{"id":1228,"date":"2018-02-17T22:39:52","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T06:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/harrymccracken.com\/blog\/?page_id=1228"},"modified":"2018-02-17T22:39:52","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T06:39:52","slug":"bix-animation-conference-long-messages","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/harrymccracken.com\/blog\/bix-animation-conference-long-messages\/","title":{"rendered":"BIX Animation Conference: long.messages"},"content":{"rendered":"

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #1, from switch, 214 chars, Sun Oct 22 22:52:34 1989
\n————————–
\nThis is the topic for those really long messages you write when your fingers
\nstart running away at the keyboard and you’re on a roll. \ud83d\ude42 As a general rule,
\nanything over forty lines goes into long.messages.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #2, from jimomura, 36394 chars, Mon Oct 30 13:47:32 1989
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Intro to Laser Video
\n>From: rjn@hpfcso.HP.COM (Bob Niland)
\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.anime
\nSubject: Intro to Laser Video
\nMessage-ID: <9670001@hpfcso.HP.COM>
\nDate: 5 Oct 89 23:51:33 GMT
\nOrganization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
\nLines: 708<\/p>\n

re: james@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (James Chang), asks…<\/p>\n

> Could someone post a review of LD players and real prices (not retail) of
\n> them. Please include CAV as well as the other one (CLV?) and clarify the
\n> difference for me. Thanx…<\/p>\n

Well, I don’t have current model\/price info, but here is more than you
\nwanted to know about the technology in general.
\n _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _<\/p>\n

re: …but it can’t even record? Revised: 05 Oct 89<\/p>\n

What is the appeal of laser video disc (LD)?
\nWhy might it interest you, even if you already own a VCR?<\/p>\n

In a nutshell: 1. LD is to VCR as CD is to audio cassette.<\/p>\n

2. If you collect movies, LD is the closest alternative to
\n actual projection prints (which are hard\/impossible to
\n get and cost several hundred dollars per).<\/p>\n

3. If you are buying new release video tapes at $89.95, you
\n can get higher quality and more functionality for less
\n money with discs.<\/p>\n

4. Right now is the Golden Age of NTSC laser video.<\/p>\n

The following rather long article are the impressions of a recent laser disc
\nplayer owner. The purpose of this article is to both expose this technology
\nto those unfamiliar with it, and to provoke comments (and corrections) from
\nthose who have been involved it longer than I have.<\/p>\n

There are several problems with the video industry in general and the laser
\nbiz in particular. One of them is the lack of solid technical information
\nthat end-users need to make informed decisions; hence, this article.<\/p>\n

LD Advantages (compared to VCR):<\/p>\n

* No media wear in careful use.
\n * Archival media shelf life.
\n * Higher resolution image. Higher s\/n.
\n * High quality analog sound, and often full-digital sound.
\n * Letterbox format more frequently encountered.
\n * Lower purchase price (for media).
\n * Used media of acceptable quality. Lending possible.
\n * Random access.
\n * No Macrovision copy protection (and attendent image jitter).
\n * Still-frame subjects available.
\n * More extensive liner notes.
\n * Theatrical trailer sometimes included.
\n * Pre-production material sometimes included.<\/p>\n

LD Disadvantages (compared to VCR):<\/p>\n

* Does not record.
\n * Entry-level LD player prices higher than VCRs.
\n * Few rental outlets.
\n * Fewer titles available.
\n * Media may require flipping after :30 or :60 minutes.<\/p>\n

What is LD?<\/p>\n

LD, you may be surprised to learn, had been around since 1978, or about as
\n long as VCR and twice as long as CD. There are about 200,000 players in
\n use in the U.S., and 2 million in Japan. The U.S. installed base is
\n increasing at over 10,000 units per month.<\/p>\n

Physical Media Types:<\/p>\n

There are three major types of laser video media:
\n 12-inch video discs,
\n 8-inch video discs, and
\n 5-inch “CD-Video” discs (CDV).
\n All LD players can handle 12- and 8-inch. Only some of the newer
\n players can handle CDV.<\/p>\n

The traditional 12- and 8-inch media are of acrylic construction, and
\n are often two-sided (literally two single-sided discs glued together).
\n The center hole is larger than a CD’s, and there is a small label on
\n both sides. The hole and label are about the same size as on a 45 rpm
\n vinyl record. LDs, like CDs are packaged “loose”, and not in a carrier
\n like the old RCA CED discs, or CD-ROMs. The storage jacket is the same
\n kind of cardboard sleeve used for LPs. From more than a few feet, it is
\n difficult to tell if you are looking at the jacket of the video disc
\n or the soundtrack LP.<\/p>\n

The 5-inch media is the newest, and probably the most familiar to you,
\n since it is externally identical to the common audio-only CD. CDV is
\n single-sided, as CD is. The difference, denoted by the “CD-Video” logo
\n and gold-colored data surface, is that a CDV can contain just under six
\n minutes of full video\/audio plus 20 minutes of audio-only, compared to
\n 80 minutes of audio-only on a conventional CD. CD players are beginning
\n to appear that handle CD and CDV, but not 12- and 8-inch. As with CD,
\n CDV is polycarbonate on the data side, and lacquer on the label side.
\n Any LD player that can handle CDV can also handle audio-only CD.<\/p>\n

A new single-sided 8-inch format is announced, the “8-inch LD single”.
\n It is polycarbonate construction (like a CD) and about the same
\n thickness as a CD, requiring a spacer when played in most pre-1989
\n machines.<\/p>\n

Some 8- and 12-inch LDs are referred to as “CLD”s. This means that,
\n like CDV, only some of the chapters (tracks) have both video and audio.
\n The remaining chapters are audio only. CLDs are almost always music
\n video discs.<\/p>\n

Data Formats:<\/p>\n

Encoding: As with VCR and unlike CD, there is no single world-wide
\n format for LD. Only LDs made for the North American and Japanese
\n markets have U.S.-standard NTSC video and analog sound modulation.
\n Discs from Europe and other markets are likely to be in PAL or SECAM
\n format, and will not play on current American machines. As with VCRs,
\n the only significant “grey market” media source is Japan. Encoding is
\n really a non-issue, and discs are often not even labelled “NTSC”.<\/p>\n

Color: An LD can store a Color or Black & White signal. It can also
\n handle any 3D format compatible with broadcast TV, although I remain
\n unimpressed with 3D implementations to date. Ancillary in-video
\n features are also available. Many discs are Closed-Captioned for the
\n hearing-impaired, and this is noted on the jacket. Copy-protection
\n schemes like “Macrovision” are possible on LD, but no one is doing
\n it yet, and it may even be prohibited by the format license.<\/p>\n

Rotation modes: LDs can be mastered for either constant linear velocity
\n (CLV), like a CD, or constant angular velocity (CAV), like an LP. All
\n players can handle either format. Some releases even mix the modes,
\n with the initial sides being CLV and the final short side being CAV.
\n Some films are initially released in both CLV “extended play” and CAV
\n “collectors” editions. What does this mean to you?<\/p>\n

CAV & CLV: Both modes support skipping, which samples widely-separated
\n frames forward or back at high speed (with some jitter on early
\n players). It is very much like the “fast foward” found on inexpensive
\n VCRs. Both CAV and CLV can support “Chapter Marks” and all types of
\n audio.<\/p>\n

CAV: 1800 rpm – Stores only :30 minutes per side, resulting in higher
\n costs and more frequent disc flipping. In return, you get the
\n capability, jitter-free, to freeze individual frames, slow-mo forward
\n and back, 3x (or more) fast-mo forward and back, and seek to individual
\n frames (which are numbered for this purpose). Theoretically, CAV can
\n provide higher image quality toward the outer edge of the disc.<\/p>\n

CLV: 1800-to-600 rpm – Stores :60 minutes per side, resulting in lower
\n costs and less flipping. In return, you give up all the other CAV
\n features, unless you have a high-end 1988 or later vintage player with
\n on-board digital field store, a feature which adds $400 or so to the
\n price of the machine.<\/p>\n

The equipment:<\/p>\n

The modern LD player looks just like an oversize CD player (and indeed,
\n many play CDs as well as LDs). All current models are horizontal
\n tray-loading designs. Earlier models, like the Pioneer VP1000, are top
\n spindle loading, just like early CD players.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, all tray loaders except the Sony MDP-series have felt
\n support pads that touch the LD in the data region during loading and
\n unloading. Further, the trays on many tray-loaders do not expose the
\n entire tray. Some care is required to insert and load a disc without
\n scuffing the plastic covering the data surfaces. Generally, LDs are
\n more robust than vinyl LPs, but I use the same handling precautions.<\/p>\n

Advantages Narrative:<\/p>\n

* No media wear in careful use.<\/p>\n

As with CD, and unlike the early RCA CED videodisc system, LD is a
\n non-contact medium during play. There should be no wear in normal use,
\n even if you freeze a single frame on screen for hours on end. (Some
\n users are concerned with heat buildup in early gas-tube laser players,
\n but all contemporary players use solid-state lasers, so this should not
\n be an issue for an adequately ventilated player.)<\/p>\n

In my opinion, LDs are slightly more susceptable to handling damage than
\n CDs, because, unlike CDs, the video signal and (analog) sound embody no
\n error correction. A deep concentric scratch is both visible and
\n audible. Radial scratches and light scuff marks tend to be invisible.
\n A regional LD\/VCR rental operator reports that he has far less damage
\n problems and far longer retail life with LDs than with tapes.<\/p>\n

Of the 250 or so LDs I have auditioned so far, I have witnessed severe
\n handling damage on only one disc. Someone had loaded it in an older
\n top-loading player with the shipping screw still in place, and spun it
\n up. I had limited success in polishing out the damage with an aircraft
\n canopy restoration kit. I have had complete success in polishing out
\n the effects of minor scuff marks.<\/p>\n

* Archival media shelf life.<\/p>\n

The theoretical shelf life of a *properly manufactured*, and properly
\n stored LD is the same as that of a CD; essentially unknown, and possibly
\n longer than the photographic negatives\/prints from which the disc was
\n made (certainly longer than many 1950’s-vintage color negatives and
\n prints). There are no known deterioration modes for properly made and
\n stored discs.<\/p>\n

Contrast this with an optimistic shelf-life of 20 years for magnetic
\n tapes of all kinds (less if used often). Tapes have several known
\n deterioration modes: print-thru; binder breakdown; base stretch; not to
\n mention physical abrasion wear and signal loss due to external fields
\n (magnetized VCR components).<\/p>\n

Note that I emphasized “properly made disc” above. Of the major disc
\n pressing sources, only 3M seems to understand how to make an immortal
\n zero-defect disc. Technidisc and Pioneer do not have an unblemished
\n reputation in this regard. I have a separate report available on LD
\n quality.<\/p>\n

I have had several discs with “rot” (purchased used). I have also
\n purchased new Pioneer discs with contaminants under the acrylic. I had
\n no trouble replacing or getting an offer of refund or credit for the
\n clearly defective discs. I still have one that is marginal on an old
\n VP-1000, but functions properly on current players. I am keeping it
\n for player testing.<\/p>\n

Three and five year warranties are common on LD media, although
\n Pioneer’s is unstated and currently they are willing to replace anything
\n they ever made and\/or distributed. The initial defect rate for LDs is
\n lower than for pre-recorded VCR tapes. The rate seems to be slightly
\n higher for LDs (about 2%) than for CDs (which are about 1%). It is
\n difficult to tell because there is significant variance in how various
\n players handle marginal and defective discs.<\/p>\n

* Higher resolution image. Higher s\/n.<\/p>\n

The data structure on an LD (unlike ordinary VHS\/Beta), is defined to
\n hold all the information present in an NTSC signal. Depending or source
\n material and the transfer to disc, LD is above live TV broadcast
\n quality: I understand that this is about 340 visible scan lines and
\n up to 425 horizontal pixels, compared to 340×334 for broadcast.<\/p>\n

Compare this further to 340×250 for typical VHS (Real-time recorded.
\n Pre-recorded is probably less). Only recently have Super-VHS and
\n ED-Beta approached LD capability. Compared to LD, both still fall short
\n in chroma resolution. Of course, pre-recorded material is not yet
\n widely available in these new VCR formats, and may not be this decade.
\n Even using S-VHS\/ED to tape off-air still only reaches the 340×334
\n inherent in the broadcast signal.<\/p>\n

Although the video signal-to-noise ratio (s\/n) appears to be about the
\n same for LD and VCR, it is probably not the same for pre-recorded
\n material. The LD process (stamping) does not degrade the signal from
\n master to copy. The tape process (magnetic contact printing) does. The
\n tape copy loses information compared to the master, as well as over
\n time.<\/p>\n

* High quality analog sound, and often full-digital sound.<\/p>\n

There are two types of sound possible on LDs:<\/p>\n

– FM Analog sound, mono or stereo, with or without “CX” noise reduction.<\/p>\n

– Digital sound, mono or stereo (in addition to analog sound).<\/p>\n

All NTSC LDs have FM analog soundtracks (mono or stereo), and some have
\n full digital (“CD-Video” style) soundtracks as well. All LD players can
\n handle stereo analog sound. LD had stereo long before VCRs or broadcast
\n TV did. Movies have had stereo soundtracks for a surprisingly long
\n time, too. The 1954 “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” is stereo,
\n for example.<\/p>\n

LD analog sound is live-broadcast quality, and at 75 dB s\/n, is on a par
\n with VHS Hi-Fi, but with fewer dropouts and no helical scan artifacts.
\n LDs were considered the “high fidelity” video media long before they had
\n digital sound.<\/p>\n

LD stereo is dual-carrier FM, not MTS (multiplexed) stereo. All players
\n have at least one set of 1\/L(eft) and 2\/R(ight) RCA audio output jacks
\n with which to feed an external amplifier and speakers.<\/p>\n

If your TV does not have separate L-R audio inputs, and you are not
\n feeding the LD audio into an external audio system, you may have a small
\n problem. The “video” output signal contains no audio at all, and the
\n “RF” or “channel 3\/4” output contains only the mono 1L, mono 2R or a
\n mixture of both tracks.<\/p>\n

LD stereo is true two-channel discrete sound with virtually no
\n crosstalk. Consequently, it is possible to find LDs of monophonic
\n movies where the movie track is in one channel, and a commentary or
\n alternate language is on the other. Voyager Press (Criterion
\n Collection) routinely includes informative and entertaining material
\n on the second channel. All players have controls for selecting
\n left\/right\/both audio.<\/p>\n

CX noise reduction is the rough LD equivalent of Dolby on VCR. CX is
\n only used on the LD analog channels. About half of the LDs in print are
\n CX encoded. Outboard decoders are [still] available for early players
\n that don’t have on-board CX circuits. There has been a lot of debate
\n about whether to CX or not to CX. Criterion Collection, for example,
\n only uses CX when the original audio source material has wide dynamic
\n range (i.e. frequently not on early optical soundtracks mastered on
\n film). With the advent of digital sound, I think the issue is moot.<\/p>\n

Digital sound: NTSC LDs may also have CD-style digital audio (with full
\n error correction). These channels are also discrete, and are in
\n addition to the analog channels. Only the most recent three generations
\n of LD players have digital sound capability. All new players have it,
\n although it is rumored that Pioneer’s new entry-level CLD-870 player
\n will be analog-only. PAL LDs can have only analog or digital, not both.<\/p>\n

Virtually all existing LD media assume that you only have analog sound,
\n with the digital content merely duplicating the analog. This may slowly
\n change. For example, the Criterion Collection edition of “The Graduate”
\n has a full stereo soundtrack only on the digital channels. The analog
\n channels are the mixed-down mono soundtrack on one and a commentary on
\n the other. If you have only an analog player (as I did until recently),
\n you can only hear the mono soundtrack. (I was pleased that they did it
\n that way.)<\/p>\n

Stereo soundtracks, whether analog or digital, may be encoded for
\n “surround” effects, if you have an appropriate external processor, four
\n (or more)-channel amplifier and matching number of speakers. I have a
\n separate summary available on surround sound.<\/p>\n

Surround-processed discs seem to sound like plain stereo on a stereo-
\n only system, although the soundstage may seem wider than for plain-
\n stereo discs, since anti-phase is used to place sound in the “rear
\n channel”.<\/p>\n

The most common format is “Dolby Surround”. Discs bearing the double-D
\n [DOLBY SURROUND] logo are so-encoded. Discs bearing the double-D [DOLBY
\n STEREO] may be. Films made from 1965 on, and simply marked “Stereo” may
\n or may not have surround processing.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the video disc industry has a serious problem with
\n adequate labelling. The “Digital SOUND” or “CD-Video” logo sometimes
\n appears *only* on the disc label *inside the jacket*, where you cannot
\n see it before purchase. Warner’s has used the phrase “Digitally
\n Processed”, which may or may not mean “Digital SOUND”. Surround
\n processing is almost *never* noted on the external or internal
\n packaging, may appear only in the on-screen credits, and even that may
\n not reflect what was actually mastered onto the disc!<\/p>\n

* Letterbox format more frequently encountered.<\/p>\n

(This issue is not unique to LD. If you own a VCR, understand this.)<\/p>\n

The television screen’s width-to-height ratio is 1.33 to 1 (or 4:3).
\n This is the so-called “Academy Ratio” and is how films were made until
\n about 1950, when TV duplicated that aspect ratio, became widespread, and
\n became a threat to motion picture theatres, or so Hollywood thought.<\/p>\n

+—————+ .=========.
\n | Projected | : TV :
\n | Widescreen | : Frame :
\n | Movie Image | : :
\n +—————+ `=========’
\n 1.50:1 to 2.65:1 1.33:1<\/p>\n

Largely to compete with TV, Hollywood started making films in
\n “widescreen” processes like Cinemascope, Techniscope, Vista-Vision,
\n Todd-AO, Technirama, Cinerama, Panavision, etc. They are all slightly
\n different, but share one attribute: their projected-image aspect ratios
\n exceed 1.33:1. Some are are as high as 2.65:1.<\/p>\n

Many directors, particularly during the 50s and 60s, filled the entire
\n frame with important action or other visual material. (Woody Allen is
\n still doing this, at aspect ratios over 2:1.)<\/p>\n

.===============================.
\n : Black :
\n +–.==================.——-+ +——————————-+
\n | : : | | |
\n | : Panned : | | |
\n |L : and : | | |
\n |O : Scanned : LOST | | Letterboxed TV Image |
\n |S : (Cropped) : | | |
\n |T : TV Image : | | |
\n | : : | | |
\n +–`==================’——-+ +——————————-+
\n : Black :
\n <- TV frame moves -> `===============================’
\n <- back & forth -><\/p>\n

When transferring such movie at 1.33:1, there are two choices:<\/p>\n

1. Crop-off or anamorphically “squeeze” some of the original frame.<\/p>\n

Cropping, often called “panning and scanning”, and preserves detail
\n at the expense of information. It is often done very sloppily. In
\n early widescreen movies, two-character dialog ends up as “talking
\n noses” at the edges of the TV screen. The scanning lurches back and
\n forth across the image, trying to stay with the “important” visual
\n content. Where the image cannot be cropped, it is run through an
\n ellispodial lens, which squashes the image left-to-right, but leaves
\n the height unchanged. Title sequences are often so “squeezed”,
\n resulting in tall, thin distorted action under the titles. Circles
\n become ellipses.<\/p>\n

2. Put the entire image on the TV screen, leaving blank\/black space at
\n the top and\/or bottom of the screen.<\/p>\n

This is called “letterboxing” (or “videoscoping” by Criterion), and
\n preserves *information* at the expense of detail. Compared to
\n standard VHS, LDs have detail to spare, and I strongly prefer this
\n presentation. You may have seen this in some recent music videos on
\n TV, but you probably have not seen it in a broadcast of a movie on
\n U.S. network TV.<\/p>\n

The most frequently encountered presentation on broadcast TV and VCR
\n is cropped. The use of letterboxing on LD releases is growing rapidly.
\n Often you have a choice of aspect ratios.<\/p>\n

One LD label (Criterion Collection) routinely letterboxes widescreen
\n source material. Recent Speilberg productions (e.g. “Color Purple”,
\n “Innerspace” and “Empire of the Sun”) and MGM re-issues (e.g. “Ben-Hur”
\n and “Doctor Zhivago”) are also letterboxed. Japanese imports more often
\n use letterboxing than U.S. releases. This appears to be the result of
\n both Japanese film purism and the desire to put the Kanji subtitles
\n outside the picture (in the lower blank band). Unfortunately, for a
\n variety of reasons, Japanese discs are priced at about twice what we pay
\n for domestic ones. (I have a separate report available on imports.)<\/p>\n

Wide-screen films made in the 70s and 80s are often shot with a
\n “safe-TV” focusing screen in the camera, or use milder aspect ratios,
\n like 1.66:1. This is supposed to ensure that the eventual TV use of the
\n film will not lose important information, but I still find such works to
\n be less than satisfactory when cropped.<\/p>\n

If you haven’t had a chance to compare a letterboxed and a cropped
\n version of the same film, you may literally not know what you are
\n missing, except for a vague feeling of claustrophobia as you watch one
\n these “chopped and squashed” films. On the other hand, a letterboxed
\n presentation like “BladeRunner” at 2.25:1 or “Ben-Hur” at 2.65:1 (the
\n current recordholder) really requires at least a 25-inch TV with at
\n least 350 lines of horizontal resolution.<\/p>\n

However, don’t automatically assume that the film you saw at 1.85:1 six
\n months ago has been cropped for home video. It is also the case that
\n some films are being shot at 1:33:1 and are being *vertically masked*
\n (cropped) for theatrical presentation! Video is now a bigger market
\n than theatres for some material. Some VistaVision films were also
\n composed this way.<\/p>\n

* Lower purchase price (for media).<\/p>\n

Discs and tapes could sell for approximately the same price. They
\n don’t. It might amuse you to know why…<\/p>\n

Video mechandising trivia: VHS tapes are the dominant home video
\n medium. Most people rent tapes rather than buy them. The film studios
\n don’t get a percentage of the rental revenue. All they get is income
\n from the initial sale of each pre-recorded tape. And the video stores
\n are in hot competition with each other to get new titles fast. It is
\n somewhat a “captive market”. The first tape sales are therefore
\n targetted at, and priced for, video rental stores, not end users.<\/p>\n

Consequently, new tape releases are priced very high ($80 is common, I
\n hear). It is not until the the video store demand is satisfied that the
\n studios drop the prices to levels attractive to individual movie
\n collectors ($30-40). When that market is satisfied, prices may drop
\n further for the “Kmart” mass-market customers, $10-20 per tape.<\/p>\n

In contrast, LD is a “sell through” market. The major purchasers of new
\n LD releases are individual movie collectors. LD rentals are not a big
\n market, and there is no low-end mass-market at all. LDs, even major
\n titles like “Top Gun”, are typically introduced at $30-40 (for CLV), and
\n stay there. Incidently, 10% discounts are common for LD.<\/p>\n

An exception to the generally low prices in the LD market is Criterion
\n Collection. Their releases run from $40-70 (CLV) and $60-125 (CAV).
\n They are worth it because they seek out the finest possible source
\n material (archival negatives, etc.) and deliver the most complete
\n product.<\/p>\n

Related tidbit – I hear that the LD release of widely anticipated titles
\n is often delayed from the tape release by a month or two. “Bambi” fits
\n this model. The reason is that video retailers often don’t order (or
\n get) enough copies of new titles to satisfy their demand. They are
\n strongly tempted to make local (illegal) copies.<\/p>\n

If they have only a tape to use as a master (and they defeat the copy
\n protection) they still end up with an inferior duplicate, that some
\n picky customer may complain about (or report to the FBI). If they have
\n a laser disc available, they can make illegal copies that are higher
\n quality than the legit prerecorded tapes. The intro delay is allegedly
\n to discourage this practice.<\/p>\n

* Used media of acceptable quality.<\/p>\n

I gather that used video tapes have an aura similar to that of used
\n cars. In the worst-case scenario, a flaky tape can wreck the heads in
\n your VCR. More typically, the retailer may be selling it because it is
\n damaged or worn out. The famous scene that you bought it for
\n has been played\/paused so many times that the oxide, picture and sound
\n aren’t even there any more. Also, due to the wear on tapes when played,
\n and the potential for severe tape damage, serious collectors are
\n reluctant to loan out their tapes.<\/p>\n

Used LDs, on the other hand, are like used CDs. Laser rot aside, if
\n they physically look ok, they probably will play like new. My
\n collection has a sizeable percentage of used discs. I can’t tell them
\n from the new ones. With agreement on careful handling, many LD
\n collectors are willing to swap discs for auditioning.<\/p>\n

And the prices of used discs are appealing. My average used disc has
\n been $14.00, with a low of $8.00 and a max of $25.00. One local store
\n also used to sell his rental inventory, knocking off $1.00 per recorded
\n rental. I obtained some hard-to-get titles that way, and cheaply at
\n that. I refuse to buy cropped movies at normal retail prices, but I
\n will take a chance on them at used prices.<\/p>\n

If you seek used or “cutout” merchandise, make sure you and the dealer
\n understand each other on the matter of defects, which are more likely on
\n older pressings. Most dealers will accept the return of any disc they
\n sell, regardless of what bin it came from. But in the case of older
\n titles, the dealer may not be able to replace it with the same title.
\n Find out what recourse is available to you in that case.<\/p>\n

* Random access.<\/p>\n

No long rewinds, obviously. All players can randomly seek to start-
\n of-disc in seconds, and to “chapter marks” (the equivalent of “tracks”
\n on a CD), if the disc has chapter marks on it (not all do). Not all
\n discs are chapter marked. The lack of them can be a considerable
\n annoyance on music videos. The lack of them is not generally considered
\n a “defect”, so if none are listed on the disc jacket, and you care, make
\n sure you investigate before leaving the store.<\/p>\n

Contemporary CLV players can seek-to-time with at least one minute
\n resolution. If the disc is so coded, contemporary players can seek to
\n one second resolution. Unfortunately, the timecode resolution of CLV
\n discs is never noted on the jacket, but 1-second is now the most
\n common.<\/p>\n

All players and discs can pause (indefinitely) and skip fore and aft
\n (described earlier).<\/p>\n

CAV discs can seek to individual frame numbers (if the player or remote
\n has a keyboard), and play forward and reverse at unusual speeds, also
\n described earlier. Single-frame-step fore and aft is also available.
\n The newer players have a “jog wheel” that allows variable speed slow-mo
\n fore and aft.<\/p>\n

* Still-frame subjects available.<\/p>\n

The seek-to-frame plus the still-frame capability allows LDs to contain
\n material unthinkable on videotape. A CAV LD can store 54,000 individual
\n still photos per side. Discs with all the photos from the Voyager
\n spacecraft mission exist, as well as photos of all the art in Louvre,
\n 500,000 aviation stills from the Smithsonian Air & Space, etc.<\/p>\n

It is also possible to mix motion and stills. Criterion Collection LDs
\n often follow the feature presentation with background material such as:
\n production stills; related text material; outtakes; interviews; set
\n design art, etc. The player automatically pauses on still frames, and
\n you are prompted to press PLAY to resume full motion.<\/p>\n

* More extensive liner notes.<\/p>\n

The larger container required for a 12-inch disc invites the inclusion
\n of supporting text and illustration. And at least in the case of
\n Criterion Collection editions, you get it. Full credits, dates and
\n details of sourcing (negatives used, whose “cut”, etc.).<\/p>\n

Sometimes the notes are included as still-frame text on the disc itself.
\n For example, the CC “High Noon” includes, on disc, the complete short
\n story from which the screenplay was ostensibly drawn. The Criterion CAV
\n edition of “Ghostbusters” includes the complete shooting screenplay.<\/p>\n

* Theatrical trailer sometimes included.<\/p>\n

When there is space on the final side after the feature, and an original
\n theatrical trailer (“coming attractions ad”) can be located, it is often
\n included on the disc. If you frequently host “video parties”, this may
\n be a useful tool for teasing your audience. <\/p>\n

Trailers, by the way, often contain scenes not in the actual film. And,
\n because they are created long before the film is “in the can”, the music
\n in the trailer may also be completely different from that in the film.<\/p>\n

Disadvantages:<\/p>\n

* Does not record.<\/p>\n

Neither do CDs and LPs; even if an economical recording LD machine is
\n ever introduced, it is too late for LDs to dominate the video market the
\n way that VCRs have. As with audio, if you want quality playback, get a
\n CD or LP player. If you want to record, get a cassette deck. (Yes, DAT
\n might change the whole audio scene. I doubt it.)<\/p>\n

65% of American homes have a VCR. The typical LD owner is likely to
\n have both a VCR and an LD. The recording issue is really a non-issue
\n as the LD product is currently positioned.<\/p>\n

* Entry-level LD player prices higher than VCRs.<\/p>\n

New LD players run from $400 to $2000. You can get a VCR for under
\n $200. If you are concerned about features, the prices of comparable LDs
\n and VCRs are about the same.<\/p>\n

You can get a used player from $100 up. I sold my 1981-vintage Pioneer
\n VP1000 and outboard CX decoder purchased for $100.00. It orginally cost
\n me $125.00 (used). The only significant missing feature on pre-1987
\n players is digital sound. The video performance appears to equal
\n Pioneer’s recent low-end machine (LD-838D). Conventional wisdom in the
\n LD world says to avoid players prior to the VP-1000.<\/p>\n

Having once bought a used VCR, I would not do that again (worn out
\n head). An LD player seems less prone to wear, and even if it doesn’t
\n work properly, at least it won’t eat your media.<\/p>\n

* Fewer rental outlets.<\/p>\n

LDs are rented, at a typical price of $2.00 per day. Due to the
\n longevity of the medium, you can often rent titles that are long out of
\n print.<\/p>\n

However, unless you live in a major market (L.A., NYC, S.F.Bay, greater
\n Boston, etc.), you may have trouble finding an outlet. Here in Fort
\n Collins, CO, the nearest LD rental outlet is in Boulder or Denver, an
\n hour’s drive. Consequently, I buy discs, swap them with friends, but do
\n not rent. There are under 2000 LD stores in the U.S. and about a dozen
\n mail-order sources.<\/p>\n

If you are renting for auditioning, rather than for routine viewing,
\n this is not a big deal. Rent tapes. Buy discs.<\/p>\n

* Fewer titles available.<\/p>\n

There are some 3,500 titles in print in U.S. release, and about 6,000
\n in Japan, with some overlap. New titles are appearing in the U.S. at
\n a rate of dozens per month. I would guess that there are over 50,000
\n total titles available on tape.<\/p>\n

I’m not particularly concerned. Of the 200 or so titles that I would
\n like to eventually own, it appears that two are available only as
\n grey-market Japanese imports and about a dozen have yet to appear on
\n disc at all. If I get desperate, I can always get the tape, I suppose.
\n At the moment, I’m finding stuff faster than I can watch it (I only have
\n 3-4 hours per week available for TV).<\/p>\n

Regarding those Japanese titles… Unlike Japanese audio CDs, Japanese
\n LDs may have modified contents. Japanese moviegoers are more purist
\n than Americans, and insist on original-language presentation, rather
\n than dubbing. So unless the disc is letterboxed (and more Japanese
\n discs are than American), the Kanji subtitles may appear on-screen and
\n in-picture. An accurate Japanese LD catalog is required to know for
\n sure.<\/p>\n

Also, Japanese films censor some types of nudity acceptable in U.S. [R]
\n rated films. “THX-1138”, George Lucas’ first film, available on disc
\n only in Japan at the moment, has had this flesh-colored airbushing done
\n to it. I suspect there are no genuine [X] films at all in Japan.<\/p>\n

* Media requires flipping after :30 or :60 minutes.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the :60 minute breaks on CLV discs provides a useful
\n intermission for the audience. CAV discs are more annoying. If you are
\n a professional couch potato, or prefer to watch films in a single
\n sitting, theatre-style, this is a consideration. Side breaks are also
\n sometimes poorly chosen (or not chosen at all, resulting in an abrupt
\n interruption of a scene).<\/p>\n

In any case, 1988 saw the introduction of the first autochanger (Pioneer
\n LD-W1, plays 4 sides). 1989 saw the introduction of the first single-
\n platter players with 2-sided capability (Pioneer 2070 and 3070, with
\n the high-end CLD-91 to come in September).<\/p>\n

The Golden Age…<\/p>\n

NTSC LD is growing faster now than at any time in the last ten years.
\n There are more titles than ever, with new ones appearing faster than the
\n average collector can afford to buy them. The media, film-to-video
\n transfer quality, and disc features are better than at any time in the
\n past. Disc prices are stable or declining, and catalog titles are
\n actually available (not always the case historically).<\/p>\n

Current LD technology is fully compatible with the IDTV (Improved
\n Definition TV) monitors coming on line in 1989.<\/p>\n

Although HDTV (High Definition TV) is getting a lot of press lately, U.S.
\n broadcast is at least five years away, and no standards or technology are
\n even rumored yet for HDTV VCR or laser. In any case, future HDTV laser
\n players will handle current NTSC discs.<\/p>\n

Consider laser, even if you already own a VCR, and particularly if you don’t
\nyet own a CD player. I see no point in waiting.<\/p>\n

(c) Copyright 1988, 1989 Robert Niland<\/p>\n

Regards, Hewlett-Packard
\nBob Niland 3404 East Harmony Road
\nARPA: rjn%hpfcrjn@hplabs.HP.COM Fort Collins
\nUUCP: [hplabs|hpu*!hpfcse]!hpfcla!rjn CO 80525-9599<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #3, from jimomura, 16862 chars, Mon Oct 30 13:52:04 1989
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Re: Intro to Imported Laser Video
\n>From: rjn@hpfcso.HP.COM (Bob Niland)
\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.anime
\nSubject: Re: Intro to Imported Laser Video
\nMessage-ID: <9670006@hpfcso.HP.COM>
\nDate: 7 Oct 89 00:35:54 GMT
\nReferences: <9670002@hpfcso.HP.COM>
\nOrganization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
\nLines: 330<\/p>\n

re: An introduction to Japanese import LDs Part: 1 of 3
\n Edition: 06 Oct 89<\/p>\n

Japan uses the American television standard, and is therefore is the only
\nmajor laser disc market outside the U.S. that is potentially a source for
\nNorth American consumers. <\/p>\n

The purpose of this series of articles is to share what I have learned so
\nfar about this source, and encourage others to contribute their experiences.<\/p>\n

.———————————————————————–.
\n | Market Attribute | North America | Japan |
\n |=============================+====================+====================|
\n | Television & LD standard | NTSC | NTSC |
\n |—————————–+——————–+——————–|
\n | Media list price range | $25-50 | $50-100 |
\n |—————————–+——————–+——————–|
\n | Installed base of players | 200,000 | 2,000,000 |
\n |—————————–+——————–+——————–|
\n | Available titles | 3,500 | 6,500 |
\n |—————————–+——————–+——————–|
\n | “Foreign” dialog processing | Dubbed English | Japanese subtitles |
\n |—————————–+——————–+——————–|
\n | Typ. widescreen processing | Pan and scan | Letterboxing |
\n |—————————–+——————–+——————–|
\n | Censorship | None to speak of | Yes: See narrative |
\n |—————————–+——————–+——————–|
\n | Typ. product documentation | Skimpy | Extensive, but… |
\n |—————————–+——————–+——————–|
\n | Typical LD rotational mode | CLV | CLV |
\n `———————————————————————–‘<\/p>\n

