Life's Better Drawn

2005-12-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

My final post #12... The Nightmare Before Christmas

I am sure that there are alot of students doing there blog on this movie, but for me it is different because I had never seen this movie before and I feel like I am the only one. It is one of those movies that people think you're crazy if you had never seen it. My imagination went into a whole different world. First of all, I always thought that this movie was claymation. Apparently I have been wrong for a good 10 years, so that was helpful to know. Tim Burton was definately into a new thing with the stop-motion animation. It gives the movie such a creepy, real feel.

Another thing that I thought was so genius about this movie was the combination of holidays. That is a new thing. It really makes you think how each holiday has its specific purpose. Holloween is meant to be scarey and strange and reference the living dead where as Christmas is so sticky sweet and happy (or at least that is the intention). I thought it was pretty risky of Burton to have the scenes where Santa Clause is tied up and attempting to be killed. It almost brings out the reality of how this holiday is so blown out of proportion than its original intent.

I also enjoyed how Jack saw Christmas for the first time. Christmas is something that has been so ingrained into my head. Althoug overblown, I do not know what I would do without Christmas. It is one of those holidays that I find very beautiful. But if you had never seen it before, that would be overwhelming. I love his descriptions of how each Christmas item works. It is almost a How to do Christmas Manuel. And Jacks excitement over the holiday is really enjoyable. That childlike innocence is brought out.

Anyway, for my last blog I am really happy that I got to see that movie and now I can join the human race. I think this movie brings out the Christmas spirit in a new way for me.
Happy Holidays!

2005-11-30T17:39:00.000-08:00

Post #11 My love for Toy Story 2

What an animation! Watching Toy Story 2 today was really fun. There are so many reasons why I love this movie, it is hard for me to get them all out. First of all, the toys. The toys that were in the movie are the ones that I grew up with. I love how all those toys come to life. I remember playing with Mr. Potato Head and Etch-A-Sketch. All those toys represent such innocence. Especially how all the other toys felt when Buzz LightYear showed up. They felt that they were going to be replaced by the technology. The sad thing is they were. I'm sure the writers of the script could identify with this concept. Now toys are so technology based that there is no room for imagination, but that is another story.

Another great appeal to this movie was the humor. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! My side actually hurting. I love how the creators choose comedy that can be appealling to both children and adults. Again though, the humor represents such innocence. It makes adults remember how wonderful it was to play. To really come up with stories and act them out.

I do wonder (since I do not have children) how children now react to this movie. What do they think of these toys? Do they think that they are foreign in their design? I wonder if you gave a child an Etch-A-Sketch they would really know what to do with it . Would they expect it to be electronic and make the toy draw itself without the help of the child. Hmmmmm.

Anyway, I kind of went off there. I guess I do have some feelings about childrens toys these days. This movie is a real reminder of how great that era was and I am really happy that I have such fond memories of those toys. I cannot wait to share the toys that I did save with my own children. What a gem!

2005-11-16T16:08:00.000-08:00

Comments for post #9
Lisa Hardgrove

Bonnie Tuff

2005-11-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

Post #10 The Last Unicorn

Lately, I was thinking alot about a movie that I saw as a child which was The Last Unicorn. So I went on a search and found it. I was curious how my adult mind would take a movie that I loved as a child. Especially now that my eye is more trained to watch animation. For any of you youngins that have not heard of this movie here is the scoop...The movie was made in 1982. The story is about a unicorn that finds out she is the last unicorn. She goes on a quest to find the others. Her journey takes her through different places and she meets different characters. Along the way she meets up with young wizard that is trying to protect her and turns her into a human to disguise her. As a woman she falls in love with the son of the king who has banished the rest of the unicorns. Very soap opera. The actors for the voices are actually Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, and Angela Landsbury. Aside from getting through the off key, cheesey duet between Bridges and Farrow this movie is stunningly beautiful in the storytelling and animation.

