Animation in all its glory, A converstaion devoted to all aspects of animation. Options

[Guest_shaggy breeks_*]

Hi shaggy breeks here, I am an animation student in England at the moment and as such figured a topic devoted to this art form would indeed be a nice idea.

So here goes . . .

I believe animation is not an art form but like writing a form of magic. Animation can make audiences laugh, cry, feel joy and sadness and envoke a whole myriad of other emotions. It can imply or express messages and meanings. But above all it can literally take a willing audience into another world entirely. And like writing and storytelling, all of these wonders are crafted from the most basic of tools. Words and pictures.

The fact that people are willing to believe and relate to a group of words or a drawing is not at all logical, it is then 'magic'. The magic that is the imagination and the power of the mind to be open to all possibilities.

The best example i have recently seen in the animation field is the film ratatouille by pixar animation studios.

For those who have not seen the film i shall endevour to review and analyse it for you.

In the mean time i would love to hear from like minded people or even people who cannot stand the animated film. It will be interesting to hear others views and beliefs.

thanks for reading

Shaggy breeks

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Ratatouille

The story begins in Rural France following the story of a young rat named Remy. He is, amongst his peers and his family, a few crumbs short of a complete biscuit.
He was born with an incredible sense of smell that eventually leads him on a grand adventure in pursuit of his elusive dream. To become a world famous chef and to create food that will warm the hearts and souls of his audience. Only two things stand in his way. The cruel judgement of the food critic Anton Igor. And the fact that to the humans he wishes to touch with his creativity, he is a rat.

The film itself is a visual feast for the eyes. It is suttle but spectacular. The Rural household for example, at the beggining of the film, is detailed to the point of wanting to reach out and pick the dandelions in the cottage garden. Paris meanwhile is portrayed as a city of light and heart. Every detail from the majesty of the eiffel tower to the water marks on the inside of the parissiene sewers is treated with the same respect and care. It is a huge leap forward then in terms of the capabilities of computer generated animation.
I feel the biggest achievement in particular though, was the ability to portray a working kitchen realistically. The steam from a cooking pot, rising in swirls and then floating to the side as someone walks past it. The sporadity and liveliness of a flambe dinner whilst it is being prepeared. The bubbles in the oil at the bottom of a pan as the onions sizzle. Not only is it a observational and technological masterpiece but it creates a belief that what you are seeing is real. You can almost smell the soups as they simmer on their hobs.

The narrative is of course excellent. But that is to be expected from a company that uses the slogan 'story! story! story!' It is common knowledge that Pixar will not release a film until they feel it is the best it can be storywise. Despite this however there are moments in the film when you feel yourself wanting to press the fast forward button. It does in effect drag in a number of scenes. A good example of this would include the 'coming of inheritance' scenes concerning Remy the Rats human counterpart, Linguini. This is eventually countered at the end of the film though, by a series of scenes that are, for lack of a word to justify them, superb. Definately worth the wait.

The character animation as well is on occasion lacking as much heart and soul as you come to expect from a classic Disney Pixar Film. There is a long standing tradition in Disney and Pixar that every character, no matter how far back in the overall mix, deserves just as much attention to detail as the main character. It is unfortunate that this film seems to have broken from tradition. Weather due to budgeting or scheduling it is difficult to say but it is noticible on subsequent veiwings.
However despite this the animation on the main characters is better than could have been expected from this studio. Not only do the characters have heart and soul, but they are humurously made. It is also clear that their back stories have been thoroughly debated and polished. Which means that any motive or action is instantly justified in the eyes of the audience.

Overall then the film Ratatouille is a phenomenal piece that will delight and please audiences of all ages and walks of life. It misses short of my 10/10 rating by a small fraction because of the defficiencies expressed earlier. But still, for a pixar movie it is hard to expect that this film could have been bettered in the production time alotted. With this in mind i have but only to say 'thank you' too Pixar studios and all the people who were involved for allowing a young animation student keep his faith in the magic that is the animated film.

9/10

[Guest_shaggy breeks_*]

hello! :D shaggy breeks here . . . again. It is with a great sense of joy that i now approach this excerpt for my animation board :D

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Does the name of 'Studio Ghibli' ring a bell? If not, then i shall endevour to explain why it should.
Just this morning i recieved a new DVD in the post, i had been waiting a long time and was like an eager child as i ripped off the paper. It was, to my great delight a film called 'my neighbour totoro', directed by hayao miyazaki and made at Studio Ghibli in 1988. It sounds like a strange title and leads you to initially wonder what it could all be about. I guess, in my opinion, the best way to describe it would be the 'winnie the pooh' of japanese cinema. It chronicles the story of a young pair of sisters as they move to the country while their mother recoveres from an illness in hospital. While in the country the two young sisters make the aqquaintence of the local forest spirit, the cuddly and friendly totoro. And from then on the story follows their magical adventures from flying across the country, to growing trees, to waiting for the cat bus.

From this extremely kiddy premise however is a story derived of the heart. It has humour, happiness, sadness, morals. The list goes on. It is not that however that impressed itself upon me the most. Despite the fact that the smiles of these creatures are animated in a slightly creepy way the rest of the animation is suttle and sophisticated beyond measure. I shall use one scene as an example.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbutBhkrrZk

This scene has barely any talking whatsoever and yet huge amounts of detail is suggested about the characters. The innocence of little mai, the un ceasing curiosity of the older sister. The slightly lightheaded but wonderful playfulness of totoro, its all there. Not only this however, the comic timing is sublime. It honestly made me laugh at his reaction the rain on the umbrella. The facial expressions suggesting his internal glee at the sounds around him. Finally the mood of the scene is that of a childlike wonder. The scene should be creepy, and yet because of the main protagonist it is fillled instead with an intense sense of amazement.

In conclusion it is a film that is definately worth a watch if you get round to it.
I might also like to add that if you are new to the films of studio ghibli then my neighbour totoro is a good place to start. It is difficult at first to get into the japanese mindset for me, having grown up with very westernised cartoons such as tom and jerry and Disney. This film however nurtures your understanding of their childish world far more effectively than any of their other, sometimes quit deep films.

A brief list of their most famous films include-
my neighbour totoro
spirited away
howls moving castle
princess mononoke
naussicaa
porco rosso
. . . the list goes on.

Well that concludes this installment of my animation world reviews hahaha
back soon with more wonders to behold.
cheers shaggy breeks :D