Legality:
\n========
\n Many Japanese LDs bear U.S. copyrights and a legend stating “For Sale only
\n in Japan”. As with CDs (LPs and books, for that matter), if there is a
\n U.S. copyright holder for the work, they can theoretically prohibit or
\n otherwise regulate commercial import of the work. Consequently, few
\n dealers will STOCK imports copyrighted in the U.S. (without permission of
\n the U.S. holder). Several CD retailers have been busted for stocking
\n “parallel imports” or are under consent decree to cease and desist. Works
\n copyrighted only in Japan are evidently not a problem. (Grey market
\n hardware is also generally not a problem from a legal standpoint.)<\/p>\n

However, under a provision of U.S. copyright law, there is apparently an
\n exclusion allowing individuals to import works for their own use. (I have
\n not researched this, and the Berne Convention may or may not alter it in
\n the future.) Consequently, it is legal to personally bring back discs
\n from Japan. Since few of us go there or have contacts, U.S. mail order
\n firms are interpreting this exclusion to mean that they can act as your
\n agent, and individually import works for you on a per-order basis.<\/p>\n

So, yes, you can get any LD in print, but it will take a couple of months,
\n or more. Also, the price you will pay depends on the value of the Yen at
\n the time your dealer gets the order acknowledged from Japan. If one
\n currency moves strongly against the other in the meantime, you could get a
\n pleasant or nasty surprise.<\/p>\n

Pricing:
\n=======
\n If you have had a yen for an import, but have hesitated, it is probably
\n because of price. A Japanese title will cost you roughly twice the
\n identical domestic release. This is not due to the expense of importing
\n it; for example, if you examine a stateside import catalog, you will
\n notice that they state local Japanese prices in Yen. A typical price is
\n 7800 Yen, or about $78.00 before shipping charges. None of the importers
\n I am aware of offer any discounts on imports.<\/p>\n

The high prices are due in part to the weakness of the dollar against the
\n Yen, but there also seem to be major structural differences between the
\n U.S. and Japanese LD markets. It appears that the Japanese producers are
\n deliberately keeping prices high, much as U.S. video tape producers did in
\n the early days of VCRs (and often still do during the first year or so of
\n new tape releases).<\/p>\n

The high price tape strategy failed in the U.S. for several reasons. The
\n courts threw out the “fair trade” laws many years ago, eliminating direct
\n control of retail prices by producers. We also have the “doctrine of
\n first sale”, which implicitly allows people to rent whatever they buy (and
\n the studios get no rental royalties). Instead of milking an end-user “sell
\n thru” market, the studios unwittingly created a massive tape rental
\n market. U.S. producers are now experimenting with lower first-release
\n prices, in an attempt to bypass the rental market and sell huge quantities
\n directly to end users (“E.T.” and several recent Disney titles are
\n examples).<\/p>\n

I have a feeling that legal and market conditions are vastly different in
\n Japan. Product distribution is an elaborate multi-layer scheme, with
\n prices virtually dictated by the original producer at all levels. There
\n are probably also differences in legal conditions surrounding rentals.
\n Anyone with insight on this is welcome to comment.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, the Yen price of a Japanese title is often encoded into
\n the initial digits of the catalog number. For example, on those I have…<\/p>\n

Title Label Catalog No. Yen Invoice (incl. ship.)
\n Dragonslayer Bandai LA098L14046 9800 $90.50
\n Local Hero Tohokushinsha K88L-5061 8800 $85.89
\n Tune-Up A.V. Sony 50LS5023 5000 $56.50<\/p>\n

The bottom line: a Japanese title is expensive, and this seems unlikely
\n to change anytime soon. The question becomes: is it worth it?<\/p>\n

Features, Advantages, Benefits:
\n==============================
\n What can a Japanese disc provide that you can’t get here?<\/p>\n

* Titles unavailable on domestic discs – easily over half the Japanese
\n catalog are titles never released on disc in the U.S.; for example,
\n “Local Hero” above, and a huge number international animation works
\n and domestic Japanese productions.<\/p>\n

* Letterboxing – the Japanese video consumer apparently prefers original
\n aspect ratios, and prefers original language dialog. Letterboxing not
\n only preserves the image, it also allows the Japanese subtitles to
\n appear outside the image. The space needed for the subtitles is also
\n apt to cause the image to be closer to the original aspect ratio, and
\n not just partially letterboxed.<\/p>\n

* Original running times – due to the desire of U.S. theatre owners to run
\n more than one screening per evening, and the industry’s low estimate of
\n the American attention span, U.S. releases are often shorter than the
\n original work. This is particularly true for imported films. “The Last
\n Emperor” ran 2 hours 9 minutes in U.S. theatres (and on the Nelson
\n discs). Laser Disc Newsletter (LDN) reports that the Japanese LD set
\n runs 3 hours 39 minutes.<\/p>\n

* Original language – if you are interested in non-English works, and hate
\n dubbing, a Japanese disc is more likely to provide the original dialog
\n (albeit with Japanese subtitles). Incidentally, even on U.S.-sourced
\n works, if the original film had English subtitles (e.g. the bar scene
\n in “Star Wars”), that English may be absent (or Japanese) on the
\n Japanese disc.<\/p>\n

* On the other hand, if you don’t mind dubbing, some Japanese discs are
\n “multi-audio”, and have between two and four different soundtracks on
\n them. You may be able to obtain a domestically unreleased title with
\n English on one of the channels. Obviously a four-channel disc requires
\n a player with digital audio capability.<\/p>\n

* Side break frames – Japanese discs are more likely to fade to black at
\n side end, and resume the feature immediately on the subsequent side.
\n U.S. releases (except for Criterion) often display an End-of-Side title
\n and begin subsequent sides with the idiotic zooming LaserVision logo.
\n Frameless side switching is much less distracting, especially if you
\n have a multi-side player or autochanger.<\/p>\n

* Chapter marks – Japanese discs are more likely to have them.<\/p>\n

* Liner notes – The three imports I have include inserts with extensive
\n text, and in the case of “Dragonslayer”, still photos. The disc jacket
\n artwork appears to have been created specifically for disc, rather than
\n being a rehash of the VHS package. The only comparable treatment in the
\n U.S. is on the Criterion Collection label. Unfortunately, the
\n supplemental material included with the imports is all in Japanese \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n

* Alternate disc rotation modes – Although “Star Wars” is now available
\n in a letterboxed domestic edition (and a nice one at that), it is CLV.
\n If you want CAV, you’ll have to import at the moment.<\/p>\n

Caveats:
\n=======
\n * On-image subtitles – Works filmed in 1.33:1 Academy ratio, or cropped
\n (panned-and-scanned) down to that ratio, will almost certainly have the
\n Japanese subtitles in the picture, usually horizontally on the bottom or
\n vertically on one side.<\/p>\n

Even some letterboxed discs have subtitles in-picture. This happens
\n when the “master” is a print with the titles already present, or the
\n producer can’t justify re-mastering the theatrical release for video.<\/p>\n

* Censorship – Genital nudity (male or female) is apparently verboten in
\n Japan. Although there appear to be a large number of “adult” titles,
\n the exposure is evidently limited to breasts. I suspect this puritanism
\n is a legacy of General MacArthur’s administration of Japan during the
\n post-war occupation (but then, so is the pleasant fact that they use
\n NTSC instead of PAL, SECAM or something invented locally.)<\/p>\n

Even in such “socially redeeming” works as George Lucas’ “THX 1138” the
\n offending details have been airbrushed out. As far as sex is concerned,
\n if the film you seek bears anything beyond a [PG-13] rating, make sure
\n you can tolerate tampering before ordering.<\/p>\n

Violence does not seem to be censored; however, LDN reports that scenes
\n of WW-II Japanese attrocities in China were trimmed in the Japanese
\n release of “The Last Emperor”.<\/p>\n

* Language – If the work was filmed in English, odds are that the original
\n soundtrack will be present, but don’t assume it. If the work was not
\n English, be very careful. The Sight&Sound import catalog has a column
\n for this.<\/p>\n

* Source quality – particularly for U.S. films. The Japanese producers
\n may have had to make their video master from an ordinary projection
\n print, and may not had access to an inter(neg\/pos) or the original
\n negatives. Consequently, don’t assume that the Japanese version of a
\n random 1963 film will improve on the faded Eastmancolor of the domestic
\n disc.<\/p>\n

* Pressings – Of the three discs I listed above, only the [obvious] Sony
\n disc can be identified as to who pressed it [CBS\/Sony]. Even one of my
\n Japanese co-workers can find no clue about the manufacturer on on the
\n other two. If you are avoiding discs pressed by a particular vendor,
\n you may have trouble getting information.<\/p>\n

So How Can You Tell?
\n===================
\n Having now cautioned you about disc contents, you are doubtless wondering
\n how to collect the necessary “decision support data”. The answer is:<\/p>\n

* Subscribe to LDN. Douglass Pratt reviews significant imports. His
\n compilation book “The Laser Video Disc Companion”, includes a number of
\n those reviews.<\/p>\n

* Order an actual Japanese catalog from “Juke Box Japan” (about $5.00).
\n Don’t expect me to translate it for you \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

* Patronize mail-order dealers who provide the information in English.
\n Swell, sez you. Where do THEY get it?<\/p>\n

Well, it turns out that the Japanese are fanatics for detail. Based on
\n the discs I have, the vendors seem to conform to a standard set of data
\n blocks on the disc jacket. They list: price, catalog number, rotational
\n encoding (CAV\/CLV), running time, video encoding (color\/NTSC), sound
\n (mono\/stereo\/surround\/CX\/digital), aspect ratio and presumably language.<\/p>\n

This level of detail is reflected in actual Japanese LD catalogs I have
\n seen. At least one domestic importer (Sight&Sound) carefully
\n translates and transcribes all this and more into their own import catalog.<\/p>\n

Now Before You Pick up the Phone…
\n================================
\n Make sure you actually need an import. It would be a shame if you went
\n off-shore for a disc about to be introduced in widescreen domestically
\n (e.g. “The Empire Strikes Back”, or worse, one that is already available
\n (e.g. “Forbidden Planet”). Despite the small size of the LD market in
\n the U.S., there is surprising choice in disc presentations of individual
\n titles. Just because the MGM\/UA disc of “2001” is cropped beyond belief,
\n don’t assume that it’s your only choice (there is a CAV letterboxed
\n version from Criterion, with a CLV to come).<\/p>\n

In particular, memorize the Criterion Collection catalog. CC discs, even
\n the elaborate CAV editions, cost no more than generic Japanese imports
\n (and, in CAV, are usually immortal 3M pressings). Also stay abreast of
\n what MGM, CBS\/Fox and other recent letterbox converts have planned. Read
\n LDN, and make inquiries in rec.audio or rec.arts.movies. I can generate a
\n list of all known CC discs on request.<\/p>\n

Sources:
\n=======<\/p>\n

*** Laser Disc Newsletter
\n Suite 428
\n 496A Hudson Street
\n New York 10014 NY
\n $25.00\/year, 12 issues<\/p>\n

A subscription will quickly pay for itself in avoided doggy discs,
\n domestic or import. Each LDN issue also lists all (known) planned
\n domestic releases, which could save you from a needless import. LDN
\n often reviews domestic “anime” titles, and does NOT often review import
\n “anime” titles, but does list new releases from all sources.<\/p>\n

*** Laser Island
\n 1810 Voorhies Ave.
\n Brooklyn NY 11235<\/p>\n

(718) 743-2425
\n M-F: 10:30AM-7:00PM EST\/EDT
\n Retail sales? – unknown<\/p>\n

Discounts on domestic titles: unknown.
\n Warranty: unknown
\n They specialize in Japanese imports, offer a catalog. No discounts.
\n Caution: no credit cards. Imports take two transactions – an approx
\n 20% deposit check, and a balance check upon importation.
\n I have ordered only one disc from them, and probably won’t order any
\n more until they accept credit cards.<\/p>\n

*** Sight&Sound (aka Wok Tok)
\n 1275 Main Street
\n Waltham, MA 02154<\/p>\n

(617) 894-8633
\n M-F: 10:00 AM-7:00PM EST\/EDT
\n Sat: 10:00 AM-5:00PM
\n Retail & mail order.<\/p>\n

15% off on pre-release orders, 10% at other times. Sale & used items.
\n Special order imports. Some imports stocked (and priced in dollars).
\n Import catalog ($6.95) is very detailed and well organized.
\n Warranty: unlimited on domestics, 60-days on imports.
\n They also sell hardware, discounted.
\n I have ordered both domestic and import LDs from them.<\/p>\n

*** Juke Box Japan
\n P.O. Box 35780
\n Los Angeles CA 90035<\/p>\n

(213) 857-5701
\n Hours: unknown
\n Mail-order only.
\n No credit cards [yet].
\n No inventory – live orders only.
\n Reportedly has the lowest import prices and fastest service on LDs.
\n I have not ordered from JBJ, but expect to shortly.<\/p>\n

*** Laser Perceptions
\n 3300 Judah Street
\n San Francisco, CA 94122<\/p>\n

(415)753-2016 FAX (415) 564-3821<\/p>\n

I have not ordered from LP. They apparently have a catalog. In the
\n netnews article reporting them, the author stated: ” I just found this
\n great little store on the west end of San Francisco, called Laser
\n Perceptions. (They have an ad in Animag magazine) It’s a small store,
\n and they have just about every laser title that was released. What
\n interests us here, is that they have a very large assortment of lasers,
\n from Akira to Zillion. They can get tapes, but it takes a bit longer,
\n but they have anime lasers in stock. They can ship.”<\/p>\n

Bob Niland ARPA:rjn%hpfcrjn@hplabs.HP.COM UUCP:[hpfcse|hplabs]!hpfcla!rjn<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #4, from jimomura, 4297 chars, Mon Oct 30 13:55:39 1989
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Re: Intro to Import Laser Video #2
\n>From: rjn@hpfcso.HP.COM (Bob Niland)
\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.anime
\nSubject: Re: Intro to Imported Laser Video
\nMessage-ID: <9670007@hpfcso.HP.COM>
\nDate: 7 Oct 89 00:37:33 GMT
\nReferences: <9670002@hpfcso.HP.COM>
\nOrganization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
\nLines: 78<\/p>\n

re: a review of an Academy-ratio Japanese import LD Part: 2 of 3
\n Edition: 06 Oct 89<\/p>\n

In the accompanying discussion of imports, I mentioned…<\/p>\n

Title Label Catalog No. Yen Invoice (incl. ship.)
\n Dragonslayer Bandai LA098L14046 9800 $90.50
\n Local Hero Tohokushinsha K88L-5061 8800 $85.89
\n Tune-Up A.V. Sony 50LS5023 5000 $56.50<\/p>\n

I have a brief article on “Tune-Up” available, but both the disc and the
\ndiscussion are skippable. This article covers the first of the other two.<\/p>\n

Local Hero
\n==========
\n For those unfamiliar with the work: “Local Hero” (1983) is Bill Forsyth’s
\n unpredictable and whimsical story of a yuppie Huston oil company site
\n negotiator (Peter Rigert) dispatched by eccentric exec Burt Lancaster to
\n purchase an entire coastal village in Scotland. Mark Knopfler composed
\n and performed the score.<\/p>\n

This film has never been available on a domestic U.S. video disc. It is
\n one of my favorites, and had it been available, I would have bought a
\n video disc player many years ago, instead of just 18 months ago. “Local
\n Hero” (LH) is available on domestic tape release and is often run on
\n cable TV movie channels.<\/p>\n

Disc K88L-5061 has the following attributes:
\n Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
\n Soundtrack: English, mono CX analog
\n Subtitles: White, one or two horizontal lines near bottom of frame
\n Running time: 107 minutes (compared to 111 for the theatrical release)
\n Chapter marks: None
\n Side change: Frameless (black)
\n Timecode res.: 1 second<\/p>\n

Having never seen the film in a theatre, I am not certain what the
\n original aspect ratio was, and the on-screen credits provide no clue. In
\n any case, there is no obvious cropping, so I assume LH was either shot
\n in Academy-ratio, or composed for it. Consequently, it is difficult to
\n make a case that the LH disc should have been letterboxed, with the
\n subtitles placed below the image.<\/p>\n

Although I have seen the work several times, and presumably would pay less
\n attention to the main action, I found that I tuned-out the subtitles most
\n of the time. They were only evident when their content was numeric or
\n roman characters (as when the Danny Olson character is not speaking
\n English). The numbers are slightly distracting because they don’t
\n necessarily match the dialog. Dollars are evidently converted to Yen and
\n measurements to metric! A co-worker who borrowed the disc also reported
\n that neither he nor his wife were bothered by the subtitles.<\/p>\n

As to the running time discrepancy; LH is probably a [PG] film, so there
\n was nothing to censor. From what I recall of the missing material (it has
\n been some time), it appears that this disc was mastered from a print that
\n was trimmed for commerical TV. Nothing crucial appears to be absent,
\n although I would prefer the full original length.<\/p>\n

I obtained the disc through “Laser Island” in Brooklyn. It took three
\n months to get. Dealing with Laser Island (and presumably Juke Box Japan)
\n is presently a pain, because they don’t accept credit card orders. You
\n have to call for a price estimate, send a deposit check for 20% of that
\n amount, wait for notification of disc importation, send a check for the
\n balance, then wait for shipment. Personal checks (as opposed to money
\n orders or certified checks) slow the already-laborious process.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line:
\n===============
\n Based on the data in the Sight&Sound import catalog (they also can obtain
\n “Local Hero”), the disc was almost exactly what I expected. (Their
\n catalog doesn’t mention the CX encoding.)<\/p>\n

I have no regrets about the purchase. However, if “Local Hero” ever
\n surfaces in a domestic LD, particularly at the full theatrical running
\n time, I will probably replace this import.<\/p>\n

Bob Niland ARPA:rjn%hpfcrjn@hplabs.HP.COM UUCP:[hpfcse|hplabs]!hpfcla!rjn<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #5, from jimomura, 5227 chars, Mon Oct 30 13:58:07 1989
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Re: Intro to Imported Laser Video #3
\n>From: rjn@hpfcso.HP.COM (Bob Niland)
\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.anime
\nSubject: Re: Intro to Imported Laser Video
\nMessage-ID: <9670009@hpfcso.HP.COM>
\nDate: 7 Oct 89 00:40:10 GMT
\nReferences: <9670002@hpfcso.HP.COM>
\nOrganization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
\nLines: 98<\/p>\n

re: a review of a letterbox Japanese import LD Part: 3 of 3
\n Edition: 06 Oct 89<\/p>\n

This is the second of two reviews.<\/p>\n

Dragonslayer
\n============
\n For those unfamiliar with the work: This is a 1981 Disney film, directed
\n and written by Mathew Robbins. It is not necessarily for children, and
\n were it remade today, it would probably be a TouchStone release.<\/p>\n

Set in 6th century England, the premise is that dragons (and wizards) were
\n real. The king is sacrificing virgins to placate the regional reptile. A
\n band of villagers, headed by Caitlin Clarke, petition aging wizard Ralph
\n Richardson to help. The job ends up involving his apprentice, Peter
\n MacNicol. ILM did the special effects. The dragon was ILM’s first use of
\n the “go-motion” model animation technique.<\/p>\n

I had never seen “Dragonslayer”, and bought the domestic LD release only
\n because it was $13 in the used-disc rack. I expected a predictable
\n “swords and sorcery” flick, and was surprised to discover an intelligent
\n work with convincing production values (and, for Disney, a surprisingly
\n casual contempt for religion). The brief nudity in one scene is not
\n censored on either disc.<\/p>\n

Comparative attributes:<\/p>\n

Dragonslayer Paramount LV 1367 $29.95 list
\n Aspect ratio: Cropped to 1.33:1
\n Soundtrack: English, CX (Dolby surround, not documented on jacket)
\n Running time: 110 minutes
\n Chapter marks: None
\n Side change: “End of Side” frame, zooming LV logo at start of side.
\n Timecode res.: 1 minute<\/p>\n

Dragonslayer Bandai LA098L14046 9800 Yen $90.50 paid
\n Aspect ratio: 2.0:1 letterboxed Panavision, near top of screen
\n Soundtrack: English, CX and digital Dolby surround (documented)
\n Subtitles: White, one or two horizontal lines below frame
\n Running time: 110 minutes
\n Chapter marks: 11
\n Side change: Frameless (black)
\n Timecode res.: 1 second<\/p>\n

The domestic disc (LV1367) was obviously cropped. A lot of ILM’s work on
\n the dragon is simply chopped away. Main characters are missing from
\n scenes, particularly group scenes. In a scene where magic fails the
\n apprentice, you can’t see that a crowd is witnessing it. The credit roll
\n after the movie, which begins some time before fade-to-black, is
\n anamorphically squeezed, even though the credits would have fit if the
\n frame was merely cropped! However, all of this is no surprise to those
\n of you familiar with the problems of pan-and-scan.<\/p>\n

Furthermore on LV1367, the images are grainy, the colors are a little
\n washed out and one shot is reversed (messing up the continuity). The side
\n change titles are distracting.<\/p>\n

How does the import fare?
\n========================<\/p>\n

The LA098L14046 “Dragonslayer” is one of several widescreen Disney films
\n which were re-released by Bandai (Japan) last spring in letterbox format.
\n According to Laser Disc Newsletter, there are no plans for letterboxed
\n release in the U.S., which is why I ordered an import.<\/p>\n

On the Bandai disc, the image is darker, crisper and seems to have more
\n detail, despite the smaller size of objects compared to pan and scan.
\n Some scenes have extraneous brightness at the bottom edge of the frame.
\n This is not a serious problem, and appears to be a video mastering defect,
\n not a disc error, and is not correlated with the presence of subtitles.<\/p>\n

“Dragonslayer” is a dark movie for the most part, and the bright subtitles
\n would be very distracting but for the fact that they are below the frame.
\n I attached some velcro pads to the monitor bezel and strung a strip of
\n black felt across the screen, and – poof! end of subtitle problem.
\n Aside: there is a lot of authentic Latin dialog in “Dragonslayer”.
\n Curiously, the subtitles display it in Katakana (phonetic Japanese) rather
\n than in roman characters or translated into Kanji.<\/p>\n

I obtained the disc through “Sight & Sound” (aka Wok Talk) in Waltham
\n Mass. It took six weeks and was trivial to order. One phone call, a
\n credit card number, and the disc simply appeared six weeks later. The
\n charge did not appear on the card account until shipment. However, don’t
\n assume that six weeks is typical. The companion letterboxed import
\n “Twenty Thousand Leagues…” has been on backorder since early May.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Bandai’s rights ran out, and these two works, as well as
\n “Tron” and “Mary Poppins” will be unobtainable until Buena Vista takes
\n over LD production for Disney in Japan. When re-issued, they may not be
\n in exactly the same presentation format, so beware.<\/p>\n

The bottom line:
\n===============
\n I am very satisfied. Even if “Dragonslayer” appears in a domestic
\n letterbox release, I might skip it and keep this import.<\/p>\n

Bob Niland ARPA:rjn%hpfcrjn@hplabs.HP.COM UUCP:[hpfcse|hplabs]!hpfcla!rjn<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #6, from hkenner, 10193 chars, Sun Nov 19 23:28:08 1989
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\n*** Moved from animation\/main #105 of Sun Nov 19 01:38:51 1989
\nTITLE: Chuck Jones 
\nHerewith, my 5 Nov. Boston Globe review of *Chuck Amuck* :<\/p>\n

.rf setup
\nTHE LEONARDO OF LAUGHTER
\nby Hugh Kenner<\/p>\n

.tc ^^-^^
\n.ce 4
\nCHUCK AMUCK
\nThe Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist
\nby Chuck Jones
\nFarrar, Straus & Giroux 224 pp. illus\t $24.95
\n.tc ^^-^^
\n.he ^Kenner^Chuck Jones^\\#^<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nRecently turned a hale 77, Charles Martin (Chuck) Jones still claims he
\ncan’t draw but can fake it so you wouldn’t notice. That resembles Alan
\nTuring’s famous test for computer intelligence: if you can’t discern a
\ndifference, assume there is none. Chuck Jones, by a kindred criterion,
\nis the Leonardo of Laughter. He can draw, for his purposes, as well as
\nLeonardo could. His Mona Lisa is perhaps Daffy Duck, who “rushes in and
\nfears to tread at the same time.”<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\n(No, Daffy Duck is in no way a ripoff of Donald. Donald is a mere
\nGeraldo. Go to the back of the room and be ashamed of yourself.)<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nAt Warner Bros., in a gone era, Jones invented, for instance, the
\nRoadrunner (beep beep) and Wile E. Coyote; also Pepe le Pew, skunkdom’s
\nChevalier. He was responsible for the ultimate Bugs Bunny short, “Bully
\nfor Bugs,” and for two stand-alones that leave you wondering what you’d
\nchoose if you could save but six minutes from all of animation. For it
\nwould have to be one or the other of “One Froggy Evening” or “What’s
\nOpera, Doc?” <\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\n“That … ” an eminent Milton scholar confided to my ear as “One Froggy
\nEvening” faded from the screen … “That … was simple … and
\nAB–solute.” As it is. Demolition has released a green frog from a
\ncornerstone: no ordinary frog, since he’ll strut with cane and top-hat
\nand sing as “Michigan J.” Alas, such wonders are reserved for informal
\nmoments; place him onstage at Radio City Music Hall, aim the spots, roll
\nthe drums: then he’ll squat like any ordinary frog and croak. The
\nmoment he’s–what? staged, sold, programmed, framed, expected of?–he’s
\nnot worth an instant’s attention. The impresario tears his hair. Back
\ninto the box with the frog, back into a new cornerstone. … To be
\nbroken into, centuries hence, by a bubble-helmeted crew; whereupon out
\nsprings, indefatigible, Mr. Michigan J., resuming the cycle anew.<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nThe Eternal Return, you see. Also the shower-stall tenor virtuoso who’d
\nlast maybe three minutes at the Met. Also Chuck Jones, who pretends
\nthat he can’t draw, can’t even make sense, is in fact a promoted cel
\nwasher–scrubber of paint off re-usable celluloid–who got promoted far
\npast Peter Principle limits, has even been unaccountably honored with
\nOscars and retrospectives and university lectureships.\t(But “What part
\nof me is the green frog?” I once heard him muse.)<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nBut you want to hear about the book. But first, “What’s Opera, Doc?”
\nThat’s a six-minute condensation of Disney’s “Fantasia,” and when you’ve
\nseen Bugs Bunny as a Wagner maiden sliding sensuously, slowly, down the
\nback of a coy horse you’ve seen perfection. Piggish Elmer Fudd himself
\nsang the Heldentenor part, augmented by huge shadows cast upward on
\ncliffs. It’s typical of the Chuck Jones self-effacement that he has
\nspecial words of commendation for the animator (Abe Levitow) who
\nmanipulated those shadows.<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nYou’re saying you want to hear about the book.\tBut first let me explain
\nwhat’s so special about being an Animation Director (a slot Jones found
\nhimself filling as long ago as 1938). Back to the Turing Test: what
\nseems like a Jones is likely a Jones. And on each of two of the
\nvideocasettes I own there’s one short that seems wrong; that limps,
\nfumbles, has trouble achieving its climaxes. Sure enough, neither of
\nthose is a Jones. Same writer, same layout men, same animators, same
\ncharacters, same Mel Blanc doing the voices; but “Directed by …” (fill
\nin any name but Chuck Jones) … that somehow makes a difference, as
\nbetween diamond and carbon. (Could anyone fail with Roadrunner and
\nCoyote? With Pepe Le Pew? Yes, it’s been demonstrated that somebody
\ncould.)<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nTiming, largely. I’ve heard Jones eloquent on the difference
\nbetween an impact occurring in six frames and in eight. Since the
\naudience sees 24 frames per second, we’re talking about split seconds.
\nYet they matter. Part of a director’s job, to hear Jones tell it, is
\npencilling numbers in the margins of flow charts. Make this happen in
\n12 frames. Make this happen in 40.<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nThen there’s the designing of signature effects. “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”
\n(from a Kipling story) was a half-hour TV short, too long to be wholly
\nmemorable; Jones has the six-minute Warner Bros. span in his blood. But
\nwhenever the mongoose came onscreen, whenever he left, one caught one’s
\nbreath. (“An art form,” my wife said, “based on the post-retinal
\nimage.” You couldn’t quite make out how it was happening.) Our son
\ncalled Chuck to ask. Chuck was forthcoming.<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nFirst, he said, think of cars at a traffic light. At a green they don’t
\nall move forward in synchrony; the last one stays immobile long after
\nthe first has departed. Next, imagine a horse going over a jump, his
\nhind half steady an instant till the front half pulls it aloft.
\n(That’s how an animator sees, and thinks.) Then Rikki– well, Chuck
\nwould send us a model sheet. <\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nAs he did. A model sheet dissects an effect, 1-2-3, so any animator can
\nmake it work. Pencil in a phantom Rikki. Then curve a slim real Rikki
\nup into it, from the tail, till the noses match. Then fatten that slim
\narriving Rikki till his contours fit. Then quiver the whiskers. And do
\nit all in a minimum count of frames. The essence of the art is that
\norder of planning. For high-quality animation is labor-intensive, and
\nperhaps six or seven artists will need to have the Rikki Arrival at
\ntheir command.\tYou see why the director matters.<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nIt’s so labor-intensive it’s virtually dead. At Warner Bros. the moguls
\nfussed seven minutes down to six, six minutes being the least they could
\nexpect distributors to pay for, even back when a program was required to
\nconsist of one newsreel, one cartoon, one short, one feature (total, two
\nhours). Six minutes, that’s 360 seconds, that’s exactly 8,640 frames.<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nThe Warner animation unit, on what was fondly called Termite Terrace,
\ncould deliver an 8,640-frame project in nine months. Shorts emerged
\nevery couple of weeks thanks to overlapping schedules.\tBut nine months’
\nwork was what each cartoon represented. The “Bully for Bugs” unit even
\nvisited bullfights in Mexico. As a result, their bull …<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nWell, Chuck Jones is eloquent about that bull, ultimate exemplar of the
\nprinciple that an animator needs to sense the weight of his moving
\ncreature. The spine on that ton of bull stays level however his legs
\ngyrate. A cat likewise “is built light but walks heavy.” A walking
\npuppy, though, bounces. (That was something not grasped on the set of
\nthe Dino de Laurentis King Kong, where every now and then a man in a
\nmonkey-suit is walking far too light to weight umpty-ump tons.\tBut the
\nanimator of the original Kong, Willis O’Brien, had the principle down
\npat.)<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nJones is eloquent too (The book? Please wait a minute) about Warner
\nBros., one of whose minions I once heard him describe as “a trellis of
\nvaricose veins.” That’s an animator’s phrase; you can guess how he’d
\ndraw that guy.\t(If, of course, he could draw.\tHow he’d fake a drawing
\nof that guy.) For something that’s muted in the book, but vivid in his
\ntalk, is his sense of having come to the end of the line too soon; not
\nthat he petered out, not at all, but that studio animation did.<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nAt Warner’s they just shut animation down. Later, Jones did memorable
\none-shots, notably the Oscar-winning “The Dot and the Line” (1965) and a
\nwonderful feature-length “Phantom Tollbooth” that never quite made it at
\nthe box-office (though check your video-casette store), and various TV
\nstints. He was an “advisor” (whatever that means) on “Who Framed Roger
\nRabbit?”, which displays some very high-class animation indeed.<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nHe came in when the art was at its height. It ebbed for financial
\nreasons, left him stranded, an articulate legend. …<\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nThe book. All right, I’ve not been hedging. It’s wonderful. Sixteen
\ncolor pages, black-and-white drawings throughout, and prose of the
\nquality you’d expect from the man whose talk ran to “trellis of varicose
\nveins.” There’s a wonderful passage about the arthritic Termite Terrace
\njanitor, who collected for Jones any number of Good Humor ice-cream
\nsticks on discovering him using such a stick to stir poster paint. Each
\nmeant “that he must painfully bend over again and again for me, and I
\nknow too well from watching him work how difficult this was and how
\nreluctantly he had to set his twisted brown feet for any bending action,
\nand yet he did bend a hundred times or more to provide the only gift he
\ncould provide and he knew I needed.” <\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\nPonder, behind that sentence, the compassion, yes, but also the taut
\nobservation (“twisted brown feet”!) and you’re close to a grasp of
\nwhence Jones-quality animation stems. On Saturday-morning TV they do
\nabout three frames per second, holding each frame say eight times. That
\ndoes save money, though it forfends them from notice of twisted brown
\nfeet. Back on Termite Terrace Jones and Friz Freling and Tex Avery
\nwarred with the money-savers, the bean-counters, for two golden decades,
\nnow long gone. <\/p>\n

.pp
\n.ne 3
\n“Nothing funny about bull fights” came the Word down from On High.
\nDefiantly, they put nine months into “Bully for Bugs,” rightly confident
\nthat the attention span On High was minuscule.\tHere’s a book to
\ncelebrate what On High was oblivious to. The arthritic black man who
\ncollected those Good Humor sticks used to nap three-quarters of an hour
\nevery evening on a toilet the Producer believed “sacrosanct to his
\nsacred frog-belly white buttocks.” In his way, as in that of Jones and
\nnumerous colleagues, protest against inertia was being registered. For
\nthe latter, every 24th of a second mattered. Run to your book store,
\nyour video store.
\n,<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #7, from jimomura, 87 chars, Sun Nov 19 23:28:08 1989
\nThis is a comment to message 6.
\nThere are additional comments to message 6.
\n————————–
\n*** Moved from animation\/main #106 of Sun Nov 19 10:16:53 1989
\n Wow! Thanks Hugh!<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #8, from jshook, 155 chars, Sun Nov 19 23:28:08 1989
\nThis is a comment to message 6.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\n*** Moved from animation\/main #107 of Sun Nov 19 23:13:51 1989
\nThanks for checking in with your book review.
\nI also enjoyed your article in The Atlantic.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #9, from hkenner, 110 chars, Mon Nov 20 00:16:01 1989
\nThis is a comment to message 8.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 8.
\n————————–
\nI have NEVER appeared in the Atlantic. You’re thinking of the Nov. Harper’s,
\nwhich I’m glad you enjoyed. …<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #10, from hmccracken, 3232 chars, Thu Apr 5 19:57:38 1990
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Snappy Video’s _Cultoons Volume 1_
\nI while ago I commented on the second volume of this fine series
\nof old, rare cartoons on videotape; I’ve finally got ahold of volume
\none, and it’s even better than the second tape.<\/p>\n

The first cartoon on the tape is _Mendelssohn’s Spring Song_
\n(c. 1933), a cartoon in the “Jingles” series; neither the tape’s
\nproducers nor I know anything else about this series. The
\ncartoon is a Silly Symphony-type thing, with animation
\ncredited to one Sy Young. Snappy says that this is the guy
\nwho later supervised the effects animation department at
\nDisney, although that Young spelled his first name Cy.<\/p>\n

Next up is what Snappy calls the rarest cartoon it offers:
\n_Toby in the Museum_ (1933). On the rare times when the
\nToby the Pup series has been mentioned in print, it’s
\ninevitably been along with a note that no cartoons from the
\nseries are known to survive. This Fleischeresque cartoon,
\nstarring a dog very much like Fleischer’s Bimbo, proves
\nthe history books wrong.<\/p>\n

_The Snowman_ (1933) is a weird cartoon by the Ted
\nEshbaugh studio, a small studio that seems to have
\nspecialized in making weird, obscure cartoons over
\nquite a long period. I have _never_ seen the studio
\nmentioned in anything more than a passing reference,
\nand would love to know more abut them.<\/p>\n

_Little Black Sambo_ (1935), from the Ub Iwerks
\nstudio, is, well…unfortunate. Like almost every
\nHollywood cartoon from the 1930s to the mid
\n1940s that had black characters, it features some
\nvery crude stereotypes. (Chuck Jones made some
\nof the few cartoons that had relatively unstereotyped
\nblacks). Some of the stereotype cartoons are funny,
\nor at least fascinating in their excesses; this one is
\njust plain unfunny and boring.<\/p>\n