One thing that is quite interesting about this movie is the that it is Anime. I noticed it at first by the way the unicorn looked when she became human. Her hair, skin and eyes were all very Anime. It must have been one of the first collaborations with Anime and American animation. The story is in English and the actors are English but the animation stands in a different category. The colors are so beautiful and the way each scene is very naturesque. I also love the way the unicorn looks when she is transformed into a woman. The animators did a great job with giving her an immortal look. Especially the star on her forehead. The other characters are ecclectic and very intriguing.

As for the story itself, it is very dark for children's animation. As a child, my only memory of the movie is the unicorns getting chased out of the forest by a fireball. In another scene a witch gets eaten by a bird, that was pretty distubing. But these images add to the intensity of the story. Like every great tale there is a moral about believing in yourself and everyone's own immortality and the choice to do what is right.

The only downfall of the film was Bridges and Farrow singing. It was really that painful. I thought that the DVD was warped, but it wasn't. The other fun cheesiness about the movie was the music was by America. It seemed like a left over drug haze, but quite entertaining hearing grown men sing about the last unicorn.

The movie really is worth watching and seems to be a occult classic amung some web sites I came across. It seems that the Anime of the film was more daring then the American cheese that combined the film. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

2005-11-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

Post #9 Who Is The More Evil Witch?

After watching Snow White a few weeks ago, I was really interested in the comparison between the Evil Queen in Snow White and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty? I
rewatched Sleeping Beauty to get a refresher on the evil witch and I was fascinated by the evilness that these two characters shared. In comparison they look alike. At first glance and without their magic they are reasonably attractive women. They are both tall, slendor, pale, wear headdresses, know alot about the dark arts, have an animal sidekick, and really have it out for the young beautiful lead character. The creators of Sleeping Beauty must have referenced Snow White, but who is more evil?

Now lets look at the reason for each witch's grudge. The Evil Queen in Snow White did not want Snow White to be the most beautiful in the land so she plans to kill her. Instead of doing it herself, she has her servent do it and bring her heart back in a box. Now that is just mean! Then, when that does not work, she desquises herself as an evil witch and gives her a poiseness apple. As for Sleeping Beauty, the witch Maleficent shows up on Aurora's birthday and announces that she is going to make sure that the princess dies on her sixteenth birthday. There is no real reason why. It really seems out of haste because she was not invited to the celebrtation of Aurora's birth. What makes this queen so evil is that the family has to live in anguish for sixteen years never knowing if the curse happens.

Although both witches are evil, I think Maleficent is more evil because she has no real reason why she wants Aurora out of the picture, then on the evening of her sixteenth birthday the witch lures her and creates a spindel for her to get pricked by instead of it happening by chance. Her powers were also very extrordinary
compared to the witch in Snow White. She turns into a Dragon for the prince to slay, not just a little old lady with an apple. She had much control and was just plain evil. As for the Evil Queen/ Witch in Snow White, she was driven by an obsession. She was the wicked step-mother over shadowed by the beauty of her step-daughter. Her assassintion plot was evil but she had motive (although very sick and insecure).

I really enjoyed comparing these two evil women in these fairy tales, but I would have to say that Maleficent was much more calculating and just plain ruthless.
Although in Snow White, I thought it was pretty evil to kick the already dead skelton, that was pretty twisted. But Maleficent gets the EVIL WITCH AWARD!!!!!!
Let me know what you think.

2005-10-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

Post #8 Looney Toons Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last week I saw a great Halloween special! I was flipping through HBO and there was a Looney Toons special for Halloween. What was great about it was it was a medley of many cartoons in one show. They would cut scenes from different story lines and make it into one show. Watching this made me really miss these cartoons. The basis of the story was that Daffy Duck was a detective trying to look for ghosts and unnatural behavior. Bugs and Porky pig are working for him and go off to different regions where they are needed.

