, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The scenery is majestic, the action is exciting, and the emotion is just right (of course, Mikey was in tears). I loved how even though the story is narrated by the horse (Matt Damon), the animals never actually speak in the movie - they just communicate with horse noises (and very well!). The only thing bad I have to say is the Bryan Adams songs really show off why he should remain a has-been, but other than that, this movie is wonderful!
|
| Ice Age : 4 of 5 | |
|
5.05.2002
6:39 PM | Link |
 I finally got around to seeing this movie, mainly to support full-length animated features in general, and I was really surprised - Ice Age is a great movie! The original trailer with the "saber-toothed squirrel" was hilarious, of course, but when I saw that the plot was basically "3 Men (animals) and a Baby", I was concerned. Thankfully, the character development is so well done that the poop jokes don't take over the show. The animation is very interesting, with some amazing snow effects (though I'm not too fond of the angular tusks on the mammoth). Best of all is the story, complete with a Disney-esque moral about friendship - heartwarming and fun!
|
| Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within : 4 of 5 | |
|
7.14.2001
6:55 PM | Link |
 While I am a much bigger fan of traditional animation over computer animation, Final Fantasy is still an amazing film. Some characters are much more convincing than others - although there is fluid motion and lots of facial movement, most expressions are still a little stiff (they reminded me a little of the creatures in The Dark Crystal), which is why the "stiff" personalities (like the doctor) seem more realistic. Most folks I've talked to didn't enjoy the plot, but I loved it - the spiritual theme and esoteric ending are very anime-like, which makes perfect sense to me. The backgrounds and effects are stunning, of course, and the energy-like creatures are fantastic!
|
| Anastasia : 3 of 5 | |
|
7.08.2001
12:45 PM | Link |
 Yes, I'm still renting feature animation films that I neglected to see in the theater. I probably never made it to Anastasia because the plot didn't sound very exciting (and actually, that's true). The film is still beautiful, but I do have some issues with the animation - it's actually too perfect in most places. I don't know, but I think a rotoscoped character (animated from humans filmed for reference) walking around in a computer generated mansion is kind of like cheating. My other complaint is with the music - the songs are great, but there are too many of them! Enough complaining, I still really enjoyed Anastasia, but it's not something that will keep me coming back to watch it again.Labels: animation |
| Shrek : 3 of 5 | |
|
5.25.2001
7:00 PM | Link |
 Computer generated animation gets better with every film, and Shrek is proof - I have heard that the film makers actually toned down some of the realism that was possible in order to keep the audience in the fantasy world. So, beyond the exquisite animation, what else is good? The story is a fine one, the voice actors are great (especially Eddie Murphy), and some of the jokes are fantastic (the absolutely best scene is the torturing of the Gingerbread Man - who sounds like he was voiced by Devil Doll), but there is one glaring flaw - the music. I think the film makers were trying so hard to make a hip movie that they felt they had to fill it with Top 40 hits. Come on, the opening credits set to Smashmouth's All Star? How tired can you get? I would have enjoyed Shrek at least twice as much with appropriate incidental music. Oh well, you should see it anyway - just be warned.
|
| The Best of Liquid Television : 3 of 5 | |
|
2.01.2001
6:50 PM | Link |
 I can remember watching Liquid Television on MTV, back when there were more videos than shows, and it was so cool that it kept me glued. I had never seen some of the animation styles that were featured - crazy CG work, bizarro stop motion and puppets, and of course the anime-inspired Aeon Flux (that kept me in a trance just trying to figure out what was going on). This DVD contains 90 minutes worth of the show - I don't think all of this material is of "best" quality, but they did manage to snag several segments that I remembered from way back when, including my favorite Aeon Flux (the elevator scenario) and that funky Brad Dharma, Psychadelic Detective (with the great line "I decided to give him another chance at Nirvana"). It was fun to have a semi-nostalgic time from the days when MTV was entertaining.
|
| Antz : 4 of 5 | |
|
12.04.2000
10:20 PM | Link |
 Poor Antz - this movie got such a bad rap. It was made at the same time as A Bugs Life, and when they were both released so close together, everyone thought they were rip-offs of each other and the Disney flick won the battle. I love A Bugs Life, but I also think Antz is great - it's completely an adult film. In fact, it's a bona-fide Woody Allen movie. The story is fantastic and funny, and the animation isn't bad (though not nearly Pixar quality). The best thing is the plot doesn't suffer from any goofy sidekicks - nothing is thrown in for cute factor alone. More people should give Antz a try - help save it from the fate of bad timing!
|
| Blogger | HaloScan | Levelfield | |