_Goofy Goat Antics_ (1931) is another Eshbaugh
\neffort, this time featuring a couple of characters
\nwho are nothing more than Mickey and Minnie
\nMouse with goatees and horns.<\/p>\n

_The Wizard of Oz_ (1933) is also by Eshbaugh;
\nit wasn’t ever really released, apparently, supposedly
\nbecause of copyright problems. It starts out as a
\nfairly faithful adaptation of the book but, like the
\nother Eshbaugh shorts, strays off into a plotline
\nthat is really impossible to describe. Incidentally,
\nboth this cartoon and the abovementioned
\n_Spring Song_ are examples of early color cartoons,
\nalthough both prints on the tape are black-and-
\nwhite.<\/p>\n

_Cap’n Cub_ (1942) is the tape’s final Ted Eshbaugh
\ncartoon; the jacket notes call it “mind boggling,”
\nand I cannot disagree. It’s a wartime propaganda
\ncartoon, and while there were certainly ones with
\nmore grotesque Japanese sterotypes — the infamous
\n_Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips_ springs to mind —
\nthis cartoon, about an adorable little bear cub who
\ncheerfully flies around in a bomber gunning down
\nJapanese soldiers, is infinitely stranger. Most
\ndefinitely a product of its times.<\/p>\n

The final, relatively well-known and less-strange
\ncartoon is Fleischer’s _Sing Along With Popeye_,
\nwhich is a brief “follow the bouncing ball” cartoon
\nstarring the spinach-eating sailor.<\/p>\n

All in all a very interesting tape — as I’ve said before,
\nyou will either love this stuff or be unable to under-
\nstand why anybody would even be mildly interested
\nin it.<\/p>\n

— Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #11, from jimomura, 2772 chars, Fri Jun 22 08:27:17 1990
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Bootleg “Akira” Videotapes
\n 90Jun20 from jon@bdmrrr.bdm.com.UUCP
\nI finally talked to Jerry Beck from Streamline films about the
\nbootleg English copy of Akira that turned up in an Alexandria
\nVa video store 2 weeks ago. He wanted me to post a summary
\nto the usenet and to ask that this info be spread around. Here’s
\nwhat he said:<\/p>\n

o A version of Akira with the Streamline soundtrack has been
\n appearing around the country recently. In every case so far,
\n someone has recorded the Streamline soundtrack with the
\n original Japanese LD video track. He suspects that this was done
\n using either a recorded version of the soundtrack from the
\n theatre release or the soundtrack from a single copy VHS tape
\n released to the press. (This tape was time marked with large
\n numbers counting down at the top of the screen, giving it
\n an unsuitable picture and thus rendering only the soundtrack
\n usable.) The original source of the video track can easily be checked
\n by looking at the closing credits. If they’re in Japanese, it’s
\n from the Japanese LD. However, if they’re in English (which
\n hasn’t occurred in any case so far), the copy was made from the
\n Streamline video track. If anyone finds a bootleg version with
\n English credits, Jerry Beck would appreciate if you would notify
\n him at 213-657-8559, optimally with the phone number and address
\n of the source where the tape came from.<\/p>\n

o Streamline doesn’t do any dubbing. They only have theater distribution
\n rights. They are solely a promotion company.<\/p>\n

o Since Streamline only has theater distribution rights, they can’t
\n personally take any legal action. The best they can do is notify
\n the holders of the movie rights.<\/p>\n

o Currently, there are only theater distribution rights for Akira.
\n Rights to the VHS distribution have yet to be settled. Until
\n they are, any version of Akira with an English soundtrack is
\n considered a bootleg.<\/p>\n

o Finally, Jerry Beck wanted me to say that Streamline will be
\n releasing an Engligh version of Lensman around Sept 1. The
\n first showing will be at the Biograph Theater in Georgetown
\n (near Wash DC).<\/p>\n

Remember, Streamline’s goal is to eventually have anime released
\nin U.S. theatres at the same time as in Japan. Please support their effort
\nby reporting any bootlegs of their productions. The more
\nVHS copies there are, the fewer people will go to the theaters.
\nAnd fewer theatre profits mean fewer Streamline productions.<\/p>\n

Yazan, Hambrabi, Ikimasu!<\/p>\n

—
\nJon Humphreys Phone: (703) 848-7624
\nThe BDM Corporation UUCP: {rutgers,vrdxhq,rlgvax}!bdmrrr!jon
\n7915 Jones Branch Drive Internet: jon@bdmrrr.bdm.com
\nMcLean, Va 22015 Sign in Tokyo: “Street Narrows – Drive Sideways” <\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #13, from tshim, 60 chars, Sun Aug 5 00:05:35 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 9.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nHugh, what was your article in the November Harper’s about?<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #14, from tshim, 154 chars, Mon Aug 13 21:23:16 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 13.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 13.
\n————————–
\nFor those scratching their heads: Hugh’s HARPERS article was about nothing
\nother than BIX.<\/p>\n

(Although BIX\/animation wasn’t mentioned .)<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #15, from switch, 80 chars, Mon Aug 13 21:33:52 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 14.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nI don’t think ‘animation’ was in existence when Hugh wrote the article…<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #17, from tshim, 89 chars, Mon Aug 13 21:37:00 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 15.
\nThere are additional comments to message 15.
\n————————–
\nAha — good point. In any case, Hugh says an earlier draft is on
\nwriters\/long.messages.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #18, from hmccracken, 113 chars, Mon Aug 13 21:55:19 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 15.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nNope, it wasn’t even a glimmer in anybody’s eye at the point Hugh
\nwrote the article, as far as I know.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #19, from switch, 66 chars, Mon Aug 13 23:41:18 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 18.
\n————————–
\nActually, it was a glimmer, but we’ll let it rest there. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #20, from switch, 5667 chars, Sun Oct 7 16:56:32 1990
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: What’s been happening
\nJust got back from Ottawa ’90, and I’ve got much to say on that.
\nBut before I do, I’ll get my comments on the Ike & Spike Festival
\nof Animation out of the way…<\/p>\n

MOTHER GOOSE (David Bishop, USA): Vaguely amusing short about
\nthe violence in most of the nursery rhymes we grew up with. The
\ntechnique left a lot to be desired, though. One of those films
\nthat cries out to me, “Why isn’t YOUR stuff in here?” Oh, well.<\/p>\n

WOLF SWEET (Donie Danev, Bulgaria): Cel animation. Some shepherds
\ndecide to deal with the wolves who prey on their sheep, but the situation
\nturns around when they nearly exterminate on the wolves and an
\nenvironmentalist interferes. Good for some chuckles, and the animation
\nis more than satisfactory.<\/p>\n

SIMON (Robert Lance, USA) is a tale of a young boy who doesn’t have a
\nnose. While the technique (painted frosted cel, I think) was eye-
\ncatching and the character animation a joy to watch, the story didn’t
\nreally go anywhere. Kind of cute and largely geared at children, I
\nsuppose.<\/p>\n

PANSPERMIA (Karl Simms, USA): This computer animation was AWESOME! A
\nseed flies through space, impacts on a planet, and gives birth to life
\nwhich spawns forth more seeds. The sounds and the camera work together
\nwith the rendering to prove that computer animation doesn’t have to be
\neither Pixar or mindless eye candy. Seeing it three times didn’t
\ndiminish my appreciation in the slightest.<\/p>\n

GRASSHOPPER (Bruno Buzzetto, Italy): Bozzetto does it again. The
\nhistory of violence in the world, but nature wins in the end every time.
\nA funny tale, and the music is well crafted.<\/p>\n

VROOM (Kine Aune, Norway): Eeeh. Dunno. Nifty idea (I’d give it
\naway if I explained it), okay animation, but something doesn’t work.
\nOh, well.<\/p>\n

ETERNITY (Sheryl Sardina, USA): I may not like Sheridan Art College’s
\n“this-is-THE-right-way” outlook, but you can’t fault their students’
\nwork. Again, I can’t explain Eternity without ruining it, but it’s
\nvery funny.<\/p>\n

TARZAN (Taku Furukawa, Japan): A Japanese man gets in shape and
\ntakes on Kenya, sees the sights, etc. When he gets back to Japan
\nhe feels somewhat let down by what his society offers. This is one
\nof those proofs that you don’t have to draw to animate. The only
\nthing this film suffers from is the fact that there are an awful lot
\nof jokes that are only funny if you’ve been to Kenya. There were
\ntimes during the first screening that my sister, her friend and I
\nwere the only three laughing. Too bad; we could see the love he had for
\nthe country was really poured into the film.<\/p>\n

GRAND DAY OUT (Nick Park, Great Britain): A twenty-three minute
\nclay animation would have struck me as an exercise in terror before
\nI saw this film, but I’ve seen it four times to date and I’m not
\ntired of it yet. Nick Park has the incredible ability to convey a
\nlot of character with his figures, and his detailed backgrounds
\nand props have to be seen to be believed. The man’s imagination
\nand talent is seemingly endless. Anyway, the story. Wallace and his
\ndog Gromit are lying about the house on a bank holiday, looking for
\nsomewhere to go. While preparing some tea, Wallace notices they
\nare out of cheese. Looking at the moon, he has an idea: the moon is
\nmade of cheese, and they’re looking for somewhere to go, so why not
\nfly to the moon? They build a rocket in the basement and fly to
\nthe moon, and… it’s too funny just thinking about it. See this
\nfilm ASAP. Gromit, incidentally, steals the show as far as I’m concerned.<\/p>\n

RUG RAT (Klasky-Csupo, USA): This short by “The Simpsons People” (as
\nthey’re referred to, sometimes by themselves) is a prelude to their
\nnew TV series by the same name. Quite a bit of fun; I can see myself
\nwatching this occasionally, but probably won’t go out of my way to
\ncatch it.<\/p>\n

DEADSEY (David Anderson, Great Britain): WOW! My sister described
\nthis film as “what animation is all about”. Deadsey is weird, wild,
\nsurreal. Also described by a friend of mine as “visual Skinny Puppy”.
\nPrepare to have your mind bent as the narrator presents his “Deadtime
\nStories for Big Folk”.<\/p>\n

DENNY GOES AIRSURFING (Lance Kramer, USA): Good idea, good pictures,
\nlackluster animation. Another “Why in hell don’t I have a film in
\nthis festival?” short. I’m not very fond of the execution.<\/p>\n

WE WOMAN (Some guy from the Soviet Union): Three parts: “The Most
\nBeautiful One”, using Vivaldi for the score, is an eyebrow-raiser. The
\nsecond, whose name I forget, didn’t appeal to most of my friends but
\nmade me feel sorry for the husband and wife. The third, “The Log”, is
\nambiguous. Hard for me to latch on to a definite feeling for it.
\nAgain, descriptions would ruin the film.<\/p>\n

DIMENSIONS IN DIALOGUE (Ifex, Chzechoslovakia): Directed by Jan
\nSvankmajer. Need I say more?<\/p>\n

THE WESTERN (Gabor Homolya, Hungary): BWAH HA HA HA!<\/p>\n

CREATURE COMFORTS (Nick Park, Great Britain): Seen this film four
\ntimes and it’s funnier every time! While GRAND DAY OUT was incredible,
\nCREATURE COMFORTS goes beyond it and is absolute perfection. Animals
\nin a zoo are interviewed about their living conditions. It captures
\nthe feeling of television interviews perfectly. You can’t ever
\nmiss this film. In my most personal opinion, if I can make a film
\nwith half the wit, character, technical excellence, and humor
\nPark had in this film, I will be happy.<\/p>\n

There were two shorts during the Rialto showings that weren’t listed
\nin the program: a SUPERMAN short (forgot which one: evil scientist,
\nmagnetic ray beam destroying bridges) which was never one of my favorites,
\nand FATTY ISSUES from Great Britain, which I’ll comment on in my
\nencapsulation of Ottawa ’90.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #21, from hmccracken, 271 chars, Sun Oct 7 18:46:38 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 20.
\nThere are additional comments to message 20.
\n————————–
\nI haven’t seen most of the films you review here (though Mike and Spike’s
\nshow is playing in Boston, so I should be seeing them soon); _Creature
\nComforts_ is the one I have caught, and I agree with you entirely.
\nIt’s excellent both in conception and technique.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #22, from hmccracken, 3645 chars, Sun Oct 7 19:27:56 1990
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: I had the pleasure Friday night of attending, along with our
\nown Dave Mackey, “Bugs Bunny on Broadway,” the show at the Gershwin
\nTheatre that has been mentioned elsewhere in this conference in recent
\nweeks. The event is based on an unusual and appealing idea: showing
\nBugs Bunny (and other Warner Bros.) cartoons on the big screen, while
\nan orchestra plays the score live. The orchestra’s conductor is one
\nGeorge Daugherty, who conceived the whole event.<\/p>\n

While Dave and I sat around and took the show apart afterwards (along
\nwith Pam and Michael Scoville (mscoville), who saw the show the night
\nbefore and were nice enough to get Dave and me our tickets), I still
\nhad a good time. The choice of cartoons was good — Chuck Jones’s
\n_Baton Bunny_, _Rabbit of Seville_, _Long-Haired Hare_, and the less
\nwell-known _High Note_; Friz Freleng’s _Rhapsody Rabbit_; and Bob
\nClampett’s _Corny Concerto_, along with an excerpt or two and probably
\none or two cartoons I’m forgetting. The live orchestra music often
\nworked very well and certainly let us view the cartoons and their
\nscores from a new perspective. And to top it all off, Chuck Jones
\nwas present for this particular performance, and spoke briefly and
\ntouchingly about the show as one of the greatest moments of his career.
\n(Friz Freleng had been present the night before, when he thanked God
\nfor letting him live long enough to see the show.) The sold-out audience
\nclearly loved the evening.<\/p>\n

But for all that was right about the show, there was much that disappointed.
\n(Some of which was more apparent to Dave, Pam, and Mike than to me.)
\nThe biggest problem was probably that the cartoons were shown through
\nvideo projection rather than as 35mm prints; as the monitor that
\nDaughery watched and which was clearly apparent to the audience showed,
\nthe projection led to washed out colors and a generally poor picture.
\nThere is probably a good reason why video was used, but I can’t imagine
\nwhat it was.<\/p>\n

A good portion of the evening consisted of the orchestra playing
\n*without* a cartoon — including an entire Carl Stalling
\nscore played this way — with video of Daugherty and the
\norchestra on the big screen. This was quite nice in small
\ndoses, but we agreed that there was too much of it — as
\nMike asked, just who was the star of this show, Bugs Bunny or
\nGeorge Daugherty? Part of the reason this was done was probably
\na technical difficulty that hung over the evening: there really
\nisn’t any way to take the soundtrack of an old cartoon, extract
\nthe original score, and leave the voicework and sound effects.
\nThe producers got around this in several ways, including using
\na lot of cartoons without much dialogue, apparently redoing
\nmuch of the sound effects, and letting the original musical
\nsoundtrack play in bits and pieces. (One cartoon _Long-Haired
\nHare_, was played with little or no live music.)<\/p>\n

The cartoon which appropriately ended the evening — _What’s
\nOpera, Doc?_ — has lots of sung dialogue, and it seems fairly
\nclear to both Dave and I that the producers dealt with this
\nby redoing at least some of the dialogue, presumably with
\nMel Blanc-successor Jeff Bergman at the mike. This worked fairly
\nwell — except for Elmer Fudd’s shriek “SMOG!”, which has none
\nof the ferocity of the orignal — but still is pretty offensive
\nto purists like cartoon buffs tend to be. <\/p>\n

As I say, though, it was a nice show, and since it will probably
\nbe touring, you may have the chance to see it (and maybe some
\nof the problems will be addressed). Dave, Mike, and Pam had some
\nadditional criticisms which I hope they’ll take the opportunity
\nto air here as well.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #23, from jshook, 604 chars, Mon Oct 8 00:10:16 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 20.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 20.
\n————————–
\nWhat IS the point exactly in “Wolf Sweet”? What were the animals
\nat the end? I probably just tuned this one out as I have seen several
\nlifetime’s worth of these flat Eastern European animations and my
\neyes just glaze over….
\n “Grand Day Out” is indeed a gem. I generally don’t take to long
\n“cute” films, but Park’s skill and boundless humanity lift his work
\ninto a class of its own. If you get the chance, try to see the series
\nof “Animated Conversations” he and some other people made about ten
\nyears ago fror Bristol BBC.
\n I think “Western” may become the “Bambi Meets Godzilla” of the ’90s….<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #24, from davemackey, 516 chars, Mon Oct 8 01:41:48 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 22.
\n————————–
\nDave
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #25, from switch, 272 chars, Mon Oct 8 10:46:35 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 23.
\n————————–
\n“Wolf Sweet” is one of those “The situation will continuously
\ncycle” things. The villagers will go and nearly exterminate the
\nsheep, and so on. I guess the animals at the end were ah wild sheep.
\nI definitely preferred it to several other Eastern European films…<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #26, from sharonfisher, 120 chars, Sun Oct 14 12:34:40 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 20.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 20.
\n————————–
\nThis is weird. I saw Ike and Spike here in San Francisco, and none of
\nthe cartoons you describe sound like ones I saw.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #27, from switch, 92 chars, Sun Oct 14 14:09:19 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 26.
\nThere are additional comments to message 26.
\n————————–
\nMaybe you saw one of their other Animation Festivals (perhaps a rerun
\nof last years)?<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #28, from hmccracken, 219 chars, Sun Oct 14 20:43:59 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 26.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nHow recently did you see the show? I think the one Emru saw is brand-new.
\nMike and Spike may also have more than one edition of the show traveling
\nat a time.
\n — Harry
\n(Which cartoons *were* in the show you saw, BTW?)<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #29, from sharonfisher, 195 chars, Mon Oct 15 14:54:38 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 28.
\n————————–
\nJust a few weeks ago. Don’t remember what I saw, exactly; some Plymptons,
\ncertainly, but I saw International Tournee at almost the same time and I get
\nconfused about which pieces were in which.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #30, from hmccracken, 1117 chars, Sun Oct 21 21:45:02 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 20.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nSaw the Mike and Spike show today — though Mike and Spike’s names were
\nmissing, replaced by those of Jimbo and Craig — and had a good time.
\nI agree with most of your comments, although of the two Nick Park
\nfilms, I’d rank _Grand Day Out_ over _Creature Comforts_. (The latter
\nfilm has the better character animation, but I love the ambitious
\nplotline, great characters, and funny gags in _Grand Day_. I’m not
\ncrazy about most of Bruno Bozzetto’s films, and _Grasshopper_ struck me
\nas being very typical Bozzetto — lots of infantile bathroom and sex
\njokes mixed in with some genuinely funny stuff. The only two films
\nthat seemed like total losses to me were _Deadsey_ (ick) and _We Woman_
\n(it’s nice that glasnost has progressed to the point where I don’t have
\nto be polite about this film just because it’s from the USSR).<\/p>\n

I note with interest that alone among the program’s selections, _Deadsey_
\nand _We Woman_ have no illustration in the show’s program booklet, and
\nboth are accompanied by sarcastic notes about their length. Looks like
\nmaybe Jimbo and Craig didn’t like them any more than I did.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #31, from bsoron, 479 chars, Mon Oct 22 00:28:08 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 30.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 30.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

I caught the show Friday night and concur with you. Grand Day worked
\nbetter for me than Creature Comforts did, though I appreciated CC more
\nnow that I’ve seen it a second time. Bozzetto’s “Grasshopper” could
\nhave used some judicious editing — just too much repetition, much more
\nso than he needed either to make any point or to set up the joke at the
\nend. I also thought that “Dimensions in Dialogue” was a waste. I guess
\nthe director isn’t a fan of sculpture or something?<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #32, from hmccracken, 350 chars, Mon Oct 22 21:13:44 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 31.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nSvankmajer, the director of _Dimensions in Dialogue_, is considered by
\nsome a very fine filmmaker. (Maybe by Emru: his comments at the start
\nof the thread seem to indicate he has a strong opinion on the film, but
\ndon’t say what it is.) I found the film’s technique interesting, but
\nam not entirely clear what, if anything, it had to say.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #33, from switch, 399 chars, Tue Oct 23 00:40:04 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 30.
\n————————–
\nFunny. I really liked _Deadsey_ and 2\/3 of _We Woman_. I was
\nextremely POed that the showing of the best of Zagreb 90 just last
\nweek at the Cinematheque (which I’ll post about as soon as I get the
\nOttawa Festival stuff typed in \ud83d\ude42 left Deadsey out. Seems to be
\na love\/hate film. Of _We Woman_ I liked the first segment a bit
\n(nice concept), the second the most, and the third the least…<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #34, from switch, 212 chars, Tue Oct 23 00:43:54 1990
\nThis is a comment to message 32.
\n————————–
\nI’ve never seen a Svankmajer film I didn’t like, in terms of technique
\nand creativity. I particularly like his films (such as _Dialogue_)
\nwhere he has an idea and just plays with it to see how it’ll look.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #35, from switch, 5736 chars, Thu Nov 22 01:09:08 1990
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Computer Animation Festival
\nSo I’m sitting around at my job at MITE AVISTA (the multimedia lab
\nat Concordia), when Merridy shows me this program for a computer
\nanimation festival coming up, right? It’s called Le Festival du
\nFilm par Ordinateur de Montreal ’90 (Montreal Computer Film Festival
\n’90), and it’s running until the 4th. Tonight was the opening night,
\nonly for people with invitations. “Foo,” said I.<\/p>\n

Imagine my surprise when I walk into AVISTA on a whim this afternoon,
\nto see an invitation on the desk! Stefan (current system administrator
\nof MITE) and I went to the opening, with our mutual friend Angela.<\/p>\n

After being bored by the introductions, we got on with some movies…<\/p>\n

PANSPERMIA: I’ve mentioned this one before. I still love it.<\/p>\n

IN SEARCH OF MUSCULAR AXIS (Toshifumi Kawahara\/Polygon Pictures,
\nJapan): Nice to look at, but that was it. I guess that was the point.<\/p>\n

THE AUDITION (Gavin Miller\/Apple Computer Inc., USA): Eeeh. A
\nfew funny bits of business, lackluster voice acting, and a really
\nannoying bulldog main character (the way his face was animated
\njust made me ill).<\/p>\n

PEPSI POWER HOUR (Topix, Canada): Oddly enough, I don’t remember this
\none at all. I guess I’ll have to put this one off until I see it
\nagain.<\/p>\n

LA CIGALE ET LA FOURMI (Fantome Animation, France): A retelling
\nof the grasshopper and ant fable. The character designs were pretty
\nfunny, and I particularly liked the way the ants moved. One problem
\nwas the narrator’s voice speaking over some particularly noisy parts,
\nmaking him difficult to understand.<\/p>\n

A VOLUME OF 2D JULIA SETS (Electronic Visualisation Laboratory,
\nUSA): Imagine a multicolored fractal image with the parameters
\nconstantly being modified. Now imagine the camera constantly in
\nmotion and zooming in. Imagine the resultant color cycling from
\nthe changing parameters. Now you’ve got the essence of this film,
\nbut it still has to be seen to be believed. The illusion of three
\ndimensions fades in and out with startling regularity, giving impressions
\nof cavern walls, pillars, and the like. (Mind you, at the end you
\n_do_ get a 3D image.) Wow.<\/p>\n

STYRO (Sinnot & Associates, USA): Eeh. Looked okay, the dog
\ncharacter was kind of cute, but it didn’t go anywhere or do anything.
\nAt all.<\/p>\n

THE LITTLE DEATH (Matt Elson, Center for Computer Art, USA): Looks
\nbeautiful. But what was the point? Butterflies, a pyramid, a man
\njumping to his “death”. Huh?<\/p>\n

NISSAN “TIME MACHINE” (Rhythm & Hues Inc., USA): Ha ha! A Nissan
\ncar goes squash, stretch, and zip-tang in a 30-second Japanese ad
\nspot. Very entertaining.<\/p>\n

THE PROCESS OF WOUND HEALING (Jules Bister, Germany): This was a
\nsegment of a documentary, apparently, depicting the body’s reaction
\nto a flesh wound. Fascinating; if I’d had a film like this in my
\nbiology class, I’d probably have remembered more.<\/p>\n

ENTROPY (Robin Noorda\/Morphosis, The Netherlands): One of those
\nfilms that makes you say, “What was the point?” Don’t ask me, I
\ndon’t know either.<\/p>\n

VISION INFOGOTHIQUE (Eric Mattson & Alain Mongeau, Canada): Give
\na couple of Universite de Quebec a Montreal (UQAM) students a Mac
\nand they’ll do all kinds of weird stuff. Mostly black and white
\nimages digitized and animated a la DeluxePaint III move requester.
\nA better animation package, some more imagination, or shorter running
\ntime would have made this a better film.<\/p>\n

LA TORTUE ET LES DEUX CANARDS (Fantome Animation, France): Much
\nlike _La Cigale et la Fourmi_, the character designs were cute,
\nand character motion was well-handled. The problem with the narrator
\nwas worse.<\/p>\n

PREBIRTH (Osama M. Hashem, USA): Three ray-traced human forms
\nemerge from eggs, move about in sync, and merge into one, which
\nreturns to the egg form. Very nice to watch.<\/p>\n

SPLASH DANCE (Michael Kass\/Apple Computer Inc., USA): Water flowing
\nthrough a canyon, and washing up the shore. Technically interesting
\nfor people who are interested in seeing ray-traced water moving,
\nbut otherwise uninspired.<\/p>\n

GRINNING EVIL DEATH (Mike McKenna\/MIT Lab, USA): HA HA! I hope
\nMITE AVISTA, which was partially modelled after the MIT media lab,
\nsomeday puts out stuff like this. Compute-created but cel-like
\ncharacter animation meets 3D ray-traced stuff. A barrel of laughs,
\nespecially with the “Little Mermaid Rules” graffiti on the wall in
\nthe background. The audience loved the fate of Mr. Sarcastic.<\/p>\n

THE MAKING OF RAZIEL’S TRANSFORMATION (Industrial Light & Magic,
\nUSA): This short explained the workings of Raziel’s transformation
\nfrom goat to ostrick to turtle to tiger to human in _Willow_.
\nTechnically interesting but repetitive. This could have used some
\ntime in the editing room.<\/p>\n

MORE BELLS AND WHISTLES (Wayne Little\/Cornell National Supercomputer
\nFacility, USA): A bizarre set of animated instruments come to life
\nand perform for the audience. Pretty good.<\/p>\n

The introduction animation for this evening (and apparently for the
\nrest of the festival) was done by Bruce Granofsky, who used to buy
\nAmiga stuff at the store where I used to work three years ago.
\nAs he was sitting two rows behind me, I went over and talked to
\nhim after the show. I might have something to report on his company,
\nDHD PostImage, or perhaps get him over here. Who knows?<\/p>\n

I picked up quite a few flyers and information sheets which I’ll be
\nabsorbing over the next few weeks (heck, I haven’t even gotten through
\neverything from Production ’90 in June, let alone the Ottawa Animation
\nFestival). I’ll be juggling school and work to try to catch as much
\nof this festival as possible, and I’ll report on that over the next
\ntwo weeks. Aside from three compilations of shorts, there are
\nalso workshops and display booths. Hope to glean something there.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #36, from hkenner, 4110 chars, Mon Dec 3 23:57:46 1990
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Jones1<\/p>\n

FOREWORD<\/p>\n

Chuck Jones had a great-uncle who used to tell him that a pig could
\nnot be made into a racehorse. What might reasonably be hoped for, he
\nsaid, was “a mighty fast pig.”<\/p>\n

So postulate a kid born, 1912, in Spokane. Endow him with a
\ndirectionless passion for drawing. Enroll him in what was available,
\nChouinard Art Institute, in Los Angeles of all places, at a time when
\nL.A. was parvenu’s paradise, a cultural wasteland. Next–1930–plunge
\nthe world into economic despair. Sit back, wait. No, do not expect a
\nMalibu Leonardo. But, should genes and fortune and circumstance
\nconspire just so, you may be rewarded with a surprising version of Uncle
\nLynn’s “mighty fast pig.”<\/p>\n

Such is one approach to Charles Martin (Chuck) Jones, indisputably a
\nmaster in an art–he’d have called it a trade–that only now is starting
\nto be defined. That was motion picture Character Animation, and it
\nflourished in one place in the world–southern California–for perhaps
\nthirty years (say 1933-63). Its several dozen practitioners (or several
\nhundred; definitions are elastic) had the good fortune never to be aware
\nthat they were practicing anything resembling an art. (Otherwise put:
\nneither did Animation Critics exist, nor were any Traditions easy to lay
\nhold of.) It flourished thanks to economic givens that ought to have
\nmade anything of lasting interest impossible, and it faded amid paeans
\nto social progress. (And the brief flowering of Periclean Athens: was
\nthat perhaps equally chancy? We simply do not know how such things
\nhappen.)<\/p>\n

Chuck Jones, 78 at this writing and going strong, now finds himself
\nfirmly installed in Animation History, a domain of learning that
\ncommenced to flourish less than two decades ago. One early landmark is
\nthe Jan.-Feb. 1975 issue of \\[Film Comment\\]. Another is Jay Cocks’s
\n“The World that Jones Made,” in the mmm. dd, yyyy issue of \\[Time\\].
\nThough generous to Jones’s way with studio properties–Bugs Bunny, Daffy
\nDuck–Cocks drew special attention to the glorious one-shots: “One
\nFroggy Evening,” notably; and “Duck Amuck,” which the priesthood is now
\nabout ready to call “self-reflexive.” Should you ever face the solemn
\ntask of preserving just one six-minute instance from the unthinkable
\nthousands of hours of animated footage that’s accumulated since–oh,
\nsince 1914, you’d not go wrong in selecting “a Jones.”<\/p>\n

To savor such wonders you need to examine them repeatedly; and as
\nlong as they existed only on film, high cost kept access restricted to
\naffluent fanatics. A like situation obtained in the long centuries when
\nbooks were accessible solely via manuscript copies, too expensive for
\nindividuals to dream of. Today the Video Cassette Recorder permits most
\nof us to own the classics of animation, and certainly the finest work of
\nChuck Jones, at the cost of a dinner or two or three on the town. For
\nwhatever purposes the VCR may have been marketed, friends of animation
\nat least may perceive its worth. It’s one more prizeworthy mighty fast
\npig.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

The Jay Cocks article first alerted me to Chuck Jones. A letter to
\nCocks fetched a Jones address; then a letter to Jones brought Jones to
\nBaltimore, where, one memorable afternoon and evening, he discoursed,
\ndrew pictures for children, and showed a Johns Hopkins audience a film
\nanthology. The texture of the discourse was memorable; I wish I could
\nrecall who it was he characterized as “A trellis of varicose veins.”
\nAnd the films–I’ll not forget Arnold Stein the Milton scholar,
\ninclining his head after “One Froggy Evening” to confide, “That was
\nsimple … and AB-so-lute.” As it was.<\/p>\n

At Huntington Beach, July 1990, I saw Chuck Jones daily for a week.
\nWhat got taped on those visits is a primary source for this book. Though
\nI’ve since tried to cross-check facts I can’t guarantee them. Animation
\nhistory remains rife with vagaries of human memory. Meanwhile it seems
\nworth setting down what I can offer.<\/p>\n

–H.K.<\/p>\n

SAY<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #37, from hkenner, 10493 chars, Tue Dec 4 00:06:10 1990
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Jones2<\/p>\n

CHAPTER 1<\/p>\n

Animation, like life itself, relies on natural principles. Life
\nrequires simply (simply!) DNA. Animation requires Persistence of
\nVision. That means: anything you’ve glimpsed you’ll go on seeing for
\nmaybe a tenth of a second after it’s gone. If meanwhile a different
\nglimpse gets substituted, the two will blend smoothly. And if they
\ndepict successive stages of movement, you’ll swear you saw something
\nmove.<\/p>\n

Ways to substitute the next image derive from flip-books, which have
\nbeen around since at least the 19th century. On the bottom margin of a
\nschool scribbler, a sketch of a car. On successive pages, the same car,
\nshifted incrementally rightwards. Now. Riffle the pages! Watch that
\nauto move!<\/p>\n

To check what they’ve done, animators riffle stacks of pages. No
\nsingle drawing stands out. Single drawings, however highly finished,
\nmay at best–Chuck Jones says–serve to help us remember some animated
\nsequence we recall enjoying. But Animation itself: Jones calls that “a
\nflurry of drawings.” How they’re shown is less important than their
\nflurry. A flip book can display a couple of seconds’ worth. For
\nsomething longer, best photograph each frame; then let a movie projector
\nplace them on a screen, fast enough for Persistence of Vision to blend
\nthem. Sixteen frames per second was fast enough in silent-film days.
\nSound, when it came about 1928, required twenty-four. But the eye
\ndoesn’t need that many; twelve per second will do for the eye. So sound
\nhelped ease the animator’s lot. Twelve drawings suffice for a second,
\neach photographed twice. The eye will detect no jerkiness.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

A flurry of drawings: one by one by one. Draw the starting pose;
\nthen draw the next instant, then the next, clear to the end of this
\nflurry, each image a modified tracing of the one before it: that’s
\ncalled “animating straight ahead,” and it’s how all animation was done
\nfor a couple of decades, clear into the age of sound, sixteen for each
\nsecond. In 1914, Winsor McCay’s many thousand straight-ahead drawings
\nmade Gertie the Dinosaur huff, stomp, lower her neck. Chuck Jones, as
\nhe likes to remark, was then two years old. “It all happened within my
\nlifetime.”<\/p>\n

McCay redrew every detail of every frame: not only Gertie, who’d
\nshift from glimpse to glimpse, but also all those things that shouldn’t
\nshift: rocks, mountains, trees, horizon. Retracing those with
\nmachine-like accuracy being simply impossible even for his steady hand,
\nthey flickered and shimmered around Gertie. In its time, the effect did
\nseem rather charming. But what a redundancy of effort! A way to draw a
\nbackground once, for re-use many dozen times, was one thing that would
\nraise animation above slave labor. It would also permit something later
\nto prove indispensible in establishing a world with characters a-move
\nwithin it: a perfectly unambiguous distinction betwen what was supposed
\nto be steady and what wasn’t.<\/p>\n

Not that McCay’s audiences needed that distinction. When he took
\nthe film on tour, and stood beside the screen with a pointer to conduct
\nhis dialogues with Gertie, some were unclear that they were looking at
\ndrawings. Some kind of real animal, surely, though oddly drained of
\ncolor? Or maybe some kind of model? It’s hard to realize how long it
\ntakes us to simply perceive a novel medium. (The telephone–a voice in
\nyour head, with no one else in the room? When a Boston businessman
\nfirst heard a demonstration of that about 18xx, he could think of
\nnothing to say save “Ho ho ho and away we go!”)<\/p>\n

Nor would slave labor have entered McCay’s thoughts. Like many
\npioneer animators, he was driven by a passion for drawing. To make a
\nhundred pictures of a morning, that was sheer heaven!<\/p>\n

We’re talking of a gone time of linked passions. Movie-goers too–
\nthey had a passion, for nothing more subtle than the sheer illusion of
\nmotion. It sufficed that on a wavering sheet they saw–galloping
\nhorses! (And therein lay the germ of the Western.) Chuck Jones
\nremembers when it was hilarious if an animated walker just hopped once
\nin a while. A story? That could emerge from whatever the animator
\nhappened to think of next.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

The reusable-background problem was solved, after several fumbles,
\nby 1914: U.S. Patent # 1,143,542, issued to Earl Hurd. The solution
\nwasn’t obvious, discarding as it did the natural supposition that the
\ndrawings the camera would see would be the ones drawn on paper. No.
\nDraw the background–once–on paper. Then trace each of your “moving”
\npaper drawings onto celluloid. Under the camera, lay each “cel” in
\nsequence over the background; push the button yet once again. Voila!<\/p>\n