The first one was the episode with Sylvester and Tweety, when Tweety turns into a monster and then back into a little bird. Sylvester is flipping out because he thinks the monster is going to kill him. That episode then leads into the one where Sylvester and Porky Pig go to a haunted house for the night. Little mice are trying to kill the pig and Sylvester keeps getting caught with the weapons. The skit is hilarious. Sorry to summurize, but I thought it might help bring back the memories. The story then leads into Bugs and the red monster, Bugs and the Abodimoble (spelling)? Snowman, Daffy Duck doing and Exorcist etc....

Since I have taken this course in Animation, it was really interesting to watch the integration of these cartoons. I remember them seperately, so I could pick them apart, but you could also tell by the animation itself. Some of it flowed better. Other scences were more amateur in the drawings, and others were much newer and the colors were very bright. I wondered if the creators were trying to put these together and make them look a like? Or did they just want the viewer to have fun with new storyline? Either way, it was a real treat to watch this around this time of year and maybe you'll catch it next Halloween season. The only thing they were missing in those stories was Bugs and the Witch.(Hansel and Gretal (sp?) That is one of my favorites!!

2005-10-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

Comments for Post#8

Lisa Hardgrove

Laura Dobbs

2005-10-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

Comments for post #7

Lauren Lyga

Michael Perry

2005-10-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Blog #7 A Fairy Tale For The New Millenium

Recently, I wrote a blog about Fairy Tales and how some people like to think that Prince Charming does exist and is going to rescue them from the Ivory Tower. Well when I wrote that blog I forgot about Shrek and Shrek 2. I saw Shrek 2 again last night and had to write about the irony of this story. I really like how the story makes fun of fairy tales and turns the table on the main characters. Both movies were great, but I thought Shrek 2 was funnier and really got into the whole reverse Fairy Tale.

I think that this story is very proper for our times. These days the roles are changing for everyone. Some women are having high powereed jobs and the men are staying home to take care of the children. The writers of Shrek kept this in mind when writing these movies. They certainly give a lot of power to the Princess. She can even do Matrix moves. How cool is that. She also falls in love with an Ogre and is given the choice of what body form she wants to take. That is alot of independence for a Princess. She evens passes over the prince for Shrek.

I love the moral to the story that love can be found anywhere and goes deeper than physical beauty and you do not have to be royalty to live happily ever after. And meanwhile having alot of fun while telling the story. My favorite character is Puss n' Boots. It was so funny how this little cat, could kickass and then make soldiers feel sorry for him when he would give his big cat eyes. That was great. I also loved how the Fairy Godmother is evil, what change in story lines. The creators of Shrek definately were trying to make a point about Fairy Tales. I think they grew up with all these stories that had the same story line and decided to reverse everthing and bring in Popular Culture. Brilliant! I can't wait til I get to share this New Age Fairy Tale to my children.

2005-10-15T07:52:00.000-07:00

Comments for Blog #6

Charla Downard

Sarah Henry

2005-10-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

Post #6 STEWIE!!!!!

I just saw the new Family Guy movie Stewie Griffin - The Untold Story. I was off my rocker in histerics (sp?). I thought that the TV show was racey, but this was off the hook. I highly recommend it to anyone that is a fan of the show. This will be the only blog that I fully dedicate to the show.

I want to express the pure enjoyment this show gives me. I was a little hesitant at first to get into an animated series, but then I saw my first. I was a little confused by the flashbacks and their relevence, but then it all made sense. What connects me to the show so much is my age. The creator of the show is in his early 30's as well so his references to his childhood are what really crack me up. Like He-man, The Jetsons, Kramer vs. Predator etc... I'll be watching and can't believe he is referencing this certain subject. The URL for my blog is dedicated to the show, "mommy said a swear" when Lois gets really pissed on a talk show when she is confronted about her parenting. Brian and Stewie are watching at home, Brian spits out his martini as Lois is losing her mind. Great stuff!

As for Stewie, I think he is one of the best animated characters in a long time. His delivery is excellent. When I went to look for more on the background of his character (which was difficult), I was amazed at the fan base for this character. I think he makes the show.

