Posts tagged with "animation"
The Stylistic Milestones of Saul Bass
This week marks the birthday of Saul Bass, one of the most important and prolific visual artists to ever work in motion pictures. As testament to his enduring significance, Bass has been posthumously honored with one of contemporary society’s highest acknowledgements of cultural achievement – his very own Google doodle based on his famous designs [...]
Review: The Suicide Shop (2012)
In The Suicide Shop, in a sprawling metropolis not entirely unlike Paris, the Tuvache family are the proprietors of a quaint little boutique which specializes in the procurement of upscale and designer methods of self-annihilation. Colourful poisons in perfume bottles, noose-and-stool combo packages, Japanese katana swords perfect for hari kari – they have it all [...]
Koko the Clown
You don’t talk early animation without talking Max Fleischer and you don’t talk Fleischer without talking Koko the Clown. After Windsor McKay proved that animated characters could be popular in their own right and before Felix the Cat proved they could be box office stars, you find Koko the Clown and Fleischer’s Out of the [...]
The Surreality of Destino (1946/2003)
For most of us who choose to pack our memory banks with cinematic minutia, there is a great list of unrealized film projects that we occasionally visit in our minds so we can privately mourn the immeasurable cultural absence left by these unmade masterpieces. I like to imagine it as a highly polished wall of black stone [...]
Aleksandr Ptushko, Claymation, and The New Gulliver
In the mad dash to find something to talk about for this edition of Saturday Morning Cartoons, I stumbled across The New Gulliver, directed by Aleksandr Ptushko, in 1935 It’s a mix of live action and claymation. Claymation! The story is a Communist re-telling of Gulliver’s Travels. A boy dreams of himself as a version of Gulliver [...]
Watch It: Betty Boop Cartoons
Betty Boop is an international star of big and small screens. A perennial favorite, here are a few of Betty’s toons that you can watch right now! Betty Boop in Dizzy Dishes (1930) Before she was the star of her own series, Betty appeared in the Talkartoons series. She was also, um, a poodle. [...]
Betty Boop
She was sassy, saucy, sexy and know as “Queen of the Animated Screen” – Betty Boop! Created by Max Fleischer, Betty first appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series. She went on to be featured in coming strips and merch – oh god the merch. Somewhere in the mid-1930′s, Betty got a toned-down makeover to make her a bit [...]
Watch: Dreamy Dud: He Resolves Not to Smoke
The Dreamy Dud series is the brainchild of early animation pioneer Wallace Carlson. Though he had a long career as a newspaper cartoonist, Carlson is best remembered for his animation work. And though the Dreamy Dud series might not be his most innovative work, it is his most loved and best remembered work. This installment, [...]
The State of Canadian Animation and 3 Animators to Watch
Ever wonder what’s hip and happening in Canadian animation these days? I thought so. I found out and explained in a piece for Toronto Film Scene. Check it out. The state of Canadian animation and 3 animators to watch Much as it is with all kinds, genres, and flavors of film making, Toronto (and Canada [...]
Spotlight on the Toronto Animated Image Society
I’m not sure I’m cool enough to hang out with animators, but I did have the opportunity to talk with Madi Piller, the current president of the Toronto Animated Image Society. What do they do? In a nutshell, they love animation and do everything possible to nurture, promote, and propagate it. I can think [...]
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Richard
I'm a contrarian and I truly do like Casablanca. …
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Brandy Dean
Sure swap out It Happened One Night. But Ace in th …
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Brandy Dean
Who doesn't like Casablanca? That's nuts! They eit …
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jack42
I think I have some watching to do. He's done quit …
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Richard
Two that have to be on my personal list are Deadli …