(And to keep things steadily lined up, put a row of pegs on the
\ntable, to fit holes along the top of what’s being photographed. Raoul
\nBarre thought of that in 1914. Every cel, every sheet of animators’
\npaper, has worn those holes ever since.)<\/p>\n

That process created two new occupations: cel-tracer, cel-washer.
\nThe tracers have since been automated out, and a good thing too, since,
\ncareful though they might be, they lost subtleties. Nowadays an
\nunwavering Xerox eye transfers the animator’s every nuance to the cel.
\n(Grey areas–and, after color came in, colored ones–got painted onto
\nthe cels by hand, and still are.) The washers? Their job was to permit
\nreuse of precious celluloid, by cleaning the ink off cels once they’d
\nbeen photographed. Chuck Jones, at 19, commenced his long life in
\nanimation as a cel-washer.<\/p>\n

He’d been hired by Ub Iwerks of the improbable name, and who was Ub?
\nUb Iwerks came west from Kansas about 1924, to join Walt Disney. It’s
\nno secret that his drawing was far more resourceful than Walt’s; that he
\n(more or less) created Mickey Mouse; that he, single-handed, animated
\nthe pioneer Mickey cartoons, notably “Steamboat Willie”. That was the
\ncartoon that was retroactively fitted with sound, in accord with Walt’s
\nnigh-infallible nose for trends. By 1930 a financier named ??? had
\npersuaded Ub (wrongly) that he was more important than Walt, and set him
\nup in a studio of his own. He proceded to produce “Flip the Frog,” who
\nflopped. He had, alas, Chuck Jones recalls, “no sense of humor.” That
\nwas a considerable drawback.<\/p>\n

Ub Iwerks did excel at technical challenges. When Flip climbed a
\nstair the viewer’s eye climbed with him, so the stair’s perspective
\nshifted with every frame. That called for ultra-resourceful animating.<\/p>\n

Later, back with Disney, Ub was in charge of the Multiplane Camera
\nproject, which automated shifts of perspective with shifting viewpoints.
\nObjects close to the eye could even go out of focus, the way the eye
\nsees when it’s intent on something remote. The long opening shot of
\n“Pinocchio” (19xx) is a Multiplane tour de force.<\/p>\n

But in 1931, with an infusion of cash, Tycoon Iwerks was on his own;
\nhiring the likes of cel-washers; also importing from the east animators
\nof the quality of Grim Natwick.<\/p>\n

(Name?) “Grim” Natwick (born 1890, and dead only after he’d passed
\nhis hundredth birthday; Lord, like symphony conductors, animators are
\nlong-lived!)–Grim Natwick had commenced animating as far back as 1916,
\nfor the Pathe Studio in New York, where he’d finish eight dozen
\nstraight-ahead drawings before his lunch break. Later, with the Max
\nFleischer people, he laid claim to what then didn’t look like
\nimmortality by creating Betty Boop, at first a little dog with spit
\ncurls that walked on its hind legs to perform a Boop-boop-a-doop vocal
\nidentified with a singer named Helen Kane. (In those early days of
\nsound, animating pop hits was one sure cartoon formula.) By three more
\nfilms the dog’s droopy ears had become earrings, and Betty was, well
\nBetty. Grim Natwick was the other Fleischer animators’ envy because he
\ncould join Betty’s hand to her arm with a wrist; could even manage
\nknees. That was because he’d had formal art-school training; most
\nanimators, then and for decades to come, learned their craft by merely
\ntracing photographs. When photos weren’t available, they made arms and
\nlegs like rubber hoses.<\/p>\n

(Tracing photos, a technique pioneered by the Fleischers, is still
\nknown as “rotoscoping”. It’s a way toward a quick fix on human figures,
\nwho can be filmed in action as no Bugs Bunny can be. It is widely
\nregarded as cheating. It was also a way to manage Snow White and her
\nwooden prince. The model for some Snow White rotoscopes was Marge
\nChampion.)<\/p>\n

Anyhow, here’s Grim Natwick at the Ub Iwerks studio. And here’s a
\n19-year-old cel-washer, Charles M. Jones. And (Grim would recall) “I
\ntook him out, bought him an ice cream soda, and taught him all about
\ncrooked lines.” Ah, esoterica!<\/p>\n

Eventually–the details are elusive–Chuck Jones became Grim’s
\nAssistant Animator.<\/p>\n

That sounds more grandiose than it was. Assistant Animators would
\nlater get dubbed “In-Betweeners,” and their craft, like cel-washing,
\ndepended on a technical advance. That was the observation that if
\nanimators drew key poses–a left foot hitting the ground, a right foot
\nditto–then the frames in between, the ones that shifted the walker from
\nleft foot to right foot, could be as mechanical to draw as they were to
\nwalk, and might as well be assigned to anyone with the skill just to
\ndraw at all. “How fast is the walk?” would translate into “How many
\nin-between frames?,” an instruction the animator could relay. That was
\nthe end of straight-ahead animation. Thenceforward, Key Poses and
\nIn-Betweening. As a dividend, the In-Betweener was learning to animate.
\nMost animators of the Jones generation and since have learned their
\ncraft In-Betweening.<\/p>\n

It all made economic sense too. Animators were freed for uniquely
\nproductive work, while In-Betweening could be left to wage slaves. For
\na labor-intensive industry had long been sorting out its skills.
\nSomeone (Disney, Fleischer, Iwerks) in charge at the top. A few key
\ncreative people–Animators. Eager In-Betweeners, making maybe
\nnine-tenths of the drawings. A background artist or two. And a phalanx
\nof anonymous ink-and-painters, to grind out the cels the camera would
\nactually see. And, no, don’t forget the cameraman; we need him. And
\nsome folk to whomp up the sound. Oh–don’t forget the story either.
\nWe’ll return to that.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #38, from hmccracken, 4103 chars, Sun Jan 20 15:39:01 1991
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Here, courtesy of our own hkenner, is an interesting letter
\nhe recently received:
\nDated Dec. 28 1990, on *Reader’s Digest* Letterhead, where the writer
\n(John Culhane) is identified as “Roving Editor”)<\/p>\n

Dear Hugh Kenner:<\/p>\n

I thought you might be pleased to know that my 80th birthday
\npresent to my cousin, Shamus Culhane, who made the dwarfs march home in
\n.More..
\n*Snow Shite*, was your column from Art & Antiques on the way that
\nShamus and his mentor, Grim Natwick, animated Betty Boop. It is my
\npride that Shamus’s great autobiography, *Talking Animals and Other
\nPeople*, is dedicated to “my wife, Juana, my cousin, John Culhane, and
\nmy mentors, Don Graham, Grim Natwick, and Walt Disney.”<\/p>\n

When Shamus’s father deserted his family,Shamus had to drop out of
\nhigh school, where he had already won the public school medal for art
\ntwo years in a row, to become a cel washer at the J.R.Bray studio, in
\norder to give his mother and younger sister and brothger their daily
\nbread. But “man does not live by,” etc. Jimmy, as he was called then,
\ntaught himself Greek to read the classics, and even now reads several
\nbooks a week (in English) but he has always lamented that he didn’t
\nhave the opportunity for a university education. He has, however, taught
\nhimself to read his fellow Irishmen, James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, and
\nhe and I have had long, loving conversations about them, and about other
\nfavorites: Sam Johnson, Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams. (I
\npresume you know that Williams’s sister-in-law, Charlotte Herman Earle,
\nis the mother of Eyvind Earle, who designed *Sleeping Beauty* for Walt
\nDisney.) When Expo 67 symbolized American by filling Bucky Fuller’s
\ngeodesic dome with nose cones and film screens, one of those screens
\nshowed, over and over, Shamus’s “Heigh-Ho” sequence, sharing pride of
\nspace with Rhett constantly carrying Scarlett up the stairs of their
\nAtlanta house; Capra’s Mr. Smith (J-Jimmy Stewart) continually mooning
\nas he tries to get people to listen to the truth, etc. Naturally,
\nShamus and I have continually talked about your constant illuminations
\nof all these great favorites of ours.<\/p>\n

I also had a chance to talk to Grim about your column before he
\ndied. (“Art & Antiques, yes,” said Grim, who was about to celebrate his
\n100th birthday.) Grim and I worked together at Richard Williams
\nAnimation on the still-unfinished “The Thief” back in 1973: me working
\nwith Dick on story and Grim animating the Mad Ugly Old Witch of Benaris
\n— whom he made resemble, in comic respects, himself. As a Newsweek
\ncorrespondent, I interviewed Bucky for an article on Southern Illinois
\nUniversity; I interviewed all of the major animators of Walt’s day for
\n*The New York Times Magazine* and *American Film*, and John Huston gave
\nme the last major (two-day) interview of his life, on “The Dead”, for my
\nJOHN HUSTON–HOLLYWOOD’S GIANT in the Digest. Huston wrote in my first
\nedition of *Ulysses* (I had met Darantiere in Paris when I was a soldier
\nthere in 1958) that Joyce’s novel was “a total illumination — doors
\nfell open.” Every step of the way, I have prepared by reading Kenner.
\nThe day in about 1948, when, as a 14-year-old exploring the Rockford
\n(Illinois) Public Library, I opened a book at random and read *and the
\ndays are not full enough \/ and the nights are not full enough \/ and life
\nslips by like a field mouse \/ not shaking the grass* — my life took a
\nnew direction. Shortly after that I found a book by you on Pound’s
\npoetry, and soon I was reading the Cantos and pondering “Disney against
\nthe metaphysicals.” I wrote my *Walt Disney’s Fantasia* (Abrams, 1983)
\nabout those four words. You have helped me every step of the way. So I
\nhope you are happy to have pleased Shamus by seeing what he has been up
\nto all of these years.<\/p>\n

And now I look forward to reading *Historical Fictions*; through
\nChristopher Lehmann-Haupt’s review today in the New York Times, you gave
\nme pleasure again, by reminding me of Lucifer Ornamental Yokum.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,
\n John Culhane.<\/p>\n

— Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #39, from hkenner, 134 chars, Sun Jan 20 17:19:20 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 38.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nOMiGawd. Culhane did not type “Snow Shite.” Note that W and S are
\nadjacent keys, and that I was making a hasty transcription. ==HK<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #40, from davemackey, 205 chars, Mon Jan 21 19:17:10 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 39.
\n————————–
\nNice letter, Hugh, and testament to your talents. And it answered
\na long-standing question as to whether John Culhane was or was
\nnot a relative of the great Shamus.
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #41, from jporter, 8599 chars, Mon Feb 18 03:33:49 1991
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Animation (1989)
\nAnimation and the Macintosh.
\nBy Julie Porter <\/p>\n

According to animation historians, animation began about thirty
\nthousand years ago in French and Spanish caves. It is believed that
\nsequential drawings in Egyptian and Greek paintings were early
\nattempts at creating movement. With the discovery of persistence of
\nvision in the early eighteen twenties, many optical toys were
\nproduced. These parlor toys often used pseudo-Latin prefixes and
\nsuffixes. Cine-, -trope, and -scope were combined to make complex
\nsounding names. The word cinematography, which means the study
\nof motion, is still used to this day,although with a different meaning.
\nAnother famous machine the zoetrope,which means wheel of life,
\nand it’s close cousin the praxinoscope, which I could not find the
\nmeaning of, became the forerunner of the motion picture projector.
\nWhile Winsor McKay was the first popular animator, it was Earl
\nHurd who in 1914 patented the process which Walt Disney was to
\nmake famous. Mr Hurd developed a celluloid system which involved
\ncovering an opaque background with layers of celluloid. These clear
\nplastic sheets known as cells are painted with opaque inks and
\npaint. Precisely measured metal or plastic pegs hold the artwork
\nstable. This is the pegged cell system of animation. The artist is
\nsaved from the repetitive task of drawing the background lines for
\neach and every frame.
\nMany people have attempted to speed up this time consuming
\nprocess of drawing over a thousand frames for every minute of film.
\nMost solutions use fewer frames. Today this form of limited
\nanimation is used for Saturday morning childrens shows. After
\nleaving M.G.M. in the early sixties, William Hanna and Joseph
\nBarbara, used an IBM mainframe to analyze their previous work.
\nBy using the same characters from week to week, they were able to
\nrecycle the cells based on the output of a script analyzing program.
\nThis enabled them to produce more animation in one week; than the
\nentire output of their career at M.G.M.
\nLittle changed in the world of animation until the advent of the
\ncomputer in the 1950s. Like Hanna and Barbara most people found
\nthe computer to be more of an indexing machine than a production
\nmachine. Another ten years would need to pass before direct
\ntransfer of images from memory to display device would be possible.
\nAside from experiments at Bell labs the only early image producing
\nmachine that I can find documented is the scanimate. Created by
\nComputer Image Corporation in 1968. This primitive device used a
\ncomputer to manipulate an analog signal, such as displayed on an
\noscilloscope. A few years later, a computer was connected to a
\ntelevision set. The first crude attempts at animation generated
\nmostly color patterns. These patterns were used by the television
\nnetworks to introduce the Movie of the Week.. The networks quickly
\nfound a cheaper alternative slit scan animation. A standard
\nanimation camera is made to move over colored lights. Backgrounds
\nwere painted with sponges, and cut pieces of paper. This creates
\nstreaks and dots. The Star Wars titles are done this way.
\nMany early video animation machines use analog signals to
\nmanipulate the signal along horizontal lines of the television set
\nThese lines are commonly known as rasters. There are
\napproximately 400 of these lines displayed in the standard television.
\nThis grouping of lines is called a frame. To make matters more
\nconfusing the frame is divided up into odd Rasters and even Rasters.
\nThese groups are called a field. Each frame is displayed 30 times a
\nsecond. This gives a rate of 60 fields per second. This is called
\ninterlaced video.
\nMost computers were designed to use non-interlaced video. To get
\nmore lines on a screen the number of lines in a field was increased.
\nThis makes the display not compatible with a television. The
\nMacintosh is particularly guilty of this. To solve this problem a
\ndevice known as a frame buffer was developed. The process of
\ndigitally writing individual dots, known as pixels, is called raster
\nscanning.
\nIt was not until raster scanning became popular in the seventies
\nthat a successor to the pegged cell method of creating animation has
\nbeen realized. Computer animation still remains prohibitively
\nexpensive. LucasFilm, who’s well known work on the Pixar, An
\nincredibly expensive raster scanning computer, and other animation
\nmarvels, Still relies on the pegged cell system for the day to day
\nwork of producing special effects. Cost savings is a major asset in
\nusing the cell system. Cells can be recycled by washing them in a
\nsolvent. This was used as a plot device in the recent film Who
\nFramed Roger Rabbit?
\nThe major disadvantages of using the cell system is that the
\nartwork must be photographed and sent to the processing lab at
\nleast twice. First the Animator draws the character onto plain bond
\npaper. This is then photographed to produce a pencil test. If there is
\na mistake in the animation the drawing is redone. This task is
\nrepeated until the animation is acceptable. Once accepted the
\nanimation is Xeroxed onto the cells. Then it is painted in preparation
\nfor photography.
\nThe Macintosh makes a good platform to produce this pencil test. I
\nuse the Macintosh Plus to generate experimental animation this
\nway. First I draw the animation onto standard animation bond. I
\nthen scan it in using a low cost digitizer. I use VideoWorks to check
\nthe quality of the animation. For most eight millimeter work I use a
\nScribe printer, originally released with the Apple II, to print medium
\nresolution cells. Surprisingly enough a LaserWriter and a postscript
\ndrawing program, such as Illustrator or Freehand, can be used to
\ndirectly produce production quality cells. Once painted the cells can be
\nphotographed.
\nThe Macintosh is also a good way of maintaining other paper
\nproducing tasks in animation and film making. Storyboards are
\ncartoon sequences used to hash out the plots of most major films.
\nBar sheets are used to synchronize the sound to the picture. Edit
\ndecision lists are used in the final cutting to tell the lab where to
\ncut the negative to print. I use MacDraw to generate these complex
\nforms.
\nA process known as ikonography is used to cut down on the
\nnumber of cells needed in documentary and educational films. This
\ntechnique is called Filmography by the U.S Navy,which is a large
\nproducer of animated training films. Maps, paintings, and other flat
\nworks of art are photographed with complex movements of the
\ncamera. Music and narration are used to hide the static nature of
\nthe artwork.These movements are called pans and zooms.
\nMost professional animation cameras allow the artwork to be
\nmoved in the X,Y, or Z, planes of three dimensional space. Some
\ncameras allow the artwork to be rotated in the X and Y plane.
\ne used to record these
\ncomplex movements onto a grid. Currently motion control computers
\nare starting to be used to generate these complex moves. The
\nMacintosh makes a good low cost alternative to generate these
\npantograph sheets for the amateur or semi-professional animator.
\nits infancy. Computers are
\nrapidly replacing ikonography and slit scanned animation. This is
\nonly one aspect of persistence of vision. By following the light waves
\nproduced on a raster
\ndisplay. This variant is known as ray tracing and has opened new
\nhorizons in the entertainment field. Many exciting and boring
\nay, and other super
\ncomputers.
\nAnimation can be done with time, paper and pencil. Flip books
\nwere popular in the eighteenth century to show pornography. It is
\n used as far back as the pre-
\nhistoric Greeks and Egyptians. It took Peter Roget, the compounder of
\nthe thesaurus, to publish a paper in 1824 on the persistence of vision
\nwhich enabled the way for animation to move from the steamy
\n the public movie house.
\nIt will be nice when story and character outweigh the
\nmathematical concepts of fractals and antialiasing. When computers
\n powerful that 8000 rasters can be manipulated in a
\nandom access computer memory
\nenables whole worlds to exist; until then pegged cell animation will
\nbe the cheapest form of producing these wonderful ways of
\nhe Macintosh combined with the
\ntried and true methods of cell animation is the recommended way of
\nproducing quality amateur, and semi-professional animation. We are
\n Bray were, when they
\ncombined to share their patents. This opened the way for Max
\nFlescher and Walt Disney to show us what can be done when
\ncharacter and personality is added to technology. <\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #42, from hmccracken, 42 chars, Mon Feb 18 13:42:18 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 41.
\nThere are additional comments to message 41.
\n————————–
\nThanks for the article, Julie.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #43, from hkenner, 192 chars, Wed Feb 20 12:02:30 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 41.
\nThere are additional comments to message 41.
\n————————–
\nSlight correction: “cinematography” would mean “study of motion”
\nbut “writing of motion,” or by extension, “picturing of motion”.
\nAny word with “graph” in it pertains to a visual record.
\n–HK<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #44, from switch, 118 chars, Wed Feb 20 15:21:27 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 41.
\n————————–
\nAnother slight correction: when used to describe drawing on acetate, the
\nabbreviation for “celluloid” is “cel”.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #45, from hdavison, 397 chars, Thu Apr 4 00:34:19 1991
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Come, Join and Comment..<\/p>\n

Come and join the gaming.college\/mud.gaming conference. We are discussing
\nthe possibility of the implementation of a MULTI_USER game simulation using
\na large UNIX platform on a *NATIONAL* telecommunications system.<\/p>\n

Your thoughts and comments with respect to animation and related subjects
\ncould put a real positive twist on the subjects under discussion.<\/p>\n

–Hal.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #46, from sje, 55116 chars, Mon May 6 19:11:49 1991
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Disney 1991 Annual Meeting Transcript<\/p>\n

From the Usenet Netnews of 06 May 1991
\n————————————–
\nFrom: david@mks.com (David Rowley)
\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.disney
\nSubject: ’91 Stockholders Meeting Transcript
\nDate: 4 May 91 18:17:54 GMT
\nOrganization: Mortice Kern Systems Inc., Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA<\/p>\n

The kind folks at the Florida forum on Compuserve have given the okay to
\nthe odd posting of some of their messages. Here’s the transcript
\nof this year’s stockholders meeting.<\/p>\n

—————————————————————————–<\/p>\n

1991 ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS MEETING
\nMARCH 19, 1991
\nANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA<\/p>\n

MICHAEL EISNER:.<\/p>\n

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.<\/p>\n

I am Michael Eisner, chairman of The Walt Disney Company. On behalf
\nof myself and my colleague, Disney President Frank Wells… welcome
\nto the Annual Meeting of Shareholders.<\/p>\n

This is the third time in five years we’ve met here in Anaheim, the
\nheartland of Disney,and we’ve come a long way in that time.<\/p>\n

When we met here in 1987, we were a two-and-a-half-billion dollar
\ncompany. When we returned here last year, we were a 4.6-billion
\ndollar company. Today we are at 5.8-billion and likely to pass $6
\nbillion in the current year. And we have what athletes call “Big
\nMO,” MOMENTUM, on our side.<\/p>\n

But while growth is exhilarating, we increasingly get great
\nenjoyment in other aspects of our jobs, often those things that
\nbolster our reputation for doing things well.<\/p>\n

One occurred this year as a direct result of this scene from our
\nrecent hit, “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.”<\/p>\n

[ROLL “HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS CLIP”]<\/p>\n

As filmmakers intent on telling a story, we know that what we
\ndepict on film frequently has more influence on viewers than we
\ncould ever imagine. In this case, the unintended but happy
\nconsequence was reported to me in a letter from Michael C. Perdue
\nof San Diego.<\/p>\n

Let me read you an excerpt:On August 17, 1990 my
\n3-and-a-half-year-old son, Jeremy, found his one-year-old brother,
\nCorey, floating face down in a Jacuzzi. He jumped in and pulled his
\nbrother up.<\/p>\n

My six-year-old son, Tristan, pulled Corey out of the water…and
\napplied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and then ran for assistance
\nfrom me. Due to the quick action of these boys their brother is
\nfine.<\/p>\n

Later, I asked Tristan where he had learned to do mouth-to-mouth…
\nWithout hesitation he replied, ‘From watching “Honey, I Shrunk The
\nKids.’Thank you, Mr. Eisner, and all at Disney…<\/p>\n

As I said earlier, these kinds of things make me especially proud
\nto be part of The Walt Disney Company.<\/p>\n

(PAUSE)<\/p>\n

Now it’s time to get on with our business.<\/p>\n

As always, we have a full agenda. I will be acting as chairman for
\nthe conduct of this meeting. “I now declare the polls open as of
\nthistime and date for all matters to be voted upon at this meeting.
\nThe polls will close upon adjournment of the meeting.” I want to
\nremind those who wish to make any last minute proxy changes that
\nthere is an information desk in the lobby with people available to
\nassist you. Also available are copies of our first quarterly
\nearnings report for fiscal 1991 and our current annual report. I
\nencourage you to read them.<\/p>\n

Following is the agenda for this meeting: First, we will present
\nthree resolutions that require the vote of our shareholders. After
\nthat we will hear reports from officers of the company. Then we
\nwill set aside time for questions from shareholders, after which we
\nwill adjourn. Then… where are we going next? … Why, of course,
\nwe’re going toDisneyland …<\/p>\n

Now I’d like to introduce Doris Smith, our Corporate Secretary and
\na vice president of the company. I now appoint Doris to act as
\nsecretary of the meeting with responsibility for recording the
\nproceedings.<\/p>\n

Doris, may we have your report on the number of outstanding shares
\npresent today and voting?<\/p>\n

[DORIS REPORTS]<\/p>\n

Thank you Doris. Based on the report, I rule that a quorum is
\npresent and this meeting is qualified to proceed with the business
\nmatters before us.<\/p>\n

Today’s meeting has been duly called and is being conducted in
\nconformity with the law and our own articles of incorporation and
\nour by-laws. Kevin Schaffels has been appointed by the board to act
\nas the inspector of elections. You have heard the tally of the
\nshares present today, either in person or by proxy, and that the
\nvote has been tabulated. We will proceed with the propositions
\nbefore us.<\/p>\n

The first order of business is the election of four members of the
\nboard of directors, each to hold office for a term of three years
\nand until a successor has been elected and qualified.<\/p>\n

As you know, several years ago shareholders voted to reincorporate
\nin the state of Delaware. As a part of that reincorporation, the
\ncompany established a classified board of directors serving
\nstaggered three-year terms. That is why our entire board is not
\nstanding for election today.<\/p>\n

The nominees for the board are all currently serving as directors
\nof The Walt Disney Company. They are Stanley P. Gold, Irwin E.
\nRussell and Raymond L. Watson. I am also a member of this class of
\ndirectors and therefore also a nominee.<\/p>\n

Stanley Gold is president and chief executive officer of Shamrock
\nHoldings Incorporated, a company engaged in ranching, real estate,
\nagriculture and energy businesses and the retailing of audio and
\nvideo products. He is also president of TrAY-Foil Investors,
\nShamrock Capitol Advisors and chairman of Enterra Corporation.<\/p>\n

In addition to his business activities, he is vice chairman of the
\nboard of governors of Hebrew Union College and a trustee of the
\nCardozo School of Law in New York, The Center Theatre Group in Los
\nAngeles and the George C. Marshall Foundation.<\/p>\n

Stan, please rise.<\/p>\n

Irwin E. Russell is an attorney engaged in private practice who has
\nlong been involved in all areas of the entertainment industry, both
\nas an attorney and senior business and financial executive. Since
\n1989, he has served of counsel to the law firm of Rudin, Appel and
\nRosenfeld. Before that he was senior partner in the law firm of
\nRussell and Glickman.<\/p>\n

Earlier he was executive vice president, treasurer and a director
\nof the Wolper organization. In addition, he has worked as an
\nattorney for the federal government in Washington, D. C. and serves
\nas an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and the
\nFederal Mediation and Conciliation Service. He has been actively
\ninvolved in many civic, charitable and political organizations.<\/p>\n

Irwin, please stand.<\/p>\n

Raymond L. Watson is chairman of our board’s executive committee
\nand my predecessor as chairman of The Walt Disney Company. He
\nbrought stability to the company during its most tumultuous period
\nin history, in 1984.<\/p>\n

Ray is a nationally recognized architect and a leader in urban
\nplanning and community development. He serves as vice chairman of
\nthe Irvine Company, perhaps the nation’s leading land development
\ncompany. He also serves as chief executive officer of Ray Watson
\nIncorporated, a real estate development company. In 1985 and 1986,
\nhe was regent professor in the Graduate School of Management at the
\nUniversity of California at Irvine. He is a director of Pacific
\nMutual Life Insurance Company and a director of Mitchell Energy and
\nDevelopment Company.<\/p>\n

Ray…<\/p>\n

As I said previously, I am the last nominee. Directors are elected
\nby a plurality of the votes cast. If elected, all nominees are
\nexpected to serve until the 1994 annual meeting.<\/p>\n

We will now vote on those nominees who have been proposed by the
\nboard of directors … Stanley Gold, Irwin Russell, Ray Watson and
\nme.<\/p>\n

All those in favor, please signify with the word “Aye.”<\/p>\n

[PAUSE]<\/p>\n

All those opposed, signify with “Nay.” Based on the voice vote and
\nthe tally reported by our secretary, Doris Smith, and subject to
\nthe final certification by the inspector of elections, I declare
\nthe nominees re-elected for the ensuing three years.<\/p>\n

I want to introduce the rest of our board.<\/p>\n

[PAUSE]<\/p>\n

Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson has been a Disney director for 15 years.
\nMrs. Ahmanson is chairman of the board of Caroline Leonetti
\nLimited, a woman’s center for self improvement. From 1982 to 1984
\nshe was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She
\nis now chairman emeritus.<\/p>\n

She also serves as a director of Fluor Corporation. For more than
\n20 years, she has been actively involved in numerous civic,
\nphilanthropic and charitable affairs. She has also distinguished
\nherself as a goodwill ambassador to the people of China for both
\nour company and our country.<\/p>\n

Caroline, please rise and be recognized.<\/p>\n

It seems as if every time I introduce our next director who is
\nobviously very well known to you, there is a smidgeon of applause
\n… Roy E. Disney … Well, Roy, your record is intact.<\/p>\n

Roy is, of course, the son of Walt’s brother, Roy O. Disney, the
\nco-founder of The Walt Disney Company. Within our organization, he
\nserves as both vice chairman of the board of directors and head of
\nthe best animation department in the world.<\/p>\n

In addition to his roles at Disney, he is chairman of Shamrock
\nHoldings and its subsidiary, Shamrock Broadcasting. Shamrock also
\noperates Music Plus andSound Warehouse, both home entertainment
\nretail chains.<\/p>\n

In addition to all this, he is a sailor of accomplishment. Last
\nmonth, his sail boat, the Pyewacket, won an eleven hundred mile
\nrace from Marina del Rey toPuertO Vallarta.<\/p>\n

Captain Disney, would you please stand.<\/p>\n

Ignacio E. Lozano, Jr. is chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Lozano
\nEnterprises, which publishes La Opinion, the largest Spanish
\nlanguage newspaper in California. He has also served as United
\nStates Ambassador to El Salvador. He serves on the boards of
\nBankamerica Corporation, Bank of America,Pacific Enterprises, and
\nPacific Mutual Life Insurance Company.<\/p>\n

In addition to his direct involvement in many public service and
\ncharitable organizations, he has been an outspoken advocate of
\nHispanic causes. An alumnus of Notre Dame, he is a member of that
\nuniversity’s board of trustees.<\/p>\n

Nacho …<\/p>\n

Sharon Disney Lund …<\/p>\n

As many of you know, Mrs. Lund is a daughter of the late Walt
\nDisney. She serves as an officer of Retlaw Enterprises. That’s
\nWalter spelled backwards. It is owned by members of the family,
\nincluding Sharon. She also serves as a trustee of four educational
\ninstitutions: California Institute of the Arts, the Marianne
\nFrostig Center for Educational Therapy, The Curtis School
\nFoundation and Landmark West.<\/p>\n

Sharon …<\/p>\n

Richard A. Nunis has been a director for the past ten years. He is
\nthe mainstay of our theme parks. Dick is president ofWalt Disney
\nAttractions, which encompasses theme parks and resorts.<\/p>\n

Dick has served the company with distinction for the past
\nthirty-six years, working his way up through the ranks. He is a
\nmember of the board of directors of Sun Bank in Florida and Florida
\nProgress Corporation.<\/p>\n

Dick is a director or trustee of several educational, civic and
\ncharitable organizations, including the University of Central
\nFlorida in Orlando.<\/p>\n

Last year, he was named to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board of
\nthe United States Department of Commerce.<\/p>\n

Dick …<\/p>\n

Donn Tatum has served as a senior executive of the company for more
\nthan 35 years. He succeeded Roy O. Disney as chairman and chief
\nexecutive officer and served in that capacity from 1971 to 1977.
\nLater he moved to chairman of the executive committee.<\/p>\n

Donn is director of Western Digital Corporation. In addition, he is
\na director or trustee of Endowments Incorporated, Bond Portfolio
\nfor Endowments, New Economy Fund and Smallcap World Fund, each a
\nmutual fund.<\/p>\n

Donn, please rise.<\/p>\n

The third former chairman of the company serving on our board is E.
\nCardon Walker. He has been a director for 31 years and has spent
\nhis entire professional life with the company.<\/p>\n

Card became president in 1971, chief executive in 1976 and chairman
\nin 1980. Three thriving enterprises were established under his
\nleadership: Epcot Center, The Disney Channel and Tokyo Disneyland.
\nCard is now in his 53rd year of association with the company. Card,
\nplease stand and be recognized.<\/p>\n

Frank Wells is president and chief operating officer of the
\ncompany. Frank will be up here later to share the stage with me.
\nBefore joining Disney, he served as president and then vice
\nchairman of Warner Brothers. Before that he was a partner in the
\nlaw firm of Gang, Tyre and Brown. He serves on the board of
\ntrustees of his alma mater, Pomona College, the California
\nInstitute of Technology, the Sundance Institute, The Natural
\nHistory Museum of Los Angeles County and the J. Paul Getty Trust.<\/p>\n

In addition, he is a member of the services Policy Advisory
\nCommittee, office of the United States Trade Representative.<\/p>\n

He has also climbed seven of the highest mountains in the world.<\/p>\n

Frank?<\/p>\n

Samuel L. Williams has been a partner in the Los Angeles law firm
\nof Hufstedler, Kaus & Ettinger for more than twenty years. He has
\nserved as president of the state bar of California, president of
\nthe Los Angeles County Bar Association and head of the Board of
\nPolice Commissioners of the City of Los Angeles. He serves on the
\nboard of directors of the Bank of California as well as many
\ncharitable and public service organizations. One of Sam’s principal
\ninterests in the past few years is the non-profit Casa Colina
\nCenter for Physical rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

Sam?<\/p>\n

Gary L. Wilson served as our chief financial officer from 1985
\nthrough 1989, when he assumed the new role of principal adviser to
\nthe company for strategic planning and other financial matters.
\nLast month, Gary was elected co-chairman of Northwest Airlines. He
\nis a director of NWA Incorporated, Northwest’s privately held
\nparent company. Before joining Disney, he was executive vice
\npresident and chief financial officer of the Marriott Corporation.
\nHe also serves on the board of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke
\nUniversity.<\/p>\n

Gary?<\/p>\n

The second proposal calls for approval of the 1990 Stock Incentive
\nPlan. The board adopted the plan on November 26, 1990, subject to
\napproval by the company’s shareholders at this meeting. The plan
\nprovides long-term incentives and rewards to employees of the
\ncompany and its subsidiaries. The 1990 plan provides for the
\nissuance of up to 8.5 million shares. The plan will be
\nadministered by the Compensation Committee of the board of
\ndirectors. Approval of the plan requires the affirmative vote of at
\nleast a majority of the common stock represented in person or by
\nproxy here today. The board recommends that the stockholders vote
\nfor approval.<\/p>\n

All in favor of the resolution, please signify with the word
\n“Aye.”Those opposed? I declare the second resolution of this
\nannual meeting to have passed, subject to the final count by the
\ninspector of elections.<\/p>\n

The third and last proposal calls for the ratification of the
\nappointment of Price Waterhouse as the company’s independent
\naccountant, as recommended by the Audit Committee of the board.<\/p>\n

The services provided to the company and its subsidiaries include
\nthe examination of the company’s financial statements and quarterly
\nreports and other services related to Securities and Exchange
\nCommission filings.<\/p>\n

Price Waterhouse has served as the company’s independent accountant
\nsince its incorporation in 1938 as Walt Disney Productions.<\/p>\n

The board recommends a vote “FOR” a continuation of this valued
\nrelationship.<\/p>\n

All those in favor? Opposed? I declare the final resolution to
\nhave passed subject to the final count by the inspector of
\nelections.<\/p>\n

At this time I would like to introduce Judson Green, senior vice
\npresident and chief financial officer. He will report on the
\nfinancial condition of your company. Judson.<\/p>\n

JUDSON:<\/p>\n

Thank you Michael. I am very pleased to be here this morning to
\nreview Disney’s fiscal year 1990 and first quarter 1991 financial
\nresults.<\/p>\n

Before I begin, let me emphasize that although Wall Street seems to
\nfocus inordinately on the near term, we at Disney firmly believe
\nthat we must plan for the long term. You’ve seen this philosophy
\nreflected in the 20\/20 financial objectives printed in our annual
\nreport — 20% or greater return on stockholders’ equity in any one
\nyear, and 20% annualized earnings per share growth over any rolling
\n5-year period.<\/p>\n

This morning I will summarize year-over-year comparisons, but focus
\nas well on longer-term, five-year growth comparisons, which we
\nbelieve are better barometers of Disney’s success.<\/p>\n

In fiscal 1990, total revenue grew by over$1 billion to $5.8
\nbillion, an increase of 27% over 1989. In 1990, total revenue was
\nalmost three and one-half times that of 1985.<\/p>\n

This represents a five-year compound annualized growth rate of 28%.<\/p>\n

Over the past five years, the Filmed Entertainment and Consumer
\nProducts segments have contributed increasing proportions of
\nrevenue. In 1985, 74% of total revenue came from Theme Parks and
\nResorts. In 1990, that percentage was only 52% because of
\nimpressive growth in our other two segments.<\/p>\n

In 1990, operating income for the company grew by almost $200
\nmillion to $1.4 billion — an increase of 16% over 1989.<\/p>\n

In 1990, operating income was over four times its level in 1985,
\nrepresenting a five-year compound annualized growth rate of 33%.<\/p>\n

Looking at operating income by business segment in 1990 as compared
\nto 1985, you can see that Disney has achieved more balance in the
\ncontribution of profits from each segment.<\/p>\n

In 1990, our net income grew by over $100 million to $824 million,
\nan increase of 17% over 1989. This is almost five times the level
\nof net income in 1985, and represents a five-year compound growth
\nrate of 37%.<\/p>\n

Earnings per share for 1990 were $6.00, up 18% from 1989.<\/p>\n

Again, this is almost five times the level of earnings per share in
\n1985, representing a five-year compound annualized growth rate of
\n36%.<\/p>\n

This strong financial performance has provided you with a strong
\nreturn on stockholders’ equity. Disney’s return on equity has
\nranged between 19% and 27% over the past five years. Our return on
\nequity in 1990 was almost 50% higher than the return on equity for
\nU.S. companies as measured by the Standard and Poor’s 500 index.<\/p>\n

Now let’s briefly look at the three business segments individually.<\/p>\n

Revenue for the Theme Parks and Resorts grew by over $400 million
\nto $3 billion, an increase of 16% over 1989. When compared to 1985
\nrevenue, 1990 represents a five-year compound annualized growth
\nrate of 19%.<\/p>\n

Operating income for Theme Parks and Resorts reached $889 million,
\na year-over-year increase of 13%. Operating income for this
\nsegment has more than tripled since 1985, representing a five-year
\ncompound growth rate of 28%.<\/p>\n

Filmed Entertainment revenue in 1990 grew by over $600 million to
\nalmost $2.3 billion, up 42% from 1989. In 1990, Filmed
\nEntertainment’s revenue was seven times its 1985 level, which
\nrepresents an impressive 48% five-year compound annualized growth
\nrate.<\/p>\n

Filmed Entertainment operating income grew to $313 million in 1990,
\nan increase of 22% over 1989. 1990’s operating income was nine
\ntimes its 1985 level, reflecting a phenomenal 56% five-year
\ncompound growth rate.<\/p>\n

1990 revenue for Consumer Products grew by almost $200 million to
\n$574 million, a year-over-year increase of 40%.<\/p>\n

This is almost five times the revenue level for 1985, and
\nrepresents a five-year compound annualized growth rate of 36%.<\/p>\n

Consumer Products operating income grew to $223 million in 1990, an
\nincrease of 19% over 1989. This is quadruple the level of operating
\nincome in 1985 and reflects a five-year compound growth rate of
\n32%.<\/p>\n

Now I’d like to spend a minute discussing the challenges of the
\ncurrent economic environment.<\/p>\n

At present, several factors are influencing your company’s
\noperating performance. Nation-wide concerns about the magnitude
\nand length of the recession have driven the Consumer Confidence
\nIndex to historically low levels. The Financial Service sector
\nappears to be somewhat in disarray, and despite several Federal
\nReserve Board attempts to stimulate the economy, the timing of a
\nrecovery is uncertain.<\/p>\n

These factors do affect The Walt Disney Company, because our core
\nbusinesses benefit from discretionary consumer spending. As a
\nresult, the near-term financial performance will not be as dramatic
\nas you have seen in the past. The short term effects of the current
\neconomic climate will likely have a negative effect on current
\nearnings.<\/p>\n

Remember, however, ours is a long-term perspective, and we continue
\nto invest in new initiatives from which we will benefit throughout
\nthe rest of this decade.<\/p>\n

Now let me compare our company’s financial performance during the
\nfirst quarter of 1991, with that of the first quarter of 1990.<\/p>\n

First quarter 1991 total revenue for The Walt Disney Company grew
\nto almost $1.5 billion, a 16% increase over first quarter 1990.<\/p>\n

However, total operating income for the first quarter was basically
\nflat with the first quarter of the previous year.<\/p>\n

First quarter 1991 net income of $170 million showed a 2% decrease
\nfrom the first quarter of 1990.<\/p>\n

Although first quarter 1991 net income represents a slight
\ndecrease, first quarter 1991 earnings per share increased by 2% to
\n$1.28 because of fewer shares of stock outstanding.<\/p>\n

Within the business segments, first quarter Theme Parks and Resorts
\nrevenue rose 1% from the prior year period to $624 million. Growth
\nwas slowed by a softening in domestic tourism resulting from the
\neconomic concerns I mentioned earlier.<\/p>\n

Theme Parks and Resorts operating income for the first quarter
\ndecreased by $25 million to $139 million. In addition to weakening
\ntourism, another factor affecting operating income was increased
\ndevelopment expense associated with our “Disney Decade” expansion
\nprogram.<\/p>\n

In the first quarter of 1991, Filmed Entertainment revenue grew by
\n28% to $647 million. Operating income rose 19% to $92 million.<\/p>\n

Consumer Products posted a 34% first quarter revenue increase to
\n$222 million. Operating income climbed 13% over the prior year
\nperiod to $77 million.<\/p>\n

In summary, we achieved strong financial results in fiscal 1990 and
\nare well positioned for long-term success.<\/p>\n

Michael and Frank will now tell you about plans for all three of
\nour business segments. These are the initiatives that will enable
\nus to meet our 20\/20 financial goals for many years to come.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Thank you, Judson…<\/p>\n

Each year at this point in the meeting I ask your President and my
\npartner, Frank Wells, to join me in bringing you up to date on the
\nstate of the business. Please join me now in welcoming Frank to
\nthe stage. Frank…<\/p>\n

EISNER CONTINUES:
\nThis year’s meeting is taking place about a month later than usual,
\nwhich means we’re very nearly at the end of our second fiscal ’91
\nquarter.<\/p>\n

So rather than concentrate exclusively on 1990, Frank and I will
\nincorporate some of the more recent highlights in various parts of
\nthe business.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

First, let’s look at our filmed entertainment business, which has
\ndeveloped increasing momentum and strength each year since 1984.<\/p>\n

In fact, in the first quarter of this year its revenues surpassed
\nthose of our theme parks for the first time in 26 years.<\/p>\n

It is true that theme park revenues were blunted during the quarter
\nby the impending Gulf War and a weakening economy. But that takes
\nnothing away from the extraordinary performance of our Studios
\ndivision, which is staffed by a talent-rich management team led by
\nJeffrey Katzenberg and Richard Frank. The Studios’ success is
\nmerely a healthy reminder that Disney now has strength and balance
\nthat goes beyond any single business segment. In feature films, we
\nproceed from a position of industry leadership. 1990 was a very
\nstrong year for The Disney Studios, which for the first time ever
\nearned number one ratings at the boxoffice both at home and around
\nthe world.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

For the second time in three years, Disney topped all the major
\nstudios domestically. “Pretty Woman,” with a domestic boxoffice of
\nmore than 178 million dollars, was the second highest grossing film
\nof the year. Dick Tracy’s 104-million-dollars was ninth highest,
\nhelping lift total domestic boxoffice to more than 621 million
\ndollars.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Other major films for us in 1990 included:”The Little Mermaid,” the
\nall-time boxoffice champ for animated features; “Arachnophobia,”
\nthe first release of our new Hollywood Films label; and”Three Men
\nand a Little Lady.” “The Little Mermaid,” incidentally, was also
\nthe best-selling home video release of 1990, and its Academy
\nAward-winning soundtrack by Alan Mencken and the late Howard
\nAshman, also earned Golden Globe Awards. Recently, the
\ncomposer\/lyricist team received two Grammy Awards when the
\nsoundtrack was named the best recording for children and “Under The
\nSea” was named best song written specifically for motion picture or
\ntelevision.<\/p>\n

“The Jungle Book,” the second most successful animated reissue in
\nour history, coupled with other summer films such as “Dick Tracy”
\nand “Arachnophobia,” enabled us to establish a WEEK-END industry
\nrecord from August 3rd to 5th last year. On that weekend seventy
\nfour hundred theaters–30 percent of all theaters in the U.S. and
\nCanada–were showing a Touchstone, Disney or Hollywood Pictures
\nfilm.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Our overseas box office results in 1990 were even more impressive.
\nOur foreign gross of almost 695 million dollars easily topped the
\ndomestic total and made us the number one producer overseas for the
\nfirst time ever. Two films, “Pretty Woman” and “Dead Poets
\nSociety,” found huge audiences throughout the world…and
\nespecially in Europe.
\n“Pretty Woman’s” year-end worldwide gross was 383 million dollars,
\nmaking it number one in the world. By the end of February, “Pretty
\nWoman’s” overseas gross had climbed another 45 million.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, “Dead Poets Society” surpassed its domestic boxoffice
\ngross with an international take of more than 131 million dollars
\nthrough year-end.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

1991 will be a year rich in Disney-labeled films for the entire
\nfamily.<\/p>\n

In January, we released “White Fang,” an adaptation of the Jack
\nLondon classic that received very favorable reviews and enjoyed
\nsolid attendance.<\/p>\n

“Shipwrecked” was released a few weeks ago, also to good reviews
\nand attendance.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Two other films in the same family category are Walt Disney
\nPictures’ “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,” which is scheduled for an
\nApril release, and “The Rocketeer,” one of our major summer movies.<\/p>\n

“The Rocketeer” comes directly from the pages of the comic books of
\nthe same name and introduces a new hero to the American screen and
\nto our Disney character lineup.<\/p>\n

[RUN “ROCKETEER” TEASER]<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Other Disney family films slated for 1991 include the re-release of
\n“101 Dalmatians” in July and our all-new animated feature for 1991,
\n“Beauty and The Beast,” scheduled for Thanksgiving. “Beauty and The
\nBeast” will be Disney’s 30th full-length animated feature and the
\nfourth we’ve produced in the past four years. Like “The Little
\nMermaid,” it will feature the music of Alan Mencken and the late
\nHoward Ashman. Here is a very rough early scene from the movie.
\nIt’s so rough, some of the scenes are still in pencil test:<\/p>\n

[ROLL BEAUTY AND BEAST]<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

We’ve got a full slate of pictures from our Touchstone and
\nHollywood Picture labels this year. “Oscar,” a soon-to-be-released
\nTouchstone comedy, stars (“Rocky”) Sylvester Stallone, as the son
\nof a Mafia father whose deathbed wish is that his son quit the
\nMafia and go straight. Here are scenes from that movie:<\/p>\n

[ROLL “OSCAR” TRAILER]
\nEISNER:<\/p>\n

Hollywood Pictures is planning a special comedy treat, Neil Simon’s
\n“The Marrying Man,” opening April 5th.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at some scenes from that movie:<\/p>\n

[ROLL “THE MARRYING MAN” TRAILER]<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Touchstone is slating two major releases for the all-important
\nsummer months: One is”What About Bob?,” starring Bill Murray and
\nRichard Dreyfuss.<\/p>\n

The second is”Billy Bathgate,” starring Dustin Hoffman and Bruce
\nWillis and based on the best-selling novel by E. L. Doctorow about
\na young man who rises through the ranks of the Dutch Schultz mob.
\nBoth pictures will open in June.<\/p>\n

Our new Hollywood Pictures label will also be prominent during the
\ncoming months. Scheduled for a May release is”One Good Cop,”
\nstarring Michael Keaton of “Batman” fame.<\/p>\n

A July debut is planned for “Warshawski,” based on the popular
\nseries of detective novels featuring a hard-boiled woman
\ninvestigator.<\/p>\n

Kathleen Turner will play the title role.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Network and syndicated television are areas in which we have made
\nsubstantial progress since our last annual meeting.<\/p>\n

In network TV, “Carol & Company,” an anthology series starring
\nCarol Burnett, joined our highly successful tandem of “Golden
\nGirls” and “Empty Nest” to make a potent Disney lineup on Saturday
\nnights for NBC.<\/p>\n

These shows plus our continuing Saturday morning children’s
\nfavorite,”The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh,” and a regular
\nseries of Disney specials such as “Polly–Coming Home” and “A Mom
\nfor Christmas” anchor our expanding efforts in network television.<\/p>\n

We have four mid season shows.<\/p>\n

They are:”Blossom,” which airs at 8:30 p.m. Mondays on NBC.
\n“Blossom” is the story of a 14-year-old girl growing up in totally
\nmale surroundings. It’s off to a good start in the ratings.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

“S.T.A.T.,” which will make its debut in April on ABC, is a
\nhalf-hour comedy centering on a big city hospital emergency room.
\nIt is produced by Danny Arnold, creator of “Barney Miller.”<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

“The Disney Hour” will launch a one-hour series on NBC on Easter
\nnight. The Disney series is called”The Hundred Lives of Blackjack
\nSavage,” and it tells the story of a Wall Street tycoon who teams
\nup with the ghost of a notorious pirate in a Caribbean castle, both
\nseeking redemption for their cruel lives by saving others.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

And, finally, “Dinosaurs,” another ABC show that will debut next
\nmonth.<\/p>\n

It features a family of green-skinned blue collar characters
\ncreated by Jim Henson Productions, which is co-producing with us.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Disney experienced a great loss during the past year. It was the
\nsudden death of our friend and associate Jim Henson, creator of The
\nMuppets, a quiet genius and one of the most talented entertainers
\nI have known. I’m pleased to report, however, that we will continue
\nto work with Jim Henson Productions on a number of projects, and
\n“Dinosaurs” is just one example.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Looking a little further down the line, we are developing a
\nhalf-hour animated children’s series, which will in effect be a
\n“prequel” to “The Little Mermaid.”This program will be a Saturday
\nmorning network show starting in the fall of 1992. In addition,
\nwe’re pleased to report that we have already received commitments
\nfor 10 new primetime network pilots in the fall.<\/p>\n

Five of these are with NBC, three with ABC and two with CBS.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

All three networks and the Disney channel will devote the week of
\nApril 15 to highlight the importance of education. The cornerstone
\nof the NBC effort will be”she stood alone”a TV movie produced by
\nDisney and scheduled to air from 9 to 11 p.m., April 15.<\/p>\n

It stars Mare Whittingham and portrays the life of Prudence
\nCrandall, a Southern lady known as the “mother of black education”
\nfor her courageous battle earlier this century to open a school for
\nyoung black children.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Television syndication continues to be a major success story for
\nDisney. Starting last fall, we began airing 18 hours of syndicated
\nprogramming per week on major stations across the nation.<\/p>\n

“The Golden Girls,” which entered syndication for the first time in
\nthe fall, continued its winning ways by becoming the number one
\noff-network show of the year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee” achieved ratings
\nsuccess that enabled it to move from its morning slot into more
\nlucrative afternoon hours in many major markets.<\/p>\n

Movie critic stars “Siskel & Ebert” continue to outshine all
\nothers, and a new game show hosted by Dick Clark, “The
\nChallengers,” made its debut in the fall.<\/p>\n

In the fall of 1992, we also will begin syndicating the top-rated
\nreality-based NBC series “Unsolved Mysteries.”<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Our biggest success in TV syndication is “The Disney Afternoon,” a
\ntwo-hour segment of animated cartoons consisting of 30-minute
\nepisodes of “DuckTales,” “Chip ‘n Dale’s Rescue Rangers,””The
\nAdventures of the Gummi Bears” and “Tale Spin,” which debuted last
\nfall.<\/p>\n

We plan to introduce new series and new characters each year to
\nkeep “The Disney Afternoon” a fresh and exciting viewing
\nexperience. Here’s a preview of three new replacement shows now in
\nproduction for future seasons:<\/p>\n

[ROLL DISNEY AFTERNOON]<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Overseas, our Disney Club shows are top rated in France, the U.K.,
\nHolland, Spain, Germany, Italy, Australia and Venezuela–each of
\nthe eight countries where they are being carried. The combined
\naverage weekly audience of the Disney Clubs is nearly23 million,
\nand new clubs are slated for launch in Portugal, Brazil, Mexico,
\nDenmark and Sweden in the months ahead.<\/p>\n

During the past year, we’ve extended our television reach to four
\nformer Iron Curtain countries–the Soviet Union, Poland,
\nCzechoslovakia and Hungary.<\/p>\n

Programming includes dubbed episodes of “DuckTales,” “Rescue
\nRangers,” and “The Wonderful World of Disney.”<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

In 1990, The Disney Channel continued to record more growth than
\nany other pay television service as it passed the five million
\nsubscriber mark. During the year, it won two Emmy Awards out of
\neight nominations, a significant achievement for a cable service.<\/p>\n

One of the major television events of the year was the Channel’s
\ninaugural production of “The American Teachers Awards,”
\nhighlighting the extraordinary contributions to society made by
\nAmerican teachers.<\/p>\n

USA TODAY called the program “the best awards show of the year.”
\nHere are some scenes from our Teacher Awards Program:<\/p>\n

[ROLL TEACHERS AWARD]<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

The Disney Channel has taken to producing more and more of its own
\nprogramming, a growing trend throughout the cable industry. The
\nmovies are generally about families, and the interrelationships
\nbetween parents and children. The focus is on people finding
\nthemselves and building character.<\/p>\n

Some recent examples are “Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom
\nSawyer and Huckleberry Finn,” starring Paul Winfield and Ned
\nBeatty, “Mark Twain and Me,” with Jason Robards and Talia Shire,
\nand “Perfect Harmony.”An important new program addition during the
\ncurrent season is “The Magical World of Disney,” which moved from
\nnetwork TV to the Channel in September. During 1991, the show will
\nair world television premieres of “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,”
\n“Bambi,” and “The Little Mermaid.”<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

If ever a chart told a story of dominance, this one does. As you
\ncan see, it lists the 10 all-time best-selling videocassettes.<\/p>\n

Seven are Disney titles, and four were released by us during the
\npast year–“The Little Mermaid,” with sales of nine million units,
\n“Pretty Woman,” with seven million, “Peter Pan,” also seven
\nmillion, and “Honey I Shrunk the Kids,” five million.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Buena Vista Home Video led all other studios for the third straight
\nyear in the North American rental market. An impressive
\ndemonstration of Home Video’s marketing expertise was its release
\nof “Elvis:The Great Performances,” the group’s first venture into
\nmusic video programming.<\/p>\n

Both volumes of Elvis achieved top-10 position on the charts and
\nnow rank among the best-selling movie videos of all time.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Last month, in another new venture, Home Video released the first
\nsix volumes of “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,” a
\ncompendium of favorite characters and stories by the late Jay Ward
\nof early television fame.<\/p>\n

In Billboard’s most recent listing of best-selling videos,
\n“Bullwinkle” Volumes I through IV ranked second, fourth, sixth and
\neighth respectively. Here’s an excerpt from “Bullwinkle’s”
\npromotional reel:<\/p>\n

[ROLL ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE]<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Our next major video release, “The Jungle Book,” is scheduled for
\nMay.<\/p>\n

The international segment of Buena Vista Home Video continued its
\nrapid growth in 1990, extending its reach by year’s end to more
\nthan 45 nations around the world.<\/p>\n

Overseas gross revenues have increased four-fold since 1986 and
\nnearly doubled in the past year alone.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

As the world’s attention shifted to the conflict in the Middle East
\nthis year, more and more attention in Southern California shifted
\nto KCAL, our Los Angeles television outlet that offers an
\nunprecedented three hours of prime time news nightly.<\/p>\n

KCAL, the only station in the nation with such a news-oriented
\nformat, received the Golden Mike Award in January for the best
\n60-minute news broadcast.<\/p>\n

In addition, it won awards for best news reporting, best news
\nseries and best investigative reporting. The station’s prime time
\nnews program increased its viewership almost60 percent with the
\nonset of the Persian Gulf war.<\/p>\n

It was one of the few independent stations in the country to have
\ntwo correspondents anda TV crew reporting directly from the war
\nzone.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

In 1989 we announced the formation of Hollywood Records, a company
\nwe created to move Disney into the mainstream record business, a
\nbusiness much larger than the film business.<\/p>\n

I’m happy to report today that Hollywood Records is moving swiftly
\nto earn its place in the market.<\/p>\n

Its first release was by a new group called “The Party,” made up of
\nmembers of “The New Mickey Mouse Club.” Their first single,
\n“Summer Vacation,” was released in July.
\nHollywood Records has already signed 18 acts, most of them groups.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

The big news, as rock and roll fans will recognize, was the signing
\nof Queen, a group whose popularity goes back 20 years.<\/p>\n

You may recall two of its bigger hits, “We Are The Champions” and
\n“We Will Rock You.”Just last month, Hollywood Records released
\nQueen’s newest album, “Innuendo,” celebrating the group’s 20th
\nanniversary. The album is enjoying great success, becoming
\nHollywood Records’ first gold disc by selling almost 600,000 units.<\/p>\n

It also certified gold in Canada. The first single from the album,
\n“Headlong,” recently reached number two in the charts and was
\nchosen as a “Breakthrough Video” by MTV.<\/p>\n

Hollywood Records will issue the entire catalog of Queen albums for
\nthe first time digitally remastered on CD.<\/p>\n

Here are some glimpses of this famed musical group which has sold
\nmore than 80 million records and toured28 countries in their20 year
\nhistory.<\/p>\n

[ROLL QUEEN TAPE]<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Rapid expansion in the U.S. and increased activity in many
\ninternational markets made 1990 the most successful year ever for
\nDisney Consumer Products. Under the leadership of Bo Boyd,
\noperating profits continued to grow even as new businesses were
\nbeing launched and expanded.<\/p>\n

Growth in Disney Specialty Retail, which is responsible for both
\nthe Disney Stores and catalog sales, continues to be substantial.
\nWe estimate that last year some 35 million guests visited a Disney
\nStore.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

The rapid expansion of The Disney Store network brought the number
\nof stores to80 at the end of 1990 with a target of 120 by the end
\nof 1991.<\/p>\n

We marked two retailing milestones during the year.<\/p>\n

In April, we opened a prototype Mickey’s Kitchen, the first Disney
\nrestaurant outside a theme park or resort, alongside a new Disney
\nStore at Montclair Plaza mall east of Los Angeles. It was an
\nimmediate success.<\/p>\n

Near the end of the year, we opened the first Disney Store outside
\nthe U.S. on Regent Street in London. It immediately became our best
\nperformer with sales several times the average of other Disney
\nStores, prompting us to move ahead swiftly to open three additional
\nstores in the U.K. by the end of this year and more than a dozen
\nmore in Europe by the end of next year.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

A second experimental Mickey’s Kitchen will open in April alongside
\na Disney Store near Chicago.<\/p>\n

Mickey’s Kitchens are designed to be fun and offer something for
\njust about everyone.<\/p>\n

The menu reflects our desire to offer low-fat, low-salt,
\nlow-cholesterol and vegetarian alternatives at all our restaurants,
\nincluding those throughout our theme parks and resorts.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

While our progress in new business areas is always exciting, the
\nmajor share of our Consumer Product revenues and profits still
\ncomes from our more established business areas. The first
\nhandmade Mickey Mouse doll was licensed in the 1930’s. Today our
\nlicensing group operates out of 29 offices in the 70 or so
\ncountries in which we do business.<\/p>\n

It is responsible for some 3,000 contracts with top manufacturers
\nin almost every product category imaginable.<\/p>\n

Today, the emphasis is on fewer, but BETTER, licensees in many of
\nour product areas. This gives us greater control over the quality
\nof licensed products and improves our ability to work more closely
\nwith licensees.<\/p>\n

A second strategy has been to develop what we call character
\n“brands” that have year-round appeal. “Disney Babies” is such a
\nbrand.<\/p>\n

Through this program, we coordinate products for infants made by 40
\nnon-competitive licensees.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

In film and television licensing, we sign up companies to
\nparticipate in opportunities connected with our upcoming movies or
\ncurrent television shows.<\/p>\n

This year, we will link up with more than 100 licensees whose
\nmerchandise will help promote “Beauty and the Beast,” “The
\nRocketeer,” “Darkwing Duck” and “101 Dalmatians.”Meanwhile, Mattel,
\nwhich since 1988 has been our major standard character pre-school
\ntoy licensee, recently signed on to produce and market a line of
\ntoys and fashion dolls based on characters from classic movies.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Disney Publishing underwent a growth explosion in 1990.<\/p>\n

Until last year, our role in publishing was primarily as a
\nlicensor, and we continue to license books telling Disney stories
\nand involving Disney characters to publishers who distribute
\nthrough mass marketing outlets.<\/p>\n

Twin Books, for example, sold almost two million copies of “The
\nLittle Mermaid” last year. But early in the year, we embarked on
\na comprehensive program to establish Disney as a full-fledged
\npublisher in many other categories.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

In April, Disney Publishing began producing the U. S. comics we had
\npreviously licensed, adding six new titles to our roster and
\nbringing the total to eight.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Next we launched a juvenile trade book line to publish non-Disney
\nchildren’s titles from the world’s best authors and illustrators.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Then we formed a general interest book division, which during this
\nfirst year, will publish some 50 titles for adults, including
\npopular fiction, biographies and histories.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

And most recently, we’ve formed a Magazine Publishing group, which
\nproduces the Mickey Mouse Magazine for very young children and
\n“Disney Adventures,” a new monthly magazine for children and
\nyoungsters 7 to 14.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

The past year has been a busy one for Walt Disney Records, which
\nconcentrates on selling Disney music on record, tape and compact
\ndiscs. Already the largest children’s record company in the world,
\nit has increased its efforts in finding and developing young
\nrecording artists and new character concepts.<\/p>\n

During the past year, for example, it launched the singing career
\nof 11-year-old Christa Larson of the U.S.<\/p>\n

And Canadian comedian-musician Norman Foote. A current project
\ninvolves an all-star compilation album to benefit the Pediatric
\nAIDS Foundation. The album will feature a selection of children’s
\nsongs by Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Sting, Elton John, Paula Abdul,
\nJames Taylor and Barbra Streisand among others.
\nEISNER:<\/p>\n

Disney Audio Entertainment is a world leader in producing
\nread-along products and sound storybooks.<\/p>\n

Its most dramatic success during the year was its sale of more than
\na million units of “The Little Mermaid” book-and-cassette
\nread-along.<\/p>\n

Walt Disney Computer Software is a relatively new business that
\nholds great promise. It develops and markets challenging and
\nentertaining educational programs and games for both computers and
\nelectronic game systems. Several Disney-licensed video games were
\nbest sellers in 1990.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Overseas, the European\/Middle East Region has as one of its goals
\nincreasing the awareness of Disney in anticipation of next spring’s
\nopening of Euro Disney.<\/p>\n

In our view, the potential of the European market with 350 million
\npeople is virtually limitless.<\/p>\n

Records and Music in the region surged far ahead of expectations
\ndue to excellent growth in Germany, the Scandinavian countries,
\nItaly and France.<\/p>\n

The first album by Disney’s French singer Anne, “La Petite Siren”
\n(or “The Little Mermaid”), earned a gold record status for sales
\nover 100,000 copies.<\/p>\n

Consumer Products\/Europe is responsible for creative control of 74
\nDisney publications in 20 languages. Weekly readership of these
\nmagazines exceeds 20 million.<\/p>\n

Last month Fleetway, part of the huge U.K. Maxwell Consumer
\nMagazines group, introduced a Disney weekly comics magazine for 7
\nto 12-year-olds and this month it is introducing a Disney monthly
\nfor ages 3 to 7. A November agreement with French publisher
\nHachette created a company called Disney\/Hachette Press that will
\npublish both Disney and non-Disney magazines.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, following the “fewer but better” strategy pioneered in
\nthe United States, Europe has reduced its number of licensees from
\nfifteen hundred to one thousand, thus increasing its ability to
\ncontrol quality and associate Disney with companies that are
\nleaders in their fields.<\/p>\n

We are also building business relationships in countries formerly
\nbehind the Iron Curtain.<\/p>\n

Our magazine, Mickey Maus (that’s M-A-U-S, if you please), was
\nactually banned from East Germany for many years, but with the
\nopening of the border, it has become a major seller there again.<\/p>\n

In May, we introduced a Mickey Mouse comic to Moscow, and all
\n200,000 copies of the first edition sold out in a single day. We
\ncould easily have sold a million copies if we had enough paper.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Japan is the shining light of our consumer products business in the
\nAsia\/Pacific Region. Per capita spending on Disney merchandise is
\ntwice in Japan what it is in the United States.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

That’s not too surprising, Frank, when you consider that on one
\nmemorable day more mouse ears were sold at Tokyo Disneyland than
\nthere were people in the park.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

WALT Disney HIMSELF ESTABLISHED A strong presence for THE COMPANY
\nin Latin America. Jose Carioca and other Disney characters helped
\nus sell 27 million comics in Brazil alone last year. In a major new
\nagreement, Disney comics are now also being sold in every Spanish
\nspeaking country in the region.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

It’s time now to take a look at our theme parks, where the
\nbig…bigger…biggest news is our April, 1992 opening of Phase I,
\nEuro Disney, which is the new name of the entire 5,000 acre resort
\ncomplex we will develop 20 miles east of Paris over the next 30
\nyears.<\/p>\n

We are tremendously optimistic about Euro Disney, and you will see
\nwhy in a few minutes. We are equally pleased about plans for
\nCalifornia, Florida and Tokyo over these next several years of what
\nwe’re calling the Disney Decade.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

As you know, 1990 was a year of solid performance at all our U.S.
\nparks, thanks to our all-star cast under the leadership of Dick
\nNunis. It was also a banner year at Tokyo Disneyland. In the U.S.
\nattendance was healthy at all parks…but especially strong at the
\nDisney-MGM Studio Theme Park, where we now can handle twice as many
\nguests as before and where we experienced strong attendance gains
\nthrough August. That’s when we and the rest of the tourism industry
\nbegan to feel the effects of a weakened national economy and the
\nuncertainty surrounding the occupation of Kuwait.<\/p>\n

You may have read that immediately after the outbreak of war in
\nJanuary, international travel dipped dramatically. To offset the
\nfall-off in air travel, we set into motion strong promotional
\nefforts at Disneyland and Walt Disney World to encourage attendance
\nby nearby residents.<\/p>\n

These programs were helpful, and now that the war is over, air
\ntravel is increasing rapidly, which we expect will be a harbinger
\nof strengthening tourism.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, our plans for the Disney Decade are moving forward
\nswiftly. During the 90s, the number of new projects planned for
\nCalifornia and Florida totals more than 60. They include pavilions,
\nattractions, hotels, rides, revues, adventures, extravaganzas and
\nentertainment centers. And beyond all these are five new theme
\nparks–one in California and one in Florida plus the two planned
\nfor Euro Disney and a second gate at Tokyo Disneyland.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

In the U. S., the Disney Decade got off to a fast start last year
\nwhen we formally opened the “Star Tours” attraction at the
\nDisney-MGM Studios Theme Park. At the same time, we dedicated the
\nnearby 758-room Walt Disney World Swan Hotel and later in the year
\nopened the 1,500-room Walt Disney World Dolphin. In the fall, we
\nopened Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, which provide more
\nthan twelve hundred rooms.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

In the wake of the tremendous success of our Caribbean Beach Resort
\nin Florida, we’re building other moderately priced hotels,
\nincluding the thousand-room Port Orleans Resort, which will reflect
\nthe ambiance of New Orleans’ famed French Quarter when it opens in
\nmid-year, and the Dixie Landings Resort, scheduled to open in 1992.<\/p>\n

Other 1990 highlights in Florida included the opening of Delta Air
\nLines’ Dreamflight attraction at the Magic Kingdom and the December
\npremiere of the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure” at
\nthe Studios Theme Park.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Coming up this summer at the Disney-MGM Studios is an exciting new
\nattraction featuring the Muppets.<\/p>\n

It’s a brand new 3-D movie starring Kermit and the gang–a show
\nguaranteed to put Miss Piggy right in your lap…whether you want
\nher there or not.<\/p>\n

We’ve got ambitious plans as well for our other two Florida parks.<\/p>\n

Our Epcot Center plans call for a magnificent Space Pavilion for
\nFuture World.<\/p>\n

Here guests will discover the wonders of outer space in an exciting
\nnew voyage.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

In Epcot Center’s World Showcase area, plans are well along to
\npremiere two other new pavilions:One is a Switzerland pavilion,
\nfeaturing a 15-story Matterhorn Mountain with a breathtaking
\nbobsled ride, ending in a picturesque Swiss village…<\/p>\n

And, a Soviet Union pavilion is still a hoped-for addition during
\nthe decade. This is the pavilion guests tell us they’d most like to
\nsee in World Showcase.<\/p>\n

Our third Florida park–the “flagship” Magic Kingdom–will
\ncelebrate its 20th anniversary this fall.<\/p>\n

“Surprise” will be the main element of the celebration…surprise
\nevents, surprise gifts for guests, surprise happenings, surprise
\ndrawings…the works. Next year we’ll reach new heights in the
\nMagic Kingdom with the East Coast opening of “Splash Mountain,”
\nalready one of the all-time favorites at Disneyland.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

As you know, Disneyland celebrated its 35th birthday last year.
\nThis year the excitement continues with special appearances by the
\nstars of “The Disney Afternoon” in parades, photo sessions and
\nother events throughout the park. Highlighting the numerous
\nactivities will be “Plane Crazy,” a musical show on the Videopolis
\nstage featuring Baloo and Louie, the stars of “TaleSpin.”Meanwhile,
\nwe’re working on plans for Mickey’s Toontown, a permanent home
\nbuilt just in time for our favorite mouse’s 65th birthday in 1993.
\nMickey’s Toontown will also be the location of a new and wild Roger
\nRabbit ride.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

The big question in Southern California now revolves around where
\nwe will build our second theme park. For some time now, we’ve been
\nstudying sites adjacent to Disneyland here in Anaheim and near the
\nQueen Mary in Long Beach.<\/p>\n

Last July we submitted a detailed proposal for an ocean-oriented
\ntheme park and resort complex called Port Disney to Long Beach
\nofficials.<\/p>\n

Our Anaheim proposal for a second theme park and resort complex
\nwill be formally presented to city officials within 30 TO 45 DAYS.<\/p>\n

We have gone to great lengths in Long Beach…and will do the same
\nin Anaheim…
\nto review our proposed plans with members of the community and
\nsolicit their comments and concerns.<\/p>\n

We are excited by the potential of each project and are continuing
\nour feasibility work in both cities.<\/p>\n

A decision on the two projects is not expected before year-end.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Following the dictum that one picture is worth a thousand words,
\nwe’d now like to show you two brief films on our Euro Disney
\nproject. The first film is slightly more than a year old. It
\ndescribes the Euro Disney project, and, through the use of models,
\nshows what the project will look like at the completion of Phase
\nOne construction.<\/p>\n

[ROLL EURO DISNEY FILM]<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Now for a project update. Here is Euro Disney one year later–in
\nJanuary of this year. No more models. What you’ll see here is the
\nlargest single construction project currently underway in Europe.<\/p>\n

[ROLL EURO DISNEY TWO]<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

I think you’ll agree that these two films say it all:Euro Disney,
\nscheduled to open 13 months from now, is on time and on budget.
\nBetween now and opening day, it will hire and train more than
\n10,000 new cast members.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

Tokyo Disneyland, a theme park much like the original Disneyland,
\nis one of the great success stories since its opening in 1983.<\/p>\n

We fully expect Euro Disney, a total resort complex, to more than
\nmatch that success when it opens, and with a major difference. This
\ntime we will have an ownership position as well as income from
\nroyalties and management fees.<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Frank, and now on a totally different subject, I would like for all
\nof the Walt Disney company, for all of our 55,000 cast members and
\nfor our board of directors sitting in front of you… To thank the
\nmen and women of our armed forces who risked their lives in the
\nmiddle east.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

and may they all return home soon.<\/p>\n

This brief film clip from KCAL expresses the feelings of all of us.<\/p>\n

[RUN KCAL PROMO]<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

That concludes our report on the state of your company.<\/p>\n

Thank you very much.<\/p>\n

(PAUSE)<\/p>\n

And now time for the question and answer period. Frank, please
\nexplain the procedures we’ll use.<\/p>\n

WELLS:<\/p>\n

As you see, we have stations where there are microphones. If there
\nis a question you would like to ask, please go to a microphone near
\nwhere you are sitting and wait to be recognized.<\/p>\n

Because of time limitations, each person will be given the chance
\nto ask one question only. After everyone has had an opportunity to
\nspeak once, and if time permits, additional questions may be asked.
\nWe’re ready for the first question.<\/p>\n

(NOTE: AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, A QUESTION FROM MICROPHONE 15)<\/p>\n

EISNER:<\/p>\n

Thank you for the motion. I will now limit questions to those who
\nare currently at the microphone stations.<\/p>\n

That appears to be all the questions we have time for. Again, thank
\nyou for joining us today and for your continued support.<\/p>\n

I deem the motion to adjourn the meeting moved and seconded.<\/p>\n

All those in favor, please signify with the phrase, “April In
\nParis…”The meeting is now adjourned.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #47, from hmccracken, 50 chars, Mon May 6 22:24:08 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 46.
\n————————–
\nWow! Thanks, Steve…Very interesting!
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #48, from hmccracken, 116 chars, Tue Aug 6 16:19:05 1991
\n————————–
\nThe next message is the text of something I wrote for the
\nnext issue of Emru Townsend’s fanzine, _Quark_.
\n – -Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #49, from hmccracken, 5464 chars, Tue Aug 6 16:20:12 1991
\n————————–
\nFelix: the Twisted Tale of the World’s Most Famous Cat
\nBy John Canemaker
\nPantheon<\/p>\n

Call Felix the Cat the Mickey Rooney of the animation
\nworld. After a brilliant start, his career has had more fallow
\nperiods than highlights, and he’s often come precariously
\nclose to being forgotten by the American public. But that
\npublic does have a certain affection for him that keeps his
\ncareer alive, and like Rooney, Felix has outlasted most of
\nthe studios that employed him and shows every sign of
\noutliving most of us as well. His story is well worth telling,
\nand John Canemaker’s Felix: the Twisted Tale of the
\nWorld’s Most Famous Cat does an admirable job of doing
\nso.<\/p>\n

When I first heard about this book, I found somewhat
\ndubious the prospect of an art book devoted to a character
\nwho appeared mainly in black-and-white, graphically
\nprimitive cartoons, and who hasn’t made a film of note in
\nsixty years. But Canemaker knows exactly what kind of
\nbook Felix’s career will support, and this is not a coffee-
\ntable behemoth but rather a modest, small-scale volume
\nthat devotes almost all its space to Felix’s glory days in the
\n1920s and makes no attempt to convince us that those Felix
\nTV cartoons of the 1960s were great art. I can imagine
\nsimilarly formatted books being done about a number of
\ncartoon stars whose careers flourished mainly in the black-
\nand-white days, including Popeye and Betty Boop (both
\nowned, like Felix, by King Features). Perhaps Canemaker
\nwill write them.<\/p>\n

Animation fans have known for a long time that Pat
\nSullivan plastered his name all over Felix’s films but didn’t
\ncreate the character, and that his death from alcoholism was
\nin part responsible for Felix’s decline as a cartoon celebrity.
\nCanemaker tells us much more, little of which will improve
\nSullivan’s reputation. While we learn that Sullivan was a
\ncompetent cartoonist early in his career and see numerous
\nexamples of his newspaper work, we also discover that he
\nspent time in prison for rape. Canemaker also sheds a lot of
\nlight on just why Felix’s stardom ended so abruptly, which
\nhappened for a number of legal, financial, and box-office
\nrelated reasons.<\/p>\n

The other man we associate with Felix is Otto Messmer,
\nthe character’s creator (though among the book’s interesting
\ntidbits is the fact that Bill Nolan was responsible for the
\nFelix design we’re most familiar with today). Canemaker
\ntakes a fairly benign view of the unusual Sullivan-Messmer
\nrelationship — brash Sullivan marketing the character and
\ntaking most of the money and all of the glory for himself,
\nshy Messmer doing the creative work for little pay and no
\ncredit. Shamus Culhane, whose career encompassed most
\nof the classic studios *except* Sullivan’s, sees Sullivan and
\nMessmer’s business partnership as having had almost sado-
\nmasochistic undertones. Whatever way you look at it, it’s
\nclear that Sullivan would have had nothing to promote
\nwithout Messmer’s wonderful cartoons, and Messmer was
\ntoo withdrawn and unassuming to have ever become a
\nWalt Disney-like artist\/entrepreneur all by himself. It was
\nthe peculiar synergy of their personalities that made Felix
\nthe first real star of animation.<\/p>\n

After Felix’s film career was derailed around 1930,
\nMessmer occupied himself with other artistic projects,
\nincluding writing and drawing the Felix newspaper strip
\nand comic books. Eventually, he found rewarding work as
\nan animator of those gaudy Times Square electric signs. It’s
\nnice to know, as Canemaker reminds us, that Messmer
\nlived long enough to receive full recognition as Felix’s
\nfather and one of the most important figures in animation
\nhistory. Like Ub Iwerks, Messmer never received the
\nmonetary rewards he might have for his contributions to
\nthe artform, but both men were able to lead long and happy
\ncareers, quietly doing work they enjoyed.<\/p>\n

The three color-and-sound Felix cartoons that the Van
\nBeuren studio made in the 1930s — which have become
\nwidely available on public domain videotapes — are
\ndiscussed only briefly in this book, although Canemaker
\ndoes tell us that Messmer came quite close to working on
\nthem. Also touched on only lightly are the Joe Oriolo-
\nproduced Felix TV cartoons (which are well-remembered
\nby Baby Boomers but artistically pretty vacant), and the
\nFelix comic strips and books (which were of more interest,
\nat least when written and drawn by Messmer). While it’s
\nfine that Canemaker devotes most of his space to Felix’s
\ngreat years, a *little* more information on some of the
\nsidelights of Felix’s career, like the recent Hungarian Felix
\nanimated feature, might have been worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Like Canemaker’s biography of Winsor McCay, this book
\nis superbly researched and wonderfully illustrated.
\nCanemaker is better than anyone else at taking a murky
\ntopic from the early days of comic art or animation, then
\ncoming up with important facts, photos, and artwork
\nrelating to the topic that have never seen print before. <\/p>\n

Like the McCay book, this one gets a little dry and
\nscholarly from time to time; Canemaker makes no attempt
\nto convey the sense of fun that Felix’s cartoons had in his
\nwriting. In fact, a little more lively criticism of the things
\nhe discusses is just about the only thing that might
\nsignificantly improve Canemaker’s work. Otherwise, Felix:
\nthe Twisted Tale of The World’s Most Famous Cat is a
\nshining example of what a book about animation can and
\nshould be.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #50, from hmccracken, 170 chars, Mon Aug 12 13:53:09 1991
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Blanc Tribute
\nThe next message contains the text of a piece on Mel Blanc that I
\nwrote for Emru (Switch) Townsend’s _Quark_ not long after Blanc’s
\ndeath.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #51, from hmccracken, 8257 chars, Mon Aug 12 13:59:41 1991
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\n=====================================================
\n=Looney Tunes And Merrie Mel: A Tribute To Mel Blanc=
\n=Harry McCracken =
\n=====================================================<\/p>\n

Fate’s eye for the ironic was unusually sharp when she took Mel Blanc and
\nLaurence Olivier from us within the space of a day or so. One does not want to
\nmake too much of the coincidence; but if Olivier is commonly regarded as the
\nfinest stage actor of the century, Mel Blanc is the Olivier of animated-cartoon
\nvoice acting… and even that is something of an understatement. His place in
\nthe history of his unusual artform really is that important.<\/p>\n

The many newspaper stories which followed Blanc’s death dwelt on subjects like
\nthe creation of Bugs Bunny, and Blanc’s 1961 automobile accident and subsequent
\nrecovery. I won’t try to cover such biographical details here: Blanc himself did
\nso capably enough in his autobiography, That’s Not All Folks!, which was
\npublished by Warner Books last year.<\/p>\n

The newspaper obituaries also emphasized the superficial aspects of Blanc’s
\nwork: the catch phrases such as “What’s Up, Doc?” and “Sufferin’ Succotash”
\n(which Blanc was not necessarily responsible for), and vocal gimmicks like Porky
\nPig’s stuttering and Sylvester’s slobbering. But Blanc’s greatness scarcely lied
\nthere, or even, entirely, in the dazzling range of voices he commanded.<\/p>\n

I mean no disrespect to the other great animation voice artists — among them
\nJune Foray, and the late and much-missed Daws Butler, Paul Frees, and Bill Scott
\n— when I say that Blanc was incomparably the greatest cartoon voice actor of
\nthem all. And what an odd, difficult job the voice artist has: to speak in a
\npurposefully silly voice, designed to match a cartoon rabbit, duck, woodpecker,
\nor Tasmanian devil, and yet deliver dialogue with feeling and warmth. That Blanc
\nprovided voices for so many characters is indeed remarkable, but more remarkable
\nstill was just how good each individual voice was.<\/p>\n

Blanc did not enter the field he would soon be synonymous with at its very
\nstart: human beings had been providing voices for animated characters for a
\ndecade before he began doing so. Some of the voices, like Clarence Nash’s Donald
\nDuck, Jack Mercer’s Popeye, and Walt Disney’s very own Mickey Mouse, were pretty
\nappealing, and responsible for much of their characters’ popularity. But the
\naverage cartoon star delivered his dialogue — which was generally brief and
\nunimportant — in a voice that had no real relation to whatever personality the
\ncharacter had. (It isn’t surprising that the voices were crude. They were often
\nprovided not by professional actors but by animators and other studio workers in
\ntheir spare time.)<\/p>\n

Most of Blanc’s early Warner voices were pleasant but unremarkable, which made
\nsense: he was providing them for the pleasant-but-unremarkable Warner characters
\nof the day. The first appearance of Daffy Duck, in Tex Avery’s Porky’s Duck Hunt
\n(1937), roughly marked the beginning of development that would lead to its great
\nWarner Bros. cartoons of the 1940s and 1950s, and as the sophistication of the
\nstudio’s artists grew, Blanc’s facility always kept pace. Daffy Duck began life as an
\nuncomplicated lunatic with a whooping laugh; Bugs Bunny started out as a
\nwhite rabbit with a nasal, almost Goofy-like voice. By the mid 1940s, the
\ncartoons and characters were at their most exquisitely looney; so were Blanc’s
\nrecordings. And when, in the 1950s, the Warner cartoons became a little more
\nrestrained and character-oriented Blanc’s voices took on their subtleties.<\/p>\n

Selecting a single performance as Blanc’s best is next to impossible: unlike
\nmost actors, he leaves us hundreds and hundreds of films, few of which exceed
\nseven minutes in length. But I have my favorites. Some of Blanc’s earliest
\ntour-de-forces come in Bob Clampett’s Bugs Bunny cartoons: the rabbit’s manic
\nlust for an Oscar in What’s Cookin’ Doc (1943) and futile attempt to rewrite the
\nfable of the Tortoise and the Hare in Tortoise Wins by a Hare (also 1943).<\/p>\n

Then there is Friz Freleng’s Hare Brush (1955), in which Bugs Bunny, brainwashed
\ninto the misbelief that he is Elmer Fudd, speaks in a voice that takes on the
\ncadences of Fudd’s diction without entirely losing those of Bugs’ speech. And
\nhow about Freleng’s Oscar-winning Birds Anonymous (1957), with Blanc in top form
\nas Sylvester, Tweety, and the cat who convinces Sylvester (temporarily, of
\ncourse) to kick the Tweety-bird habit?<\/p>\n

Blanc’s most textured, complex voice may have been that which he gave Daffy
\nDuck, and Daffy’s desperate, lisping attempts to take charge of things were
\nnever more funny than in his battle with an unseen cartoonist in Chuck Jones’s
\nDuck Amuck (1953). Best of all, there’s Chuck Jones’s 1957 masterpiece What’s
\nOpera, Doc?, with what is possibly the finest soundtrack of any animated
\ncartoon: the neat telescoping of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” into six minutes, and
\nBlanc and Arthur Q. (Elmer Fudd) Bryan’s incomparable singing of Michael
\nMaltese’s lyrics.<\/p>\n

Which is not to suggest that all of Blanc’s best work came in well-known
\ncartoons with famous characters. Jones’s cartoon The Hypochondri-Cat (1950),
\nstarring the second-string characters Hubie and Bertie (mice) and Claude Cat,
\nfeatures one of Blanc’s most delectable performances. Through a series of events
\ntoo complicated and funny to be recorded here, Claude has been led to believe
\nthat he has died and become an angel, and must flap his golden wings and head
\ntowards heaven. Claude’s transformation from terrified, hysterical pussycat to
\nserene angel is priceless, and accomplished as much through Blanc’s dialogue as
\nthrough the animation.<\/p>\n

(You may detect a bias towards the work of Chuck Jones in the above comments. I
\ncannot truthfully deny it. The bias is not without reason: Jones, and storyman
\nMaltese, gave Blanc some wonderful material to work with, and he always made the
\nmost of it.)<\/p>\n

Blanc is so closely identified with the Warner Bros. cartoons that the
\nprodigious amount of non-Warner work he did is easily forgotten. His
\ncontributions to radio are well-remembered; his many phonograph records somewhat
\nless so. In the late thirties and early forties he could frequently be heard in
\ncartoons from studios other than Warner, and he provided the voice of one major
\nnon-Warner star (Woody Woodpecker) in that character’s ascendancy, and of two
\nothers (Tom and Jerry) in their waning days.<\/p>\n

As radio and theatrical animation fell into decline by the early 1960s, he also
\nbecame a mainstay of TV animation. The Warner characters appeared in animation
\nmade especially for the medium, and for The Flintstones Blanc provided the
\nintentionally-unlike-Art-Carney voice of Barney Rubble, as well as Dino’s barks.
\nOther Blanc-voiced characters — the vast majority of his TV performances were
\nfor Hanna-Barbera — included George Jetson’s boss, Mr. Spacely, and Secret
\nSquirrel.<\/p>\n

Little if any of Blanc’s television performances matched the greatness of what
\nhe had accomplished at Warner Bros. One is tempted to attribute this to a number
\nof causes: his advancing age, his smoking habit, or possibly residual effects of
\nthe above-mentioned car accident.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, though, it’s probably television animation’s fault, not Blanc’s. His
\nWarner work was a challenge that he rose to impeccably; after it, TV voice work
\n— which is too often largely a matter of conveying what’s going on, since the
\nvisuals rarely can do it — was a poor vehicle for his talents. As Chuck Jones’s
\nwidely-quoted comment goes, TV animation isn’t much more than illustrated radio
\n— and the scripts Blanc had to work with in series likes Captain Caveman and
\nHeathcliff and Friends were hardly of Jack Benny Show caliber.<\/p>\n

All of which reminds us how nice it is that Blanc was a young man looking for a
\njob in Hollywood in the mid-1930s. Had he done so a few years before, there
\nwould have been no sound cartoons to require his talents, and if he had come
\nonto the scene a few years later, the Warner Bros. characters might have found
\nother, less memorable voices. They were lucky to find Mel Blanc; he was lucky to
\nfind them. Most of all, fans of animation are immeasurably fortunate that they
\nfound each other.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #52, from paulr, 122 chars, Mon Aug 12 17:26:31 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 51.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 51.
\n————————–
\nThanks for posting that! May we have permission to copy it? I would like to post it on UseNet and in my office. \ud83d\ude42
\n-Paul<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #53, from hmccracken, 29 chars, Mon Aug 12 17:37:31 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 52.
\nThere are additional comments to message 52.
\n————————–
\nGolly! Feel free!
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #54, from switch, 82 chars, Mon Aug 12 22:42:58 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 52.
\n————————–
\nBetter yet; download ‘quarkv13.arc’ from \/listings and get the whole
\nmag \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #55, from jshook, 59 chars, Mon Aug 12 23:58:14 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 51.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

That’s a wonderful piece, Harry. Thanks for posting it.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #56, from hmccracken, 22 chars, Tue Aug 13 09:14:03 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 55.
\n————————–
\nThanks, Jim!
\n— Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #57, from davemackey, 5350 chars, Wed Sep 25 21:06:05 1991
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Dr. Seuss: filmography, bibliography, etc….
\n…. some of which is courtesy of Pamela Scoville, who’s a little too busy to
\npost… she’s tearing apart a newsletter to get the news out, and she too is
\nquite saddened by his passing… as would be anyone who ever loved his books
\nas a kid. So she’s asked me to post some additional information on the life
\nand career of Theodor Seuss Geisel.
\n Here’s a fairly complete list of Seuss animated adaptations… First of
\nall, Jeff Lenburg in his “Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoon Series” lists two
\nDr. Seuss cartoons, allegedly released by Warner Bros. in 1931. I have no
\nother confirmation of this and I haven’t ever seen either “Neath the Bababa
\nTree” or “Put On The Spout.” (Nor was mention made of them in the recent book
\nabout Geisel’s life and work.) But here are some Dr. Seuss adaptations I
\nhave seen and confirmed the existence of.
\n “Horton Hatches The Egg”: Warner Bros., 1942, supervision Robert
\nClampett.
\n “Private Snafu” series, produced at Warner Bros. for U.S. Army Signal
\nCorps, 1943-1945.
\n “The 500 Hats Of Bartholomew Cubbins”: George Pal\/Paramount, 1943, Oscar
\nnominee.
\n “And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street”: George Pal\/Paramount,
\n1944, Oscar nominee.
\n “Gerald McBoing Boing,” UPA, 1951, Oscar winner.
\n “How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” MGM\/Chuck Jones for CBS, originally
\naired December 18, 1966.
\n “Horton Hears A Who,” MGM\/Chuck Jones for CBS, originally aired March
\n19, 1970. “…Grinch…” and “Horton Hears…” shared a Peabody award for
\nexcellence in Children’s and Youth television in 1970.
\n “The Cat In The Hat,” DePatie-Freleng for CBS, originally aired March
\n10, 1971.
\n “The Lorax,” DePatie-Freleng for CBS, originally aired February 7, 1972.
\n “Dr. Seuss On The Loose,” including “Green Eggs and Ham,”
\nDePatie-Freleng for CBS, originally aired October 15, 1973.
\n “The Hoober-Bloob Highway,” DePatie-Freleng for CBS, originally aired
\nFebruary 19, 1975.
\n “Halloween Is Grinch Night,” DePatie-Freleng for ABC, originally aired
\nOctober 29, 1977. Emmy Award winner.
\n “Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You?”, DePatie-Freleng for ABC, originally
\naired May 2, 1980.
\n “The Grinch Grinches The Cat In The Hat,” DePatie-Freleng for ABC,
\noriginally aired in 1981.
\n “The Butter Battle Book,” Ralph Bakshi Productions for Turner Network
\nTelevision, originally aired in 1989.<\/p>\n

As Harry mentioned, the good Doctor began his career as a magazine
\ncartoonist whose work appeared in such magazines as “Vanity Fair,” “Variety,”
\n“Judge” and a then-fledgling magazine called “Life.”
\n Seuss won two Academy Awards in the middle 1940’s for his documentary
\nfilms produced under the auspices of the Army Signal Corps, including “Hitler
\nLives.”
\n His publisher for his entire career was Random House, who published
\nnot only The Cat In The Hat Series books but also Beginning Books, some of
\nwhich were written by his longtime associate Phil (P.D.) Eastman.
\n Seuss sometimes used the pseudonym Theo LeSieg. (The first four letters
\nof his first name and his last name spelled backwards.) One of the nice
\nlittle-known facts about his life is that he at one time designed toys and
\nfurniture, the latter of which was done for Sears Roebuck.
\n In the final analysis, his books that’ll live for generations on end, as
\nhave those of Frank Baum and Lewis Carroll and others whose books have been
\nembraced by our country’s young people, and here’s a quick list of titles
\nculled by The Associated Press…. see if you can find your favorites in
\namongst these…
\n “And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street,” “The 500 Hats of
\nBartholomew Cubbins,” “The Seven Lady Godivas,” “The King’s Stilts,” “Horton
\nHatches The Egg,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose,”
\n“Bartholomew And The Oobleck,” “If I Ran The Zoo,” “Scrambled Eggs Super,”
\n“Horton Hears A Who,” “On Beyond Zebra,” “If I Ran The Circus,” “How The
\nGrinch Stole Christmas,” “The Cat In The Hat,” “Yertle The Turtle,” “The Cat
\nIn The Hat Comes Back,” “Happy Birthday To You,” “One Fish, Two Fish, Red
\nFish, Blue Fish,” “Green Eggs And Ham,” “The Sneetches And Other Stories,”
\n“Dr. Seuss’ Sleep Book,” “Hop On Pop,” “Dr. Seuss’ ABC Book,” “I Had Trouble
\nGetting To Solla Sollew,” “Fox In Socks,” “The Cat In The Hat Songbook,” “The
\nFoot Book,” “I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today And Other Stories,” “My Book About
\nMe,” “I Can Draw It Myself,” “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?”, “The Lorax,”
\n“Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!”, “The Shape Of Me And Other
\nStuff,” “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?”, “There’s A Wocket In My
\nPocket,” “Great Day For Up!”, “Oh, The Thinks You Can Think,” “The Cat’s
\nQuizzer,” “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut,” “Oh, Say Can You Say?,” “Hunches In
\nBunches,” “The Butter Battle Book,” “You’re Only Old Once,” “I Am Not Going
\nTo Get Up Today!”, and “Oh, The Places You’ll Go.” I am certain that a number
\nof these books were either Newberry or Caldecott Medal winners for excellence
\nin children’s literature, but I don’t have a listing of these.
\n What a legacy.
\n It’s been observed several times that Dr. Seuss had no children of his
\nown. But, through his books and animations, he celebrated youth the world
\nover, loved us as endearingly as he would have his own progeny.
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #58, from jshook, 32 chars, Wed Sep 25 21:24:41 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 57.
\nThere are additional comments to message 57.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

You completely forgot Dr. T.!<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #59, from hmccracken, 317 chars, Wed Sep 25 23:59:11 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 57.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 57.
\n————————–
\nThanks for the great information, Dave. One small correction:
\nthe _Life_ that the good Dr. drew for was not the famous companion
\nmagazine to _Time_, but the earlier magazine (which used to be
\ncalled “The Old _Life_”) that was not unlike _The New Yorker_
\nin many respects. He drew for it in its later years.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #60, from switch, 226 chars, Thu Sep 26 22:58:42 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 57.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 57.
\n————————–
\nDr. Seuss is one of the few people whose works I’ve read from
\nchildhood to this very day (Charles M. Schulz is another, though
\nI prefer to look at anything older than 1980). I was crushed
\nwhen I heard of his passing..<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #61, from davemackey, 392 chars, Fri Sep 27 06:53:28 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 59.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nThanks, Harry, and hey, jshook: I did forget about “The 5000 Fingers Of Dr.
\nT,” didn’t I? \ud83d\ude09
\n That was a 1953 film written by Seuss about a sadistic piano teacher
\nplayed by Hans Conreid. (I always used to get this film confused with “The
\nSeven Faces Of Dr. Lao,” which was made 11 years later, starred Tony Randall
\nand was directed by George Pal.)
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #62, from hmccracken, 144 chars, Fri Sep 27 09:07:32 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 61.
\n————————–
\nPersonally, I’d rather have 5,000 fingers than seven fingers. I
\nwonder if Dr. Lao ever met Eve? They’d have ten faces between
\nthem…
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #63, from hmccracken, 370 chars, Fri Sep 27 11:04:01 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 60.
\n————————–
\nIt’s always sad when someone as talented as Dr. Seuss dies — but
\nremember that the guy was a very successful artist and author from
\nthe mid-1920s until today. Seuss started out as a contemporary
\nof John Held Jr. and ended up as one of Matt Groening and Bill
\nWatterson and the guy who does _Where’s Waldo_ — you can’t ask
\nfor much more in a career than that.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #64, from snowbear, 62 chars, Sat Sep 28 01:53:44 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 57.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 57.
\n————————–
\nI think the first book I ever READ was “I can Lick 30 Tigers”<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #65, from hmccracken, 312 chars, Sun Sep 29 14:28:42 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 57.
\n————————–
\nI was in a used bookstore today and saw another popular Seuss
\nbook which I had forgotten: _The Boners Omnibus_, one of
\nseveral volumes of schoolboy howlers and the like that
\nhe illustrated fairly early in his career. These must have
\nsold well, since they’re so widely available in second-
\nhand shops.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #66, from hmccracken, 204 chars, Sun Sep 29 23:22:03 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 64.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\n_Dr. Seuss’s ABC_ and _Green Eggs and Ham_ were certainly two of the
\nfirst books I ever read. Isn’t it an odd coincidence that I’ve
\nalways considered those two to be the Dr.’s best books? \ud83d\ude09
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #67, from tsin, 129 chars, Mon Sep 30 19:26:00 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 66.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\ni still have my One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish!
\nand lots of others!
\nHorton Hatches the Egg was my favorite though…
\ncynth<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #68, from davemackey, 406 chars, Tue Oct 1 18:12:00 1991
\nThis is a comment to message 67.
\n————————–
\nI think everyone’s got a favorite. In another conference I mentioned my
\nsecond-grade book fair, at which I purchased my very own copy of “Green Eggs
\nand Ham.” To this day it’s my favorite.
\n I was happy to see the story come to life as part of the TV special “Dr.
\nSeuss On The Loose.” I have a faint memory of Paul Winchell doing all the
\nvoices for that segment.
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #69, from hmccracken, 341 chars, Sun Nov 17 16:57:35 1991
\n————————–
\nTITLE: The next message after this one…
\nIs an informal review of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which
\nhas opened at single theaters in New York and L.A., and begins
\neverywhere else this Friday. While the review doesn’t reveal
\nany shocking story points, some folks may wish to refrain
\nfrom reading it until they’ve seen the film.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #70, from hmccracken, 6510 chars, Sun Nov 17 17:00:09 1991
\n————————–<\/p>\n

Even before it has opened in most of the
\ncountry, more than one critic has called
\nDisney’s adaptation of Charles Perrault’s
\nfairy tale Beauty and the Beast an instant
\nclassic. I woudn’t go that far, but it
\ncertainly is a delightful piece of
\nentertainment that continues Disney
\nAnimation’s recent streak of very good
\nfilms. Every animated feature that Disney
\nhas released since 1988 — Oliver &
\nCompany, The Little Mermaid, The
\nRescuers Down Under, and this one —
\nhas been something to be proud of. (I’m
\nbeing kind and not counting the limited-
\nanimation “Movietoon” DuckTales: the
\nMovie as a Disney animated feature.)<\/p>\n

The initial temptation is to compare this
\nmovie to The Little Mermaid; it’s a close
\nrace, but I’d have to say that Beauty noses
\nout a win over Mermaid. The new film
\nlacks a central character as strong as
\nMermaid’s Ariel, and I’m still debating in
\nmy mind which film packs the bigger
\nemotional wallop. In most respects,
\nthough, Beauty out-Mermaids the earlier
\nfilm with more opulent visuals, better
\nmusical sequences, and more confident
\nstorytelling. The character animation in
\nboth films is of about equal high quality,
\nand both films suffer from being very slick
\nwithout being terribly substantial and well
\nthought-out in the story department.<\/p>\n

The story works very hard to make the
\nBeauty, who’s called Belle, a stronger
\ncharacter than the typical Disney heroine.
\n(Although when you think about it,
\ncharacters like Snow White and Sleeping
\nBeauty are a lot more independent and
\nresourceful than we usually give them
\ncredit for being — a topic for another
\ntime.) The story also gives Belle a love of
\nbooks and reading that seems like a
\nheavy-handed sop to parents, educators,
\nand other grown-ups. <\/p>\n

Like the Little Mermaid, Belle has an
\nunnerving tendency to look just slightly
\ndifferent from scene to scene. Fifty-four
\nyears after Snow White, Disney is still no
\nwhere near as adept with human
\ncharacters as it is with animals and other
\nmore fanciful creations.<\/p>\n

The other most significant human
\ncharacter is Gaston, a handsome,
\negotistical blowhard who tries very hard
\nto win Belle as his bride. Gaston is an
\nodd-looking fellow who’s a little
\nreminiscent of Ichabod Crane’s rival
\n(whose name escapes me at the moment)
\nin The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he’s
\nstill a great character. Less successful is
\nBelle’s father, Maurice, who’s not much
\nmore than a bland imitation of Pinocchio’s
\nGepetto.<\/p>\n

The cutest, most Disneyesque characters
\nare the talking dishes, pieces of furniture,
\nand other household implements that
\nmake up the staff of the Beast’s castle.
\nCogsworth, a bossy mantel clock, and
\nLumiere, a Chevalier-like candlestick, are
\nmarvelous creations who give the film its
\nmost inventive moments. A very similar
\napproach was taken in the animated
\nfeature The Brave Little Toaster, but
\nDisney does it better and with more wit.<\/p>\n

Then there’s the Beast himself, voiced
\namazingly well by former teen heartthrob
\nRobby Benson. You may have seen still
\npictures of this buffalo-like creature, but
\nyou can’t really appreciate the character,
\nanimated by Glen Keane and others, until
\nyou’ve seen him prowling about,
\nsometimes on all fours, full of nervous
\nenergy and pain which is expressed in his
\nbeautiful blue eyes. Disney missed a great
\nopportunity by not giving the Beast a song
\nabout his feelings (the death of Howard
\nAshman earlier this year may have caused
\nthis).<\/p>\n

Ashman and Alan Menken’s songs are
\nclever and hummable in a Sondheim sort
\nof way; like The Little Mermaid, Beauty’s
\napproach to its music seems much closer
\nto that of modern Broadway musicals than
\nto that of earlier Disney films. While the
\nnumbers do a good job of helping to tell
\nthe story, there’s a certain stagebound,
\nartificial feel to them, unlike the earliest
\nDisney features’ still-unparalleled
\nintegration of music. (The Broadway feel
\nis accentuated by the presence of stage
\nperformers like Angela Lansbury and Jerry
\nOrbach in the cast.) Some of the numbers
\nalso seem a little misplaced in the film: for
\ninstance, the very funny one devoted to
\ntelling us about Gaston comes long after
\nwe’re well-acquainted with the character. <\/p>\n

Despite my quibbles with the film’s use of
\nmusic, it certainly has the best songs and
\nmusical sequences of any Disney (or non-
\nDisney, probably) animated feature since,
\nat the very least, 1967’s The Jungle Book.
\nEach one of the musical sequences is a
\nhighlight of the film and of recent Disney
\nanimation in general, especially the
\nopening scene and the “Be Our Guest”
\nnumber that comes about halfway through
\nthe movie.<\/p>\n

Technically, the film is impressive and a
\nfar cry from the threadbare looking Disney
\nfeatures of ten and twenty years ago,
\nalthough last year’s Rescuers Down Under
\nwas probably a bit slicker and well-
\npolished. While Disney is evasive about
\nmuch of its use of computers, Beauty was
\napparently inked and colored by
\ncomputer, rather than with cels, and its
\nuse of color is rich and satisfying. <\/p>\n

The film’s opening creates a look which is
\nso multi-dimensional that it’s almost like
\nwatching a 3D movie that doesn’t require
\nspecial glasses; this seems to have been
\ndone by using the computer to simulate
\nthe old multiplane camera. A later
\nballroom scene integrates hand-drawn
\ncharacters with spectacular backgrounds
\nthat are completely computer-generated
\nand rendered. The effect is stunning,
\nalthough a little out of place, since in
\ngeneral the backgrounds are done by
\nhand.<\/p>\n

Beauty and the Beast is consistently
\nentertaining and manages to get some new
\ntwists out of the traditional Disney fairy
\ntale format, but in the end it’s covering
\nground that’s pretty well-trod. Audiences
\nand most magazine and newspaper critics
\ntend to reward Disney when it repeats
\nitself and punish it when it takes chances,
\nbut I wish the studio would choose more
\noffbeat stories and approaches from time
\nto time. <\/p>\n

The next Disney animated feature, due a
\nyear from now, is another classic story:
\nAladdin. Disney is unlikely to do anything
\nreally unusual in animation until one of its
\nadaptations of age-old tales flops, as when
\nthe failure of Sleeping Beauty led to the
\ninnovations of 101 Dalmatians. <\/p>\n

I doubt that this will happen anytime
\nsoon. Certainly, Beauty and the Beast is
\npoised to do very, very well at the box
\noffice; it’s also the first animated feature
\nsince Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
\nthat’s being discussed as a potential
\nnominee for an Academy Award for Best
\nPicture. For all my criticisms of the movie,
\nI’d love to see it get such a nomination.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #71, from switch, 24957 chars, Mon Jan 20 12:50:54 1992
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Warner Bros. cartoon trivia
\nHere’s something I found in rec.arts.animation which should be
\nof some entertainment to all. Bear in mind that I don’t know
\nall the answers to these questions, so it’s up to the archivists
\nin the conference to supply definitive answers…<\/p>\n

From: JACK.L.WEBB@OFFICE.WANG.COM (Jack Webb)
\nNewsgroups: rec.arts.animation
\nSubject: Warner Bros. Trivia Contest (LONG)
\nDate: 15 Jan 92 15:35:23 GMT
\nOrganization: Webb’s Wackyland – Derry, Cow Hampshire USA<\/p>\n

Seemed like it was time to shake off the winter doldrums, and come up with
\nsomething that wasn’t Ren and Stimpy related… \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Upper Deck has come out with another ‘toon-related baseball card set called
\n“Comic Ball 2 Cards”. Like the first set, these again tell stories. One of
\nthe biggest differences with this set is that the stories have the Warner
\n‘toon characters “interacting” with photos of Reggie Jackson and Nolan Ryan.<\/p>\n

The other major difference is that the back of the cards, when in order in
\ngroups of nine cards, create a picture “puzzle” with both baseball trivia and
\nWarner Brothers cartoon trivia questions. (FYI – this set is made up of 198
\ncards, plus 9 special hologram cards)<\/p>\n

So, without further ado-doo, the main reason for this post:<\/p>\n

TA DA!<\/p>\n

My first (and almost assuredly only) Warner Brothers cartoon trivia contest,
\nbrought to you (without their permission, but what the hell, look at all the
\nfree advertisement they’re getting…) by Upper Deck (their questions) and me
\n(my typing).<\/p>\n

The questions have been grouped into three catagories – easy, semi-nasty and
\nnasty. Incorrect answers are worth 0 points – correct answers are worth one
\npoint each for the easy questions, two each for the semi-nasty questions, and
\nthree each for the nasties. There are 35 questions in each group for a total
\nof 210 possible points. These were grouped by me – comments\/flames on the
\ngrouping should be sent to alt.flame.nobody.home \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Rules (sorry, there’s gotta be a couple):<\/p>\n

1. All entries MUST be sent to me at:
\n jack.l.webb%office.wang.com
\n I will NOT accept entries posted to rec.arts.animation (besides the
\n horrendous waste of bandwidth – why give away answers?).
\n 2. All entries must be received by January 31, 1992.
\n 3. I’m the sole judge\/jury\/executioner in determining answer correctness.
\n 4. In case of a tie, I’ll come up with some flavor of a random method to
\n pick the winner.<\/p>\n

To make this interesting, I’m even gonna offer a prize. To the knowledgable
\nwinner, I will send one complete set of these cards (all 198 of ’em), and a
\nfew (sorry, I don’t have a second complete set) of the hologram cards!<\/p>\n

I’ll announce the winner in r.a.a in February. All entrants will be notified
\nof their score, and will receive the answers to all questions. Drop me a line
\nat the above address if you’re not participating but would like the answers
\nanyhoo. For obvious reasons, I won’t send the answers out until February \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

COMIC BALL 2 CARDS TRIVIA QUESTIONS
\nEASY QUESTIONS:<\/p>\n

1. One of Chuck Jones’ 1953 cartoons featured Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and
\n Marvin Martian in outer space. In 1977 it was seen briefly in Steven
\n Spielberg’s feature “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and was
\n requested by George Lucas to accompany his feature “Star Wars” when it
\n opened in San Francisco. In 1980, Jones was given studio financing to
\n produce a sequel. What is the name of this now-legendary cartoon?
\n 2. Name the 1948 cartoon whose title is a parody of the 1942 Columbia feature
\n “You Were Never Lovelier” with Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth.
\n 3. Which two famous characters, created separately and originally cast as
\n antagonists, were eventually teamed as buddies and starred together in
\n many Looney Tunes like “Scalp Trouble”, “Wise Quacks”, “A Coy Decoy” and
\n “Tick Tock Tuckered”?
\n 4. What three Chuck Jones cartoons are famous for the arguments between Bugs
\n and Daffy about whether it’s duck season or rabbit season?
\n 5. Name the cartoon whose title was a twist on the title of the James Cagney
\n feature “Yankee Doodle Dandy”.
\n 6. Name the Walt Disney film in which Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Forhorn Leghorn,
\n Wile E. Coyote and Yosemite Sam all appeared.
\n 7. Name Walt Disney’s friend from Kansas City, Missouri, a former silent
\n screen accompanist and the originator of the “Silly Symphonies”, who
\n scored most of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies made between 1936
\n and 1958.
\n 8. Initially, Wile E. Coyote obtained his outrageous devices from different
\n companies, but as the series progressed, it was a single brand name that
\n appeared on the boxes in which his traps and other gizmos arrived. What
\n was the name of the inexhaustible supplier?
\n 9. Name the cartoon that is a thinly-disguised parody of Disney’s Fantasia.
\n10. What popular characters were originated in 1949 for the cartoon “Fast and
\n Furry-ous” as an attempt to lampoon chase cartoons?
\n11. Which two characters, never paired during the normal operation of the
\n Warner Bros. studio, became adversaries in low-budget cartoons such as
\n “Assault and Peppered” and “Snow Excuse” made after 1963?
\n12. Name the Warner Bros. director who is generally credited with creating the
\n studio’s comedy style and it’s stars Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck.
\n He came to work at the studio in 1935 and his first film, released in 1936,
\n was the black-and-white Looney Tune “Gold-Diggers of ’49”, featuring Porky
\n and Beans.
\n13. The most famous and most popular Looney Tunes characters were created in a
\n single decade. Those ten years produced Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite
\n Sam, Sylvester and Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk, and the Road
\n Runner and Coyote. Which decade was it?
\n14. Which Bugs Bunny cartoon was the only one to win an Academy Award?
\n15. In the 1943 Bugs Bunny cartoon “Falling Hare”, Bugs finds himself aloft in
\n a World War II bomber with a “mythical beast”. What was the imaginary
\n creature called?
\n16. Name the hapless orange cat who became one of Chuck Jones’ funniest but
\n least-known characters, as the victim of the pranks or simply the harmless
\n enthusiasm of characters like the mice Hubie and Bertie, Frisky the puppy,
\n or the bulldog Marc Anthony.
\n17. Name the Robert McKimson cartoon that is seen at the end of Peter
\n Bogdanovich’s 1972 feature “What’s Up Doc?”.
\n18. Who was the man said to be allergic to carrots who was responsible for Bugs
\n Bunny’s voice?
\n19. Which two major Warner Bros. cartoon stars are older than Bugs Bunny?
\n20. In the late 1940’s, Tweety and Sylvester had a hit record written by
\n Michael Maltese and Warren Foster, sung by Mel Blanc, and released by
\n Capitol Records. What was the name of this song?
\n21. One of the most famous characters appeared in only one cartoon, a Chuck
\n Jones Merrie Melodie of 1955, unnamed anywhere in the entire picture. He
\n was later given a name based on one of the songs he sang in his single
\n starring role. Who was this memorable solo artist, and in what cartoon
\n did he appear?
\n22. Name the first Warner Bros. cartoon character, a nondescript black-and-
\n white creature who starred in all of the Looney Tunes from 1930 to 1933.
\n23. Name the character sometimes called Bugs Bunny’s most ferocious antagonist,
\n created by director Robert McKimson for cartoons like “Devil May Hare”
\n (1954), “Bedevilled Rabbit” (1957) and “Bill of Hare” (1962).
\n24. Mel Blanc’s exclusive credit as Voice Artist in Warner Bros. cartoons was
\n such a binding deal that he received sole voice credit even for a series of
\n cartoons starring a family of three characters whose voices were provided
\n by Stan Freberg, Billy Bletcher and Bea Benaderet. Name this threesome.
\n25. When Mel Blanc was faced with the job of originating the Bugs Bunny voice,
\n he claimed that he did it by combining the inflections of which two New
\n York City neighborhoods?
\n26. Name the 1948 cartoon whose title is a parody of the 1940 Jack Benny
\n feature “Buck Benny Rides Again”.
\n27. One of Bob Clampett’s best cartoons has remained hard to see on television,
\n due to the abundance of blackface caricatures that appear in the story, a
\n take-off on Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. Name this cartoon.
\n28. Which television series was being spoofed in the last of the battles
\n between Bugs Bunny and thugs Rocky and Mugsy, the 1963 Merrie Melodie “The
\n Unmentionables”, in which Bugs plays agent “Elegant Mess”?
\n29. In a 1956 Looney Tune directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael
\n Maltese, Daffy and Porky appear in fog-shrouded London as “Dorlock Homes”
\n and “Watkins”, bringing the “Shropshire Slasher” to justice. What is the
\n name of this hilarious parody of Sherlock Holmes?
\n30. Which Warner Bros. cartoon character was introduced in Robert McKimson’s
\n 1946 cartoon “Walky Talky Hawky”, and was modeled after Senator Claghorn
\n from Bighorn on Fred Allen’s radio show?
\n31. What is the name of the dog character who persues Porky Pig as a potential
\n master with outrageous, and hilarious, agressiveness (“You ain’t got no
\n dog, I ain’t got no master. So I’ll make you a preposition!”) in cartoons
\n like “Little Orphan Airedale” (1947), “Often an Orphan” (1949) and “The
\n Awful Orphan” (1949)?
\n32. Name the bright-eyed, innocent human character who filled in as the Looney
\n Tunes star between the abrupt exit of Bosco and the debut of Porky Pig.
\n33. What was the name of the Dr. Seuss character – a “100%” faithful elephant –
\n who starred in one of Bob Clampett’s cartoons in 1942, then was lucky
\n enough to have Chuck Jones build a half-hour animated television special
\n around him in 1970?
\n34. Name the little red-haired character who first appeared in “Hare Trigger”
\n in 1945, and was said to be a caricature of his director, Friz Freleng.
\n35. Before 1944, the cartoons we call Warner Bros. were actually produced by
\n what independent producer?<\/p>\n

SEMI-NASTY QUESTIONS:<\/p>\n

1. In what cartoon does Bugs Bunny appear AT the drawing board rather than
\n ON it?
\n 2. The first cartoon directed by Robert McKimson cast Daffy Duck as a maniac
\n who drew moustaches on billboards and Porky Pig as the cop sworn to bring
\n him to justice. Name this 1946 Looney Tune.
\n 3. For budgetary reasons, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were notoriously
\n stingy about the number of characters who could appear in one cartoon.
\n However, a Daffy Duck cartoon from 1950 included not only Porky Pig, but
\n Sylvester the Cat, Elmer Fudd, Henery Hawk and Mama Bear from the studio’s
\n featured trio The Three Bears. Name this unique, star-studded cartoon.
\n 4. What early black-and-white Looney Tune cartoon, in which Daffy Duck
\n convinces Porky Pig to tear up his contract with the studio, is famous for
\n anticipating “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” with it’s combination of animation
\n and live action?
\n 5. Fairy tales were a favorite mode of humor for the Looney Toonsmiths. Name
\n the one fairy tale that stood above all the others when it came to
\n providing a fit subject for lampoons.
\n 6. Name the Bugs Bunny cartoon in which Bugs finds himself in the castle of a
\n self-identified “Evil Scientist” who is a caricature of Peter Lorre.
\n 7. Bugs Bunny was introduced for years on television as “that Oscar-winning
\n rabbit”, but the skunk Pepe LePew was also an Oscar-winner. Which of his
\n pictures earned him this distinction?
\n 8. Name the 1944 cartoon, featuring Bugs and Elmer, whose title is a parody of
\n the 1943 United Artists feature “Stage Door Canteen”.
\n 9. Name the Bugs Bunny cartoon in which he stands in for the Easter Bunny.
\n10. In 1941, Warner Bros. released a film starring Monty Woolley and Bette
\n Davis called “The Man Who Came to Dinner”, based on the play by George S.
\n Kaufman and Moss Hart. Name the 1942 cartoon whose title was a take-off
\n on the feature.
\n11. Once Elmer Fudd’s baby-talk speech became famous, the Warner gang soon took
\n to releasing cartoons with titles mimicking his inflection, like “Jack
\n Wabbit and the Beanstalk” and “Wackiki Wabbit”. What was the first cartoon
\n titled in this fashion, and how was its director credited?
\n12. Chuck Jones is known to be a fan of Mark Twain, and in 1978 adapted Twain’s
\n “Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” into a TV special for Bugs
\n Bunny entitled “A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur’s Court”, later
\n retitled “Bugs Bunny in King Arthur’s Court”. His first attempt to squeeze
\n Bugs into Twain’s classic was in what 1955 cartoon?
\n13. In the late 1940’s and into the 1950’s, the Termite Terrace personnel went
\n through a square dance craze, in which learning the calls and mastering the
\n steps became an obsession for the artists in their off-hours. Name the one
\n cartoon in which this obsession was worked into a gag for Bugs Bunny.
\n14. Name the two Chuck Jones cartoons in which Bugs Bunny maneuvers himself out
\n of the clutches of the nefarious Witch Hazel, whose voice is provided by an
\n uncredited June Foray.
\n15. What was the origin of the name “Bugs”?
\n16. The Goofy Gophers, a pair of considerate rodents who stretched the rules of
\n etiquette to the breaking point, were originated in 1947 in “The Goofy
\n Gophers”, a cartoon completed by Arthur Davis. Who initiated the cartoon?
\n17. In what cartoon does Pepe LePew believe he is in charge of an entire French
\n Foreign Legion fort?
\n18. Name the character who was introduced in Bob Clampett’s “Bugs Bunny Gets
\n the Boid” in 1942, and was said to be based on ventriloquist Edgar Bergen’s
\n character Mortimer Snerd.
\n19. Name of the LAST Bugs Bunny cartoon to be released in theaters.
\n20. Name the studio’s first Oscar-winning cartoon, which was also the first
\n Tweety and Sylvester episode.
\n21. Often the characters in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were parodies of
\n famous Hollywood personalities – usually ones that Warner Bros. had under
\n contract. Name the Bugs Bunny cartoon in which his adversary is a
\n caricature of Edward G. Robinson.
\n22. Termite Terrace’s fifth Academy Award, and Tweety and Sylvester’s second,
\n was given to what 1957 cartoon lampooning Alcoholics Anonymous?
\n23. Until later made-for-television episodes such as “Bugs Bunny’s Christmas
\n Carol” and “The Yolk’s on You”, Sylvester the Cat and Foghorn Leghorn were
\n not known to populate each other’s cartoons. Name the sole exception to
\n this, a 1947 Looney Tune directed by Robert McKimson, in which Foghorn’s
\n ventriloquism causes Sylvester to crow at dawn.
\n24. Shortly after Yosemite Sam’s debut, he appeared as a pair of nearly
\n identical brothers in what Daffy Duck cartoon directed by Friz Freleng?
\n25. Name the 1947 Merrie Melodie, directed by Friz Freleng, in which a
\n caricature of Humphrey Bogart has such a featured role that it practically
\n amounts to a co-starring turn with Bugs Bunny.
\n26. A major Warner Bros. feature film release of 1946, and a Hollywood classic
\n ever since, was Howard Hawks’ “The Big Sleep”, featuring Humphrey Bogart
\n and Lauren Bacall and based on the novel by Raymond Chandler. In the same
\n year, Bob Clampett put out a Bugs and Elmer cartoon whose title was a
\n parody on the title of the famous feature, and it turned out to be
\n Clampett’s last cartoon for Warner Bros. Name the cartoon.
\n27. Termite Terrace founders Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising came to Hollywood from
\n the same Midwestern metropolis; their friend and animator and later
\n director Friz Freleng hailed from the same town, as did Ben Hardaway,
\n Melvin Millar, Carmen Maxwell, Rollin Hamilton and many other Warner
\n Toonsmiths. Name this breeding ground.
\n28. Termite Terrace introduced an entire “Our Gang” of animal characters in a
\n 1935 two-color cartoon called “I Haven’t Got a Hat”. There were, among
\n others, twin puppies named Ham and Ex, a cat named Beans, an owl named
\n Oliver, and overseeing the menagerie a cow named Miss Cud. Out of this
\n motley crew, one Looney Tunes star did emerge; who was it?
\n29. Name the first Bugs Bunny cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award.
\n30. During the 1950’s, which director hit on the idea of doing a series of
\n video parodies and came out with cartoons like “The Honeymousers”, “The
\n Mouse That Jack Built”, “Wideo Wabbit”, “People Are Bunny” and “China
\n Jones”?
\n31. Who was the ungainly red-nosed character, much beloved by Tex Avery and
\n other directors, who spoke like radio comedian Joe Penner, appeared in
\n cartoons like “Little Red Walking Hood” and “Count Me Out” in the late
\n 1930’s, and was the “fella” in “Cinderella Meets Fella” in 1938?
\n32. “Dough for the Do-Do”, released in 1949 and directed by Arthur Davis, was
\n actually a remake in color of what now-classic black-and-white Porky Pig
\n cartoon of 1938 directed by Bob Clampett?
\n33. During World War II the Warner Bros. toonsmiths made their contribution to
\n the war effort by producing a series of black-and-white animated
\n instructional films for the Armed Forces featuring what hapless GI
\n character?
\n34. In what famous cartoon by director Bob Clampett does Daffy imagine himself
\n to be detective Duck Twacy?
\n35. Name the story man who helped create cartoons like “Stupor Salesman” (1948)
\n and “What Makes Daffy Duck?” (1948) for Warner, then went on to write for
\n (and did the voice of) Bullwinkle the Moose on television.<\/p>\n

NASTY QUESTIONS:<\/p>\n

1. A bizarre Martian character (later named Marvin) battled with Bugs Bunny
\n on the Moon, on the Planet Earth, and in an astral complex somewhere in
\n the stratosphere. He also disintegrated Daffy Duck on the Planet X. In
\n what cartoon did he FIRST appear?
\n 2. Name the piece of classical music that became a Looney Tune staple, and
\n the basis for the animated action in Friz Freleng cartoons like “Rhapsody
\n in Rivits”, “Pigs in a Polka” and “Rhapsody Rabbit”, as well as the
\n foundation for Daffy’s song “The Daffy Duck Rhapsody”, which was released
\n on record.
\n 3. Name the last black-and-white Looney Tune cartoon to be made.
\n 4. Who is the only Director in the world to have directed Bugs Bunny, Elmer
\n Fudd, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope and Jayne Mansfield?
\n 5. Name the last Warner Bros. cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award.
\n 6. In the last of the five cartoons pitting Bugs Bunny against Wile E.
\n Coyote, Bugs claimed to be filling in for the Road Runner, and the
\n existing style of the Road Runner cartoons became confused with Bugs
\n Bunny’s style. Name this bizarre 1960s cartoon.
\n 7. Speedy Gonzales in best known for his appearances in Friz Freleng cartoons
\n and the Oscar won by Freleng’s “Speedy Gonzales” in 1955. Speedy made his
\n first appearance in what 1953 cartoon directed by Robert McKimson?
\n 8. Name the Road Runner cartoon that appears in one sequence of Steven
\n Spielberg’s 1974 feature “The Sugarland Express”.
\n 9. From 1953 to 1963, Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog battled over a flock of
\n sheep on workdays while on a time clock, but were again buddies when they
\n clocked out. Name the first of these cartoons.
\n10. In what year were Yosemite Sam, Pepe LePew and Sylvester the Cat
\n introduced?
\n11. There was only one year in which the Looney Tunes gang had three
\n nominations for an Academy Award, only to see the prize go to a film from
\n Europe. The entries were Friz Freleng’s “The Pied Piper of Guadalupe” and
\n Chuck Jones’ “Beep Prepared” and “Nelly’s Folly”. What was the year?
\n12. Name Warner Bros. studio’s first color cartoon.
\n13. Name the first Warner Bros. cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award.
\n14. It may or may not be true that Bugs Bunny was derived from the character of
\n Max Hare in the Walt Disney Silly Symphony “The Tortoise and the Hare”, but
\n it is true that the tortoise-vs-hare conflict became a standard plot for
\n Bugs. Name the three cartoons in which variations on this theme were used.
\n15. When Friz Freleng’s 1941 Porky Pig cartoon “Notes to You” was reworked by
\n the same director in 1948 with Elmer Fudd and Sylvester, what was the new
\n title chosen for the remake?
\n16. In the late 1930’s and early 1940’s Chuck Jones directed a series of
\n cartoons featuring Inki, a young pygmy hunter, and his experiences with a
\n certain lion and mynah bird. What was the LAST of the Inki cartoons, and
\n when was it released?
\n17. In the constant search for funny new character, Ben Hardaway tried
\n fashioning a rabbit in the mold already established by Daffy Duck, and made
\n two cartoons with two different-looking rabbits before Tex Avery actually
\n created Bugs Bunny in the cartoon “A Wild Hare”. Name these two Hardaway
\n cartoons of 1938 and 1939.
\n18. In the 1943 Bugs Bunny cartoon “Wackiki Wabbit”, Bugs’ antagonists are two
\n tropic-island castaways who were modeled after two staff members of the
\n Warner Bros. cartoon studio. They also provided the voices for the
\n characters. Which two of the boys from Termite Terrace did the honors?
\n19. Name the pair of Bugs Bunny cartoons in which Bugs befriends and assists a
\n cute little penguin who walked like Charlie Chaplin.
\n20. In what two cartoons does Bugs Bunny masquerade as a hairdresser to
\n bamboozle the same orange furry beast with tennis shoes?
\n21. Name the three cartoons in which Sylvester doesn’t speak and attempts
\n repeatedly, without success, to convince Porky Pig in pantomime of the
\n danger they have stumbled into.
\n22. The Warner Bros. studio, whose live-action films pioneered the use of 3-D
\n in the 1950’s, released only one 3-D cartoon. It starred Bugs Bunny and
\n was released in 1954. Name the cartoon.
\n23. In Tweety Pie’s first cartoon, he didn’t share the screen with Sylvester,
\n who hadn’t yet been created, but with two cats modeled after Abbot and
\n Costello. What was the name of this cartoon, and who directed it?
\n24. Name the two Warner Bros. feature films of the late 1940’s – both
\n coincidentally featuring actor Jack Carson – in which Bugs Bunny made brief
\n appearances in sequences directed by Friz Freleng.
\n25. The last cartoon featuring Sniffles the Mouse was a take-off on the 1940’s
\n radio series “Duffy’s Tavern”. What was the name of this 1946 cartoon?
\n26. Although Yosemite Sam was designed as a Western badman, he has also been
\n portrayed as a pirate. Name the three cartoons released between 1948 and
\n and 1954 in which he appeared opposite Bugs Bunny as the captain of a
\n pirate ship.
\n27. Of all the recent television compilation specials featuring the Looney
\n Tunes characters in clips from their vintage cartoons, there is only one
\n which contains NO new animation. Which one is it?
\n28. The 1933 Merrie Melodie “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” is based on a Warner Bros.
\n song that had its first screen appearance in what Warner Bros. feature?
\n29. In what TWO cartoons does Bugs Bunny appear as Brunhilda, the character
\n from Norse mythology?
\n30. Animator Arthur Davis was a director in the 1940’s and turned out a string
\n of wild cartoons featuring the usual Looney Tunes cast of characters, but
\n directed Bugs Bunny only once. Name his Bugs Bunny cartoon.
\n31. W.C. Fieldmouse, Eddie Gander, Deanna Terrapin, Irvin S. Frog, Ben Birdie
\n and Milton Squirrel are caricatures featured in one of Frank Tashlin’s
\n cleverest cartoons. Name this Merrie Melodie of 1937.
\n32. Warner Bros. had two cartoons up for the Animated Short Subject Oscar in
\n the 1941 race, and they were both directed by Friz Freleng. One was his
\n first Bugs Bunny picture; the other was the first of his elegant musical
\n cartoons. Name these two firsts and Academy Award nominees.
\n33. Although many story men (and quite a few directors) created stories for
\n Warner Bros. cartoons, there is a famous (or infamous) trio of men who were
\n responsible for most of the scripts on which these great cartoons are
\n based. From 1950 to 1960 they wrote and drew storyboards for virtually
\n every cartoon the studio turned out. Who were these fabulously successful
\n cartoon writers?
\n34. What is the title of the very first Looney Tune, made in black-and-white,
\n starring Bosko and Honey, directed by Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising, released
\n in 1930?
\n35. One of Frank Tashlin’s notable cartoons is an elaborate production starring
\n “W.C. Squeals” (W.C. Fields as a pig) on ice skates carrying on a rivalry
\n with an unseen Charlie McCarthy, presumably in the movie audience. Name
\n this outstanding 1938 entry in the Merrie Melodies series.<\/p>\n

—————————————————————————–
\nThat’s it – good luck – let the games begin!<\/p>\n

Jack<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #72, from davemackey, 3918 chars, Mon Jan 20 20:58:18 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 71.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nSPOILER…. ANSWERS TO QUIZ FOLLOW
\n!
\n!
\n!
\n!
\nLAST CHANCE TO BAIL OUT! ! ! !
\n!
\n!
\n!
\n!
\n!
\n!
\n!
\n!
\nOkay, folks, because You asked for it… The Answers:<\/p>\n

(1) “Duck Dodgers In The 24-1\/2th Century”
\n (2) “You Were Never Duckier”
\n (3) Porky Pig and Daffy Duck
\n (4) “Rabbit Fire,” “Rabbit Seasoning,” “Duck! Rabbit, Duck!”
\n (5) “Yankee Doodle Daffy”
\n (6) “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”
\n (7) Carl W. Stalling
\n (8) Acme
\n (9) “A Corny Concerto”
\n (10) The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote
\n (11) Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales
\n (12) Fred “Tex” Avery
\n (13) 1940’s
\n (14) “Knighty-Knight, Bugs”
\n (15) Gremlin
\n (16) Claude Cat
\n (17) “What’s Up Doc?”
\n (18) Mel Blanc
\n (19) Porky Pig and Daffy Duck
\n (20) “I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat”
\n (21) Michigan J. Frog, in “One Froggy Evening”
\n (22) Bosko
\n (23) Tasmanian Devil
\n (24) The Three Bears
\n (25) “Which is tougher, Brooklyn or The Bronx? ‘So I put da two a dem
\ntogedder, Doc, and dat’s how I came up wid da voice a Bugs Bunny.’ ”
\n (26) “Bugs Bunny Rides Again”
\n (27) “Coal Black And De Sebben Dwarfs”
\n (28) “The Untouchables”
\n (29) “Deduce, You Say”
\n (30) Foghorn Leghorn
\n (31) Charlie Dog
\n (32) Buddy
\n (33) Horton the Elephant
\n (34) Yosemite Sam
\n (35) Leon Schlesinger<\/p>\n

Semi-Nasty Questions<\/p>\n

(1) “Duck Amuck”
\n (2) “Daffy Doodles”
\n (3) “The Scarlet Pumpernickel”
\n (4) “You Ought To Be In Pictures”
\n (5) Little Red Riding Hood
\n (6) “Hare-Raising Hare”
\n (7) “For Scent-Imental Reasons”
\n (8) “Stage Door Cartoon”
\n (9) “Easter Yeggs”
\n (10) “The Wabbit Who Came To Supper”
\n (11) “Wabbit Twouble”; supervision, Wobert Cwampett
\n (12) “Knight-Mare Hare”
\n (13) “Hillbilly Hare”
\n (14) “Bewitched Bunny” and “Broom-Stick Bunny”
\n (15) Bugs was the nickname of studio artist Ben Hardaway
\n (16) Bob Clampett
\n (17) “Little Beau Pepe”
\n (18) Beaky Buzzard
\n (19) “False Hare”
\n (20) “Tweetie Pie”
\n (21) “Racketeer Rabbit”
\n (22) “Birds Anonymous”
\n (23) “Crowing Pains”
\n (24) “Along Came Daffy”
\n (25) “Slick Hare”
\n (26) “The Big Snooze”
\n (27) Kansas City, MO
\n (28) Porky Pig
\n (29) “A Wild Hare”
\n (30) Robert McKimson
\n (31) Egghead
\n (32) “Porky In Wackyland”
\n (33) Private Snafu
\n (34) “The Great Piggy Bank Robbery”
\n (35) William Scott<\/p>\n

Nasty Questions<\/p>\n

(1) “Haredevil Hare”
\n (2) Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody
\n (3) “Puss ‘n’ Booty”
\n (4) Frank Tashlin
\n (5) “Now Hear This”
\n (6) “Hare-Breadth Hurry”
\n (7) “Cat-Tails For Two”
\n (8) aaaaagh! this is the only one I don’t even have a guess for!
\n (9) “Don’t Give Up The Sheep”
\n (10) 1944
\n (11) 1962
\n (12) “Honeymoon Hotel”
\n (13) “It’s Got Me Again”
\n (14) “Tortoise Beats Hare,” “Tortoise Wins By A Hare,” “Rabbit Transit”
\n (15) “Back Alley Oproar”
\n (16) “Caveman Inki,” in 1949
\n (17) “Porky’s Hare Hunt” and “Hare-um, Scare-um”
\n (18) Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce
\n (19) “Frigid Hare” and “8-Ball Bunny”
\n (20) “Hare-Raising Hare” and “Water Water Every Hare”
\n (21) “Scaredy Cat,” “Claws For Alarm,” “Jumpin’ Jupiter”
\n (22) “Lumber Jack-Rabbit”
\n (23) “A Tale Of Two Kitties,” by Robert Clampett
\n (24) “My Dream Is Yours” and “Two Guys From Texas”
\n (25) “Hush My Mouse”
\n (26) “Buccaneer Bunny,” “Mutiny On The Bunny,” “Captain Hareblower”
\n (27) “Bugs Bunny In Space”
\n (28) “Forty-Second Street”
\n (29) “What’s Opera, Doc?” and “Rabbit Of Seville”
\n (30) “Bowery Bugs”
\n (31) “The Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos”
\n (32) “Hiawatha’s Rabbit Hunt” and “Rhapsody In Rivets”
\n (33) Michael Maltese, Tedd Pierce, and Warren Foster
\n (34) “Sinkin’ In The Bathtub”
\n (35) “Cracked Ice”<\/p>\n

Good job putting this together, Jack (wherever you are!)
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #73, from hmccracken, 223 chars, Mon Jan 20 22:51:47 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 72.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nWow, Dave! Are those answers off the top of your head, or did you
\nuse any reference works? In either case, I’m impressed —
\nbut check your answer to Nasty Question #29; I think you’re
\nonly half-right on that one.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #74, from davemackey, 351 chars, Tue Jan 21 02:54:55 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 73.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nYou’re welcome to correct and challenge any of my answers. What was the other
\ncartoon in which Bugs played Brunhilde, anyway? Now that I think about it it
\nprobably wasn’t “Rabbit Of Seville.”
\n Most of the answers were off the top of my head with just a few that I
\nhad to double check against a book or two.
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #75, from hmccracken, 205 chars, Tue Jan 21 09:23:30 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 74.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nI’ll give you a hint: it wasn’t a cartoon made in the 1950s, and it
\nwasn’t a Chuck Jones cartoon. (And it wasn’t a compilation film
\nthat included _What’s Opera, Doc?_ — that would be cheating.)
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #76, from davemackey, 145 chars, Tue Jan 21 12:54:13 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 75.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nPossibly “A Corny Concerto”? I thought it may have been “Bugs Bonnets,” but
\nyou ruled out Chuck Jones in the 50’s. –Dave
\n,
\n.
\nadd<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #77, from hmccracken, 155 chars, Tue Jan 21 14:11:05 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 76.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nNope! Another hint: it was a Friz Freleng cartoon which, appropriately
\nenough, also featured a historical figure who was quite a Wagner
\nadmirer.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #78, from dferg, 64 chars, Tue Jan 21 21:30:55 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 77.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nVas it by any chance ‘Herr Meets Hare’? Dat’s a goot one, yah!<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #79, from hmccracken, 321 chars, Tue Jan 21 21:34:43 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 78.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nYou got it! The whole section in which Bugs plays Brunhilde quite clearly
\ninspired _What’s Opera, Doc?_. I’m not positie, but I think Mike
\nMaltese (_What’s Opera_’s storyman) also wrote _Herr_. If so, it would
\nbe logical to guess that his importance in the creation of _What’s Opera_
\nwas extremely significant.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #80, from davemackey, 214 chars, Wed Jan 22 19:32:32 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 79.
\n————————–
\nYou are correct on identifying Maltese as the writer of “Herr Meets Hare,”
\nand rounding out the creative team (aside from the obvious personnel) was
\nanimator Gerry Chiniquy.
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #81, from switch, 9074 chars, Sat Apr 11 19:38:25 1992
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nThis is the first draft of an article (or an editorial – not sure
\nas yet) for the next issue of _fps_. Any comments or corrections
\nwould be greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

Recently, Pixar officially stated that the last two Disney features
\nreleased (_Rescuers Down Under_ and _Beauty and the Beast_) were
\ncreated entirely without the use of cels, utilizing Pixar’s
\ncomputerized ink-and-paint system known as CAPS (Computer-Assisted
\nPaint System). By all reports, Disney was none to happy about this.
\nOne surmises that Disney would prefer to keep the public thinking
\nthat they still make their movies the old-fashioned way, as if using
\ncomputers will somehow take the life out of their work.<\/p>\n

To me, this seems like a strange attitude. Whenever I casually
\nmention my interest in animation either as an aficionado or an
\naspiring animator, one of the first questions I’m often asked is:
\n“They use computers for a lot of that now, don’t they?”<\/p>\n

It’s not too surprising that most people who ask me this have little
\nidea of exactly what computers can do in the animation process, but
\nI’m often amazed when I find that many animators, animation fans,
\nand computer users don’t fully understand either. We’re still in the
\nmiddle of the computer revolution and most of us are completely
\nunaware of how versatile these tools are.<\/p>\n

So what does CAPS do? This is fairly simple – the original drawings
\nare done the old-fashioned way: pencil and paper. Once the pencil
\ndrawings are completed, they are scanned into a computer. Using
\nCAPS, the artwork is cleaned up and “inked”, the colors are added,
\nand the images are transferred directly to film one frame at a time.
\nHere are just a few of the advantages to this system: cel animation
\nuses flat colors for principal animation, and asking a computer to
\nfill a bounded area with one particular color is as easy as a few
\nclicks of a button. This makes multi-layer animation somewhat
\neasier to deal with, as in the past cel-painters had to deal with
\ncompensating for layers of cels. If a frame used five cels for an
\nimage, the top cel would be brightest and as you went farther down
\neach cel would be darker. You could either hope no one would notice
\nthe slight color differences in characters and their costumes from
\nscene to scene, or get the poor painters to compensate for this as
\nthey painted. Also, CAPS allows you to color the line surrounding
\nthe character, which gives them a softer look. In case you hadn’t
\nnoticed, real people don’t have black lines surrounding their bodies
\n– this was a necessary evil for inkers in the past, but thanks to
\nCAPS it’s somewhat rectified. The final step – output to film –
\ntakes some twenty minutes per frame. Assuming a 24 frame-per-second
\n(fps), 90-minute movie, that’s a total of 43200 hours, total. This
\nusually gets me the reply, “Why is this easier? When a cameraman
\ndoes it, all he has to do is put a drawing under the camera, shoot
\nthe frame, and put on the next drawing.” These people have evidently
\nnever worked under a camera. When you’re dealing with cel animation,
\nyou have to make sure the cels are properly layered to avoid the
\ncoloration problems mentioned above, that you’ve properly zoomed in
\nor out, tilted, panned, etc. as described in the exposure sheet,
\ndissolved the proper amount from one frame to another… and after a
\nfew exhausting hours, errors accumulate. A computer can be told to
\ndo most of this on its own, and being infinitely patient and
\ntireless will reproduce exactly what is has stored.<\/p>\n

I don’t understand Disney’s reluctance to admit to using CAPS. After
\nall, they’ve been using and developing various technological
\nshortcuts or alternatives for decades. Look at their use of
\nXeroxing onto cel (_101 Dalmatians_) to help eliminate the inking
\nstage while preserving the original artist’s line. Look at the
\nmultiplane camera – not invented by Disney, but certainly refined
\nthere – which allows for convincing parallax and depth of field
\neffects (_The Old Mill_).<\/p>\n

Besides, CAPS is just the tip of the iceberg of computer and
\ncomputer-assisted animation. There’s also computer-assisted
\nanimation, which allows you to design and animate three-dimensional
\nobjects with a computer, which you can then reproduce on cel. Take
\na look at Bill Kroyer’s _Technological Threat_. The wolf characters
\nare all animated by hand. The office droids are composed of a
\npyramid, a truncated pyramid, and a sphere. The droids were
\ndesigned once, and then given paths to follow. The computer was
\ntold “move this droid from point A to point B, following this path,
\nmaking sure the head bobs this way and the spheres rotate that way.”
\nThe animation was then previewed on screen, and from there
\nreproduced on cels. This allows animators to create complex objects
\nand animate difficult camera moves quickly and with less effort.
\n(Lest anyone think this is cheating, I should point out that
\nanimating traditionally-drawn characters over a computer-animated
\nbackground or object is not at all easy. I admire the ballroom
\nscene in Disney’s _Beauty and the Beast_ not because of the splendor
\nof the ballroom, but for the seamless integration of the dancing
\ncharacters with the backgrounds.) Disney, incidentally, has been
\nusing computer-assisted animation in just about every feature since
\n_The Black Cauldron_.<\/p>\n

In the good old days, animators checked their animations by doing
\nwhat’s called a pencil or line test. The rough animation was drawn
\nby pencil, them shot on cheap black and white film stock. This was
\nthen used as a preview to catch any errors before the pencils were
\nhanded over to ink and paint. Decades later came video line-test
\nsystems, which let you do the same thing – only with a special VCR
\nthat records at 24 fps (NTSC video runs at 30 fps). Rather than
\nusing up expensive film stock and waiting for it to be processed,
\nyou could pop in a regular videocassette and instantly preview your
\nanimation. Since then, animation studios have switched to another
\nlow-cost alternative. Each pencil drawing is scanned into a
\ncomputer, which plays back the image on a screen. This gives two
\nadvantages over film: since each image is stored in the computer’s
\nmemory, frames can be held, rearranged or duplicated at will. Also,
\na single computer disk is smaller and less expensive than a video
\ncassette.<\/p>\n

But let’s deviate a little from classical cel animation. It’s
\napparent from films like _Willow_, _Terminator 2_, and _Sleepwalkers_,
\nand videos like _Black or White_ that “morphing” is a popular
\ncomputer-generated (CG) animated effect these days. _T2_ in
\nparticular had many subtle CG animations, effects, enhancements, and
\nmodifications such as digitally flipping images in such a way that
\nthe viewer has no idea that what he’s seeing is not what was filmed.<\/p>\n

Fractals (which someone once dubbed “the lava lamp of the Nineties”)
\nallow us to travel through animated abstract mathematical universes.
\nMost people have been exposed to two-dimensional Mandelbrot and
\nJulia set fractals, with their whorls of recursive colors, black
\nholes, and tentacles. Then there are Lyapunov images, which are
\nmore three-dimensional and give a sense of being part of a strange,
\nalien reality. While this is a wonderful tool for abstract and
\nexperimental animation, a more practical application is in CG
\nfractal landscapes. By giving a computer numeric parameters and some
\ncontrols for the environment, it can create mountains, trees,
\nclouds, and bodies of water, all quite realistic and
\nthree-dimensional.<\/p>\n

In my eyes, the most important aspect of the computer age as it
\naffects animation is the personal computer, especially the
\nCommodore-Amiga computer. The Amiga has such a variety of animation
\npackages ranging from classical animation (Disney Animation Studio)
\nto effects-laden point-A-to-point-B animation\/paint programs (Deluxe
\nPaint IV) that any amateur or professional animator now has an
\ninexpensive creative outlet. Whereas before one had to learn about
\nthe technical aspects of film, acquire a camera and film and worry
\nabout processing costs, now one can buy a basic Amiga system and
\nenough software to do his own animation experiments in any style
\nimaginable, from Disney to UPA to Pacific Data Images. It’s simple
\nenough to get an Amiga animation onto videotape, although it could
\nalso be saved to disk and transferred between different computer
\nsystems – allowing millions of people access to someone’s work
\nwithout having to worry about distributors and the like. For those
\nof us who do this for the love of the art, the computer has opened
\nup whole new horizons to experiment, to learn, and to show the world
\nwhat we’ve been doing — without having to worry about acquiring
\nexpensive equipment or studio time.<\/p>\n

The computer revolution has touched all of us involved with
\nanimation, from the creators both amateur and professional, to the
\naudiences in the cinemas and living rooms. It’s impossible to
\nignore the pervasive influence of the computer in the animation
\nindustry as well as everyday life, and Disney is foolish to think
\nthey can.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #82, from olson, 154 chars, Sun Apr 12 00:43:08 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 81.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 81.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

fascinating article. ended too soon for me. wanted to hear more
\nabout exactly what aspect of disney features since black cauldron
\nused cg techniques.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #83, from switch, 134 chars, Sun Apr 12 11:50:09 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 82.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nHmn. The Disney technique is similar to Kroyer’s – I’ll have to
\ngo back and look at that paragraph if it’s not clear. Thanks!<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #84, from jshook, 1966 chars, Sun Apr 12 23:12:44 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 83.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

I, too, thought it was a good article, but also (like you) can’t
\nquite tell if it is a feature or an editorial. It seems to start
\nas an editorial, but then to support your position you (quite
\nrightly) fill the reader in on a lot of technical information
\nso that s\/he can see the basis for your position. I feel the
\narticle would be more effective as a feature, but to keep the
\neditorial point you might be able to hinge it on something
\nlike : “Disney seems to be upset that Pixar has publicised
\nthe use of their computer system in the making of B & B, but
\nin fact they have been using computers for some time now.
\nAnd it seems foolish of them to deny the very real advantages
\ncomputer-assisted production gives them. And when this can be
\ndone in such a way that none of the original vitality of
\nthe artists’ drawings is lost–only the tedious ‘grunt work’
\nis handled by computer–it is hard to understand what they are
\nso afraid of.” Well, you get the idea… Then you can go on
\nand describe their system and what it does.
\n The only other comment I would make is I think you need to provide
\na litle bit more information when talking about cel levels.
\nYou should explain that animation is broken down into levels so that
\nparts of the character that aren’t going to move for a while don’t
\nhave to be re-drawn. And you can make the point that this is
\npart of the hallowed tradition of Disney animation and it is done
\nto *save work*. Which is all that their computer does, so why are
\nthey afraid of letting it be known that have become more efficient?
\n I suspect that Disney thinks that if the public learns that their
\nnew features are “done with computers” it will be thought that
\nanimators aren’t involved in the process in the way they have in
\nthe past. But their system is specifically designed to preserve
\nthe quality of the hand-drawn animation. Only the “inking”, “painting” and
\n“shooting” are computerised, and that was a mechanical process
\nanyway.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #85, from dcolton, 206 chars, Sun Apr 12 23:18:38 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 84.
\nThere are additional comments to message 84.
\n————————–
\nThe E! channel on cable had a special on animation on Fern Gully.
\nI caught the end and the animators demonstrated the computer
\nassisted drawing and the large amount of xeroxing involved.
\nInteresting stuff.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #86, from switch, 658 chars, Mon Apr 13 01:01:17 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 84.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nExactly my problem. It *started* as an editorial, but by the
\ntime I got through the information needed to prop up my points,
\nit was leaning towards article status. Your suggestion for the
\neditorial “hinge” is well-taken. I’ll chew on that.<\/p>\n

I avoided the explanation of cel levels because every time I write
\nan article (or a long-winded FidoNet message), the explanations
\nalmost overpower what I’m trying to say. Look at how much I glossed
\nover in this one — I was restraining myself half the time.<\/p>\n

However, all your suggestions have been noted, and will be sitting
\nin the “points to ponder” window on my desktop when I work on
\nthe next draft \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #87, from jshook, 348 chars, Mon Apr 13 23:28:25 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 86.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

Well, I think you have done an excellent job of condensing a
\nlot of information into a small space without flasifying
\nor oversimplifying the material. I often have the
\nimpression whe I read articles about topics with which
\nI am familiar that the author has gotten it all slightly
\nwrong, somehow. I didn’t get that feeling reading your
\narticle.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #88, from drtoon, 2327 chars, Tue Apr 14 22:07:55 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 81.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 81.
\n————————–
\nVery good article! I have but a couple of suggestions to make:<\/p>\n

You say that CAPS allows colored lines as opposed to the “necessary evil” of
\nblack outlines in the past. In fact, Disney and most others have long used
\nhand-inked colored outlines. It’s the more recent Xerox process that
\nneccesitates black outlines.. not traditional ink & paint. This has been one of
\nthe objections to the Xerox process, along with the scratchy look it gives to
\nthe lines. You might more correctly state that the Xerox process is a
\ntechnological shortcut to eliminate the tedium and expense of hand-inking, but
\nCAPS is a superior solution because it eliminates the tedium while still
\nallowing the flexibility of colored lines found in the traditional hand-inking
\nprocess. One question: does CAPS allow a variable-width outline as does Xerox
\nand hand-inking?<\/p>\n

You say that CAPS renders finished frames at the rate of 20 min.\/frame =
\n43,200 hours per 90 min. film. This works out to almost 5 years to render a 90
\nmin. film. Obviously this is ridiculous. You might want to clarify this 20
\nmin.\/frame statistic. Even assuming animating on two’s, you can’t expect us to
\nbelieve it takes two and a half years of round-the-clock computer time to
\nmerely render a feature film – not to mention the time taken to get it ready
\nfor final output.<\/p>\n

Your article is clearly championing the benefits of computer assistance in
\nanimation, and seems aimed at converting the traditionalist skeptics among your
\nreaders. You might do better to try to explain Disney’s reluctance to publicize
\nCAPS instead of just berating them for it. I’d guess that many animation fans
\nassociate computer animation with shortcuts, cheapness and “cheating”. You
\nmight try to explain that CAPS can preserve as high a standard of rendering (or
\nhigher) than traditional hand methods at a much lower cost. This in turn might
\nenable animators to bring projects to the screen that would otherwise be too
\nexpensive to produce.<\/p>\n

If you restrict the article just to CAPS as an ink and paint timesaver, I
\nthink you can win some converts. If you expand it into an aesthetic argument
\nfor computer-generated character animation, you’ll have tougher going. I’d save
\nthat for a separate article if I were you.<\/p>\n

Suggested title: “Who’s Afraid of The Big Bad CAPS?”<\/p>\n

-Doug.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #89, from switch, 80 chars, Wed Apr 15 07:06:11 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 87.
\n————————–
\nThanks. Now if I can retain that in the next two drafts I’ll
\nbe happy \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #90, from switch, 470 chars, Wed Apr 15 07:10:42 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 88.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nBlack outlines: I’d never known that. Now I have to go watch
\nall my old Disney movies again \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Rendering time: Uh oh. Somehow I missed that one. I’ll have to
\ndouble-check that statistic. Thanks.<\/p>\n

As I was mentioning to Dave in CBIX last night, I believe I’ll
\nstick with just CAPS for now, and maybe go on about computer animation
\nin general some time in the future.<\/p>\n

“Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad CAPS?” sounds great. Wanna be my
\nofficial title generator? \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #91, from hmccracken, 251 chars, Wed Apr 15 17:30:54 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 81.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nNice work, Emru! There are some other advantages of the CAPS process
\nthat you didn’t mention — like its ability to create a multiplane-
\nlike effect, and its much cleaner overall look compared to the gritty
\nlook that Xeroxing tends to give.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #92, from hmccracken, 314 chars, Wed Apr 15 17:34:21 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 90.
\nThere are additional comments to message 90.
\n————————–
\nThe first few Xeroxed Disney features had
\nonly the thick black Xerox outlines, but they eventually were able
\nto do colored outlines, as well as a softer gray line. _The Rescuers_
\nwas the fist feature to use the soft gray line; I don’t remember
\noffhand which one was the first to use colored Xerox lines.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #93, from switch, 112 chars, Wed Apr 15 19:19:37 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 91.
\n————————–
\nWhoops – the multiplane effect was something I wanted to mention –
\ndon’t know how I missed that. Thanks.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #94, from jshook, 438 chars, Wed Apr 15 22:55:24 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 90.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 90.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

Disney (and perhaps others) even went so far as to use more than
\none outline color per character–usually the outline color was
\na darker value of the color it surrounded, but sometimes it
\nwas lighter or a different hue altogether. I believe these
\ncolors were sometimes applied with a brush rather than a pen.
\nThis allowed as skillful inker to vary the line width which can
\nbe used as a subtle way of modeling the contours of a shape.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #95, from hmccracken, 446 chars, Thu Apr 16 09:51:45 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 94.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nI doubt that anybody other than Disney would have or could have
\ndone that (or done things like applying actual makeup to cels,
\nas they did to rouge Snow White’s cheeks). Walt Disney’s
\nwillingness to spend as much time and money as needed to get
\nthe effect he wanted meant that his studio could do things
\nthat could never be justified in terms of pure economics.<\/p>\n

Also — I might be wrong, but weren’t cels *usually* inked with
\na brush?
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #96, from switch, 130 chars, Thu Apr 16 21:38:35 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 95.
\n————————–
\nI’d always thought they were inked with a brush, though I just
\nuse a thin felt pen, since I’m not doing anything serious…<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #97, from bcapps, 40 chars, Sat May 2 00:02:46 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 90.
\nThere are additional comments to message 90.
\n————————–
\nHey! I resemble that remark! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Bob<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #98, from lwilton, 1455 chars, Sat May 2 04:33:25 1992
\nThis is a comment to message 90.
\n————————–
\nReply to old stuff, but I just wandered in here a mo ago…<\/p>\n

Original Disney outlines were black, as were all others (so far as I know).
\nSome time around the 30s or 40s they came up with “self inking” lines
\nthat were not all black, and this was held to be a great advance in
\ntechnique. And of course it was. I don’t recall when this was first
\nused, but you can look it up in _The Art of Animation_.<\/p>\n

But then they went to the Xerox process, and lost the self inking lines,
\nwhich made nobody except maybe the bean counters very happy. This also
\ncost them some of the “liveness” of the images, or so they claimed, due
\nto the way that they had to do a hard outline on the drawing to have it
\nreproduce on the Xerox cel. After a few years they developed the grey
\nlines on the Xerox cels, which made the animation dept. much happier,
\nbut they still missed the old self inking lines.<\/p>\n

I heard a Disney type commenting reciently that they were using a “New
\nProcess” for B&B (carefully not mentioning any names), but they
\nspecifically commented that the NP got them self inking lines back,
\nand they were delighted. Sorry, I don’t remember who or what circumstances.<\/p>\n

Your rendering time stat might very well be correct, except for the fact
\nthat the movie was prolly shot on twos for the most part. Remember, there
\nis no particular reason to render the whole movie sequentially. Just
\nshell out for 10 film recorders, and do it in one tenth the total time.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #99, from switch, 48879 chars, Sun Jun 14 21:49:42 1992
\n————————–
\nThis interview was conducted by Greg Barr (elfhive) at AnimeCon
\n’91. Those who are interested in the Japanese animation industry
\nboth here and abroad will probably find this of interest.<\/p>\n

This is the final form of the interview after it was printed in
\n_fps_ #2.<\/p>\n

————Cut here—–8<-----------------------------------------\n\nAnimeCon '91 was the first convention in the United States\ndevoted exclusively to the subject of Japanese animation. It was\nheld over Labor Day weekend in San Jose, California. During five\ndays nearly 3000 Japanese animation enthusiasts from all over the\nUnited States and some from as far away as Australia\nparticipated in panels, met with some of their favorite directors\nand animators, and mostly watched a lot of film and videotape.\n\nIn addition to about 40 hours of film screenings, three channels\nof the hotel closed circuit television system were dedicated to\nairing Japanese animation twenty-four hours a day. Only one of\nthose channels was dedicated to playing requests for repeats, the\nother two never ran the same tape twice or duplicated programs\nbetween them.\n\nAs someone who is new to the appreciation of anime, I was eager\nto meet and record my conversations with a number of\nprofessionals in the field. Often joining in these conversations\nwas Aleta Jackson, who shares my enthusiasm for this subject. I\nam delighted to be able to share some of these talks with you.\n\nTrish Ledoux is the current editor of Animag: The Magazine of\nJapanese Animation, and has worked as a translator of anime. In\nthis case, the term translation applies both to the person making\nthe literal translation from one language to the other and the\nperson taking that literal translation and improving the English.\n\nOur initial discussion gave me some background about Japanese\nanimation, which has existed since the early 1960's in Japan, and\nits introduction shortly thereafter in the United States.\n\nTrish Ledoux: The first shows to come over were Astro Boy I still\nhave a little 'Golden record' on 78 [rpm]; it was twelve cents\nand Kimba, the White Lion. A lot of people say that these are the\ntwo shows that first got them started in Japanese animation. It\nwas Astro Boy that first appeared on NBC in prime time in the\nmid-sixties. That was very popular and reached a broad segment of\nthe population. I have no clear memories of watching that show,\nbut I do have the record.\n\nGreg Barr: Animag started about four years ago. Was that a second\nwave of popularity for Japanese animation?\n\nTL: Actually it started earlier. Starblazers came first around\n1979-80. That's when it first started broadcasts here. I was\nwatching it because it was on kiddie afternoon TV. I was\nseventeen, eighteen at the time. I was enjoying them at the time.\nI saw another dubbed feature called Galaxy Express by Leiji\nMatsumoto.\n\nIt was dubbed by a group called Family Home Entertainment. They\nhad substituted the names of the characters and even changed the\nplot lines around, but it was still more than anything anyone had\nseen in animation. There were multiple stories going on, there\nwere ideas. The sense of continuance was the most important to\nanybody, I know it was for me. The idea of watching Starblazers,\na story that would continue from day-to-day, was so in contrast\nto the episodic television in America [where] everything was\nwrapped up and complete in itself, you had a beginning, a middle,\na corny joke at the end and then it is over with.\n\nGB: You mean like the Hanna-Barbera style?\n\nTL: Not to say that they don't have some fine shows, but they\nhadn't tapped into this continuing story concept. I know that as\nI got more and more interested in it, I found more people like\nme. I joined a fan club for Starblazers and that led me to\nrealize that there was a whole body of people all over the United\nStates who were watching the same show. It wasn't just me that\nwas finding it out.\n\nGB: How big was that club?\n\nTL: Maybe they had about two thousand people back then, around\n1980-81. The next big show to come along was Robotech. It was\nbrought over by Harmony Gold, which was the Hong Kong based\nproduction firm, that is best known for dubbing kung fu films.\nRobotech was a hit for almost exactly the same reasons that\nStarblazers was. There was a continuing story line, there were\ncharacters that you could get to know, there was a complex story\nline going on and it was always embroidering upon itself.\n\nThe most important element in Robotech was that a character died\nand they let him die. There were characters in Starblazers who\nhad died but in the American version they mysteriously 'got out'.\nThere was a voice-over. There was, \"Oh gee! Knox, are you OK?\"'\nthen you would hear this disembodied voice over the radio:\n\"Yeah, I got out alright,\" but you never see Knox again.\n\nIn Robotech, they actually have a character bite it. Roy Fokker\nalso had an interesting girlfriend, Claudia she was black. One of\nthe [few] black characters we had seen in animation. He goes to\nher house, they have some 'pine' salad (which is pineapple salad\nin Japanese), he went out and got shot. He doesn't tell anyone,\nhe comes back and plays the guitar while bleeding to death on her\nsofa.\n\nThis is pretty important stuff when you are used to watching\nregular Saturday [or] after-school TV!\n\nGB: It was Carl Macek who was editing and dubbing this material\nfor after-school broadcast. He is the one who was stretching the\nlimits of what kids were used to?\n\nTL: From what I understand, Carl was interested in animation\ngoing all the way back to college. He was majoring in it. He\nloved animation. He wasn't necessarily into Japanese animation at\nfirst, but eventually he saw it as this undiscovered gold mine.\nHere were these wonderful stories, this fantastic animation, all\nthis stuff was going on out there and no one had any access to\nit. It seems as though his main goal has been to increase access\nto it for everyone on a variety of levels.\n\nHis first step was through Robotech. His role in that was by\nnecessity circumscribed. He was only allowed to do certain\nthings, the story could only go so far. He had people telling him\nwhat he could do and couldn't do. Carl is a very nice man. He has\ntaken a lot of grief from anime fandom here in America because\nthey tend to hold him solely responsible for some of the shows\nthat came after Robotech. They seem to think that it is all his\nfault that the story lines were the way they were. He had very\nlittle to do with it. I don't want to sound like I'm apologist\nfor him, but I know him and I understand the position he is\ncoming from and I think he is really misunderstood. He is, of\ncourse, with Streamline Pictures now and taking a different tack\nwith that. He is bringing it dubbed in English as a theatrical\nrelease. You can now go to some art theaters and see Akira, Robot\nCarnival and The Castle of Cagliostro, which he is working on\nnow.\n\nGB: Now we are talking about a different type of Japanese\nanimation. The feature films have not been seen on television in\nthe United States. This is a whole different world from the\ntelevision series you have been describing. Has this been a\nresult of the series like Robotech?\n\nTL: Oh, definitely. Without a single doubt. Robotech was in a lot\nof ways the wedge that opened the market. Even though Starblazers\nand some other shows came first, in a sense they really don't\ncount. They were important and a lot of anime fans remember them\nbut it was just the opening salvo in what was to be a larger\nbattle.\n\nAs far as some fans are concerned the arrival of Japanese\nanimation in the U.S. gave them something that they weren't\nfinding in other parts of their lives. I think that in fandom\nthere is this whole idea that there is something out there that\nnobody else knows about but you. The idea that you are\ndiscovering it. It is new to you. Watching Starblazers and\nrealizing that all the kids around you aren't really clueing in\nto it and it is really good stuff. That is an attitude common to\neveryone I have ever spoken with in Japanese animation fandom.\nThey have this feeling that they know something that other people\ndon't know, that the rest of America doesn't know. \n\nGB: I have heard expressed, in fact, that there is a certain\nreluctance to promote Japanese animation too much because it\nwould change fandom. \n\nTL: Yes. That is true. The \"old guard\" who think that it is bad\nanytime you start getting it too much exposure. It isn't going to\nbe \"theirs\" anymore. I think that, in some respects, if that is\nwhat they are in it for, they are right. They have a legitimate\nconcern. But, if they are in it for the animation and they want\nto see more product brought over, then there is no other way to\ngo. We have to expand. We have to have people like Carl working\nfor us. We have to have Streamline bringing the animation into\nthe mainstream. At Animag we are constantly trying to broaden our\nfocus. We started out with just synopses. My current attitude is\nthat trained monkeys can write synopses. It is not the secrecy\nthing that it was. There was a time when it was very clandestine.\nIt was secret knowledge that we all passed around like a cabal.\nThese little cells of animation fans who would talk to other\nanimation fans in a chain that went right across the country. It\nisn't like that anymore. There are people like U.S. Renditions\nand AnimEigo, there are other magazines, at least a half dozen\nothers who are regularly publishing.\n\nGB: Some have already failed. \n\nTL: They come and they go. We are really lucky that we have been\nable to go this long. I have to say that it is because we have\nthe luxury of using people's free time. I'm able to devote myself\nto it as a student. If I were working full time there is no way\nthat I could possibly manage it.\n\nGB: Is Animag incorporated and was it started by fans? \n\nTL: Yes, we are incorporated. The story begins when the C\/FO\n(Cartoon\/Fantasy Organization) was still in existence. It was\nthis dark, looming organization that a lot of people like to\nthrow stones at for both good and bad reasons. They were like a\ncentral controlling brain with the local clubs being like\nneurons. After a while, the brain decided that it was going to\ntell everyone exactly what kind of shows they were going to watch\nand how much they were going to pay for it. It got so weird that\nthe politics were just bizarre.\n\nIt was an important organization because it spread the knowledge.\nThis was the group that people could write to and say \"Gee, I\nheard about this really great show called Gundam, do you know\nwhere I can get any of the tapes. They charged a basic fee to pay\nfor the tape and the recording and set people up with these\ntapes. So the knowledge of it grew and it spread out amongst the\ncells where more people started watching these shows. These were\nwhat I call the \"robber baron\" days of Japanese animation video\nwatching. People would sit on these huge stacks of tapes and say\n\"what will you give me for them?\" and people paid outrageous\nprices to see lots of these things.\n\nGB: What is the situation with the distribution of Japanese\nlanguage tapes? It reminds me of when I used to work in the\nMiddle East where just about everything we saw was not an\nauthorized release. On the other hand the authorized versions\nwere simply not being released in that part of the world. How has\nthe distribution evolved and where do things stand?\n\nTL: There was a time when getting a fourth generation videotape\nwas lucky. Nowadays, with the advent of the laserdiscs, it is a\ndifferent world. Nobody is watching the grainy, scratchy copies\nanymore because copies are being made right off the laserdiscs. I\nknow of at least four different places right in San Francisco,\nnot even the whole Bay area, where you can purchase Japanese\nanimation laser disks. They rent them. You can get them, copy\nthem, and bring them right back. There is no need anymore for a\nlot of these clubs, and who is to say that C\/FO didn't fall apart\nbecause it wasn't needed anymore? I think that is an important\npart that people haven't talked about.\n\nAs far as the distribution of tapes is concerned there are a lot\nof people entering into this as legitimate players. There is U.S.\nRenditions. They are a division of Books Nippan in the U.S.,\nwhich is itself a division of a huge Japan based publishing\ncompany. They are the forerunner for importing Japanese\nanimation, goods. U.S. Renditions is releasing subtitled\nvideotapes of really popular shows. Now anybody with $20 in their\npocket can go down to their local comic stores and get these\nshows, at least through special mail order. There is no longer\nany need for Byzantine maneuvering to get to know somebody and\ngetting a tape from them. Those days are gone and they are not\never going to come back.\n\nGB: What about Animag's position in this whole situation? How are\nyou going to broaden the market, if that is your intent?\n\nTL: As I mentioned before, we started out with just the\nsynopses. Over recent years we have been trying to add in more\ngeneral interest. We now have a modelling column, we have a\ncomics or manga column and we are just trying to broaden our base\nof interest. At the same time we are very careful about getting\ntoo narrow. There are some aspects of animation fandom who only\nwant to see shows over and over again. They are not interested in\nthe new stuff, whereas we are trying to bring in the new stuff\nall the time. We are trying to increase awareness and let people\nknow what is going on. We are also keeping a good balance of the\nolder stuff. That is why we have our \"Anime Flashback\" section.\nThe parameters are not necessarily the age of a show, it has to\nbe accessible. Some shows you are never, ever going to get in the\noriginal. You can't even get copies of copies anymore. There are\nlost in the sands of time and you can't find certain episodes.\nThe best you can do is hope to find someone who knows a little\nbit about it and write an article on it. \n\nIn our issue number thirteen we have a Xabungle article. It is a\nreally obscure little show but it is wonderful, it was worked on\nby a lot of the same people who did Gundam. I don't think that\npeople would find out about shows like that if it weren't for\nmagazines like Animag.\n\nGB: Do you think that this will generate some interest so that\nthe shows will become more available in the U.S.?\n\nTL: I think it is. The world is changing in animation. A lot of\nshows are being released on laserdisc. You can get the entire\nrun of some shows which consist of over 30 disks like [Science\nNinja Team Gatchman.] Urusei Yatsura has over 200 episodes\navailable on laserdiscs. They cost big chunks of change but they\nare selling.\n\nGB: These shows are not translated into English, right? \n\nTL: No. What is fascinating is to figure out how much of a\nmarket there is for this material in English. A lot of times\npeople say \"if I get a couple of bucks together, I can get a\ngenlock for my computer and do the subtitling myself.\" Subtitling\nJapanese animation is a whole other subcurrent of this fandom we\nhave been talking about, people have been doing that for many\nyears. \n\nMy personal opinion is that the market for English language\nanime is limited.\n\nGB: Do you mean dubbed or subtitled or both?\n\nTL: Let me rephrase that. I think there are different markets.\nThe kind of hard core anime fans you find at a convention like\nthis, a lot of them have no interest in seeing subtitled or\ndubbed. They are always going to find flaws with it. If they go\nto see one of Streamline's new productions they are just going to\nsit there. They aren't even listening to it. They just want to\nknock it down because it's been dubbed and its not \"theirs\"\nanymore. You'll hear them commenting \"that's not what it says, my\nfriend who had a class in Japanese tells me that that isn't what\nis happening.\"\n\nI think we are branching out into different markets. Different\npeople who want different things.\n\nGB: Isn't that a rather limited group, those people who are going\nto sit through a dubbed feature and pretend they understood the\noriginal Japanese? You seem hesitant, but the distributors are\ntalking about an explosion of Japanese anime in the American\nmarket. It seems to me that would have to be in dubbed English.\nSubtitled films are for \"foreign film buffs.\" Carl Macek seems to\nbe the person who is spearheading the dubbed approach. Do you see\nhis feature film releases breaking out into the mainstream\nthrough possible subsequent cable distribution?\n\nTL: If anyone can do it, Carl can do it. He and Jerry Beck, his\npartner at Streamline Pictures, have picked some really good\npictures. If it is going to happen it is going to be because of\ntheir efforts. Carl and Jerry looked at the situation and came to\nthe same conclusions that you just mentioned. They realized that\nthere is a ceiling on certain kinds of growth. If it was going to\nwork it was going to have to be in English. They also felt that\nit wasn't going to work initially as television releases. It had\nto be the theatrical English versions.\n\nAt this point we are just waiting for the right vehicle. Akira\nwas a good opener. A lot of people who have never seen Japanese\nanimation before are looking at it and they are flabbergasted,\nthey are awed. They are watching it, there is the soundtrack with\nall the crazy instruments, and there is the story behind the\nproduction. There was this huge conglomerate that got together in\nJapan just to finance this thing. It cost like seven and a half\nmillion dollars to produce the film.\n\nGB: But that's very cheap for a feature length animation film.\n\nTL: Yes, but it was the highest budget ever spent. It was also\nvery high for a feature length Japanese film. If you know\nanything about Japanese film production, they make films on a\nshoestring. There is a reason why Kurosawa can't get his films\nproduced in Japan and comes over here to get people like\nSpielberg and Lucas to back him.\n\nGB: So it's like the Indian film production scene, where they\nmake over 300 films a year, but none of them have million dollar\nbudgets. They are, however, very limited to their cultural\nmarket. Is it possible that animation would be the first uniquely\nJapanese cultural expression that would break into the\nmainstream US market?\n\nTL: I think the market is ripe for it. Certainly there is a\nfascination with all things Japanese right now. Just as an\nexample, attendance is at an all-time high in my language\nclasses. From 1982 to 1985, there was a 42% increase in the\nnumber of people who were speaking Japanese. There are a lot of\npeople interested in it and Japanese animation is a really good\nway to get into it. Even if you don't speak Japanese you can pick\nup a lot of the cultural nuances just by watching it.\n\nGB: I have come across a magazine called Mangajin whose intent\nis to teach English speaking people a little about Japanese\nlanguage and culture through manga or Japanese comics. One of the\nthings they talk about is about the different levels of the\nJapanese language. They call them politeness levels. Are those\nlanguage levels reflected in anime, are there films that have\nhigher politeness levels or are they all in a \"familiar\" level?\n\nTL: There is only one film I can think of that has a high level\nof language and that is from a world-famous story of thirteenth\ncentury Japan called The Tale of Genji. It is very slow paced.\nIf you have read it you might be able to appreciate the film. It\nis something beautiful to watch. If you expect to see a fast\nmoving plot and lots of mecha action you will be disappointed.\nThat film was recorded using the high, exalted court speech.\n \nMost Japanese animation language is very colloquial. In Japanese\nthere is no equivalent to the Anglo-Saxon \"four-letter\" swear\nwords. It is all in the intonation and the context of the\nsituation. For example, a common swear word is \"kore yao\" which\nliterally means \"that guy.\" They don't really mean anything. No\none knows what the actual meaning is, they just know that if you\nsay it in a certain way, with a certain tone, it means something\nnegative. As translators, we have tried to pin down a few to\nexpressions like \"son of a bitch\" or \"Goddammit,\" but it is very\nloose.\n\nGB: Let me get back to Animag. Tell me more about the staff and\nhow it operates. Are you all part-timers? \n\nTL: Well, I certainly work full-time hours. \n\nGB: You are not paid full-time? This isn't a career situation?\n\nTL: No. We haven't quit our day jobs. I would like it to be. It\nwould be my dream that I could just do this. In a sense you could\nsay that it is my full-time job because I don't work any other\njobs. I have done some freelance writing and have been published\nin some art magazines. I write about Japanese animation.\n\nAs I mentioned, most of us at Animag are students. We have the\ninterest and the time even though our funds are limited. Animag\ngot started because some people looked at what was out there,\nsaid we really like Japanese animation, we don't know what is\ngoing on with it, let's do a magazine. In a real sense it was,\n\"I've got a barn, I've got a Laserjet, let's put out a magazine.\"\nOne of the people at the inception was Matt Anacleto and he is\nworking now as a graphic designer, that is what he does all day\nlong. For him it was nothing. All of us were completely unbowed\nby the enormity of putting out a magazine. If it had been up to\nme, I certainly couldn't have gotten it together to do this.\n\nMatt is my business partner on this. He is Filipino. We have a\nwonderful ethnic diversity and we also have the highest\npercentage of women of any of the animation groups. There are\nfour or five women on a staff of almost twenty. That's a very\nhigh percentage when you look at other demographics in the field.\nThere was a recent article in an Orange County (California) paper\nwhere all the people being interviewed said that there weren't\nany women involved in Japanese animation. I thought it was\ninteresting that they didn't mention the fact that a major\nanimation magazine has a woman editor and that there were many\nwomen involved in the production of Animag. We have a wide ethnic\nmix. There are a lot of different viewpoints coming into it. We\naren't a bunch of guilty white kids sitting around watching it\nand getting our thrills.\n \nAleta Jackson: One of the attractions about Japanese animation is\nthat there is no specific ethnic group that you are dealing with.\nIt seems to cross all barriers. You can be a poor ghetto kid and\nappreciate it just as much as a privileged kid. The thing I like\nabout Japanese animation, aside from the beauty of it, is that\nthey are teaching their children that space and space\ndevelopment, going into space, is for them. It is their manifest\ndestiny.\n\nWhen I see Gunbuster, about a young girl who tells her Dad that\nshe is going to be a space pilot just like him, and then she goes\nand does it. This says something to me about what the Japanese\nare telling their children. Do you see that at all?\n\nTL: There is definitely a cultural subtext. I know Leiji\nMatsumoto, who is very active in this. He is a member of the\nYoung Astronaut Club. He comes to America fairly frequently on\ntours and talks to people who are interested in the space\nprogram. It seems like there are a lot more people there who are\ninterested in advancing the space program and in advancing\ntechnology, in manifest destiny and in breaking frontiers. It's\nnot really fair to compare it to American animation because our\ntwo industries are so different.\n\nAJ: It strikes me though that this is a basic cultural\ndifference. They are telling their children and their people:\n\"Prepare to go into space.\" We are telling our children and our\npeople: \"Go dig under the sewers in New York.\"\n\nGB: It shouldn't be, because it is all supposed to be\nlight-hearted and fun, but it is a little disturbing.\n\nAs someone who is interested in promoting space settlement, the\ntreatment of the fictional space program in the film Wings of\nHonneamise is very, very disturbing. Of all the anime I have seen\nthis one is truly unique. It doesn't bear a relationship to other\nstyles or types of Japanese animation. One of the guests from\nJapan at this convention, Mr. Sadamoto, worked on Wings and\nsaid, somewhat jokingly, that it was an allegory about the studio\nthat produced the film, Gainax.\n\nWhat is interesting is the artist's perspective. Aleta asked\nHideaki Anno at a panel yesterday why young girls (who don't take\nshit from anybody) were often the heroines of these space\nstories, he answered \"because it sells.\" I would like to know\nwhether there is some conscious message sending at work or if it\njust happens to be a manifestation of the Japanese culture. Is it\nreally that they have cute young girls because it is mostly young\nguys that watch this videotapes and they do space stories just\nbecause they are interesting? Gundam, for instance, opens with\nthe only animated depiction I know of O'Neill cylinders as space\ncolonies.\n\nTL: Gundam is one of the most impenetrable shows out there. There\nare reams and reams of literature on it. There are volumes of\nbooks. I have friends who have made it their life's work. They\nhave learned Japanese just to read Gundam in the original\nlanguage.\n\nYou know how when you watch a show you can assume there is a lot\ngoing on but there may not be? You may be just projecting. In\nGundam there is just such a rich vein to be mined. There is so\nmuch thought going on in there. [Yoshiyuki] Tomino, who started\nGundam, is an incredible man. He is making political statements.\nHe is making scientific statements. On top of all this there is\njust there is just the other face of guys going around in giant\nrobots and that's cool too. So you can watch Gundam on a variety\nof levels. You can watch it because it has neat giant robot\ncombat, but it also has these interesting character developments\nwith larger than life figures like Char Aznable, or you can watch\nit because you want to find out more about the science. You've\ngot the O'Neill colonies, you've got the Lagrange points, the\nMinofsky field, all this super science in there going back to\nStarship Troopers by Heinlein.\n\nGB: Who was responsible for the Japanese animation version of\nStarship Troopers?\n\nTL: I think it was Sunrise, who is