One of my favorite parts of the movie, is when Stewie gets drunk. Those scenes were hilarious. His eyes were half open half shut, then he trys to jump into his high chair and misses. Good Times. On one website you can get the soundbites of his one-liners, those are alot of fun.

I really do love this show and would highly recommend the movie. It is fun to have an animation that is geared towards adults, but also lets us relive our childhood. I hope the series stays around a while.

2005-10-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Comments for Post #5

Noah Shankin

Kristy Manas

2005-10-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

Anime, What's the Draw?

I have been very curious about this phenonenom. This type of animation seems to be very popular and have it's own following. In order to try and understand what all the hype is about, I have watched several Anime cartoons. The first one I saw about a year ago was Witch Hunter Robin. My fiance loves this show and I had a hard time with it. He said that I needed to be patient in order to understand fully understand. Honestly I was bored. The show was so slow and it took forever for anything to happen.

My next Anime endevor was more recent (for the class) and that was Steamboy. I really, really tried. With what we have learned so far in class, I really tried to get to the root of this cartoon. What is it about this type of animation that makes it so poplular in all different cultures? I only watched it halfway through before i fell asleep. I was really hoping to be pulled in with the rest of the crowd, but it just did not happen. I am not trying to dismiss this style of animation but rather I would like to know the secret of the draw to it. Tonight in Best Buy I was looking for different animations to watch for class and I came upon a full aisle of Anime. I was blown away.

As an artist myself, I can appreciate the detail that goes into the scenery and the figures. It looks very realistic, almost like a phtograph. Again, I am not discounting Anime, I would love to hear feedback on why it is so popular and maybe get some recommendations for good ones.

2005-09-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

Comments for Blog #1

Travis Moore

Laura Dobbs

2005-09-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

Comments for Blog #4

Lisa Hardgrove

Sarah Henry

2005-09-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Blog Comments for Blog #3

Lisa Hardgrove

Kristy Manas

2005-09-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

Post #4 A Bug's Life or Antz?
I wasn't going to do this argument because I thought it would be over done, but as I looked through other blogs I realized it hadn't been done in this class. When these two movies came out at the same time, I was curious as to how similar they were. Two stories of little insects just trying to get through life. Are these two stories so similar? Or are they completely different? As for the similarities, the computer animation was very close. And the story about little insects getting lost and tring to find there way back home. Both stories also use sense of humor that can be appreciated by both children and adults.
But as I look closer to the stories and the characters, I see that they very diffferent. Antz, although a cartoon, is basically a Woody Allen Film. The little ant is having all the stress, heartache and anxiety that Woody Allen portrays in his movies. The story also had a more serious tone about standing up for one self and starting a revolution and being a slave. These are all very serious topics. But when yuou desguise these themes with cute little insects, you get Antz. Another funny thing about Antz is ants in general are very annoying to humans, but give them big eyes and a personality, you feel sorry for them. The funny thing is a child doesn't realize this, but the adult can appreciate it.
As for A Bug's Life, I think the creators were going for a more humorous angle and not so serious. There was some adult humor, but mostly very entertaining for all ages. I enjoyed all the characters and how the creator made them each have their own personality. Especially the Lady Bug that was guy. That was a hilarious.
Overall, I think both movies were excellent. It was pretty couragous for both movies to come out at the same time, but when you look closer you can see how different these two stories are. Each about survival. It actually makes you think about what that kind of life could be like, especially when both movies pan out at the end and these two worlds take place in about a foot by foot space.

2005-09-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

Post #3 The Fairy Tale Factor
Fairy tales were a big part of my childhood and I think most little girls. I have seen almost every Disney fairy tale. I was capitvated by these tales and thought that prince charming was going to rescue me. And now I'm married and understand that there is no such thing as perfect. I look back and see how these animated characters were somewhat pathetic. I think some woman are waiting for that perfect man that is going to carry them off into the sunset on their white horse. And the then there is the pressure that is put on men by these fairy tales to be perfect. In all the Disney fairy tales there is the woman that is nothing until she is hooked with her prince. And why does it always have to a prince? What about the common man that gets a queen? I don't think they have done that story line.
The most sad of these woman characters is The Little Mermaid (although I am guilty of loving this movie, but) she has to change her whole body structure so that she can be with her prince. I can see how these stories were good during the 50's, but these days I think parents should educate their children on the reality behind these stories. I'm sure some people might think I am crazy, but I have met a lot of women that believe they will be rescued by their prince. And what is sad is that they are dissapointed when the man is not perfect and that they don't live happily ever after.
What would be really cool, is for Disney to have some reverse fairy tale where a man is rescued by a woman. Can you imagine the reaction? I will always treasure these stories as a part of my childhood, but that is where they need to stay is in the imagination. I am not a militant or bitter, I just think that young people (especially young girls) need to now the difference between fantasy and reality because it is amazing what no education can do.

2005-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Post #2 Why Cats?
While sitting in todays class, I was inspired by the cartoons where the main characters were cats. Why cats? Being a cat lover myself, I was very curious how these curious creatures were the main inspiration for the early cartoons. There has been this argument for as long as I can remember of who is better, cats or dogs? So I tried to sit back and think, what was it about Krazy Kat and Felix the Cat that made people so insprired? And how is that trend continued today?
When I was watching these cartoons, I was looking at the characteristics of these cats that made them so human like and confident. Krazy Kat and Felix had a certain "masculine" yet sincere quality to them. They could be mischievious and curious and get away with things most the time. I wonder how this relates to the men that drew them. Were they looking at there own cats and thought, "if only I could be cat, I could have the freedom to do what I want." I know my boyfriend wonders that on a daily basis.
But why not dogs? Since the dog is mans best friend why were they not the first animated sensation? Maybe it is because dogs are more at their owners side instead of running around with crazy ideas of what they could get away with next. Maybe it is more believable that a cat would be the spontaneous one. Or, maybe cats are really a mans best friend. (now no one get mad, it is just an observation)
As for how this trend continues today, (I might have to write a seperate blog for this statement)
I see that the cat is often superior to the dog. Tom & Jerry, Sylvester, the cat in Shrek 2. It seems as if to make things humerous you must go against the norm. In nature dog eats cat, cat eats bird or mouse, but in a lot of the cartoons I remember, the order of nature is reversed and the bird drives the cat crazy and the cat drives the dog crazy. Hmmm... I'll comment more on this at a later date after I have done some research.

2005-09-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

For my first real entry, I would like to discuss the title of my my blog, 'Life's better drawn'. Since the first class, my mind has been racing with all these ideas about different animations that have affected my life and what i had to say about them. When I got home, my fiance and I got into a really good discussion about animation and what makes it stand on its own as its own art form. i was intrigued by the questions, "What is it about animated characters that makes Americans fall in love with them? Why do Americans fall for the refugee rat? Or two dogs falling in love with one another? Why are humans so hard to portray in animation?
I could probably write a novel about these questions, but my focus lies on why Americans relate to animated characters, especially animals. When I look back on so many cartoons and animated movies that I have grown up with, all I can remember is the cute facial expressions that related to my inner child, but were still making a point whether political or moral. I think that Americans feel safer with little animals with big doe eyes to make their point. They are non-threatening. How can one get upset when a zebra is talking about not knowing whether he is white or black? (Madagasgar) The comment has racial conontation, but it is overlayed with the cute zebra that the audience wants to cheer for.
And then there is Family Guy, creator Seth Macfarlane has really pushed the envelope on this point. He has a brilliant baby that is trying to destroy the world, an alcholic dog that speaks, and your basic dysfunctional American family. The show can get away with anything they throw at the audience. Although racey, the audience looks at the baby and says, "AHHHHH, how cute."
I think that the Family Guy creators have used the "cutest characters" to say the most edgy comments and no one can get mad at the baby or the dog. Truly brilliant. I'll be commenting more on Family guy next time............'til then,
Ciao

2005-09-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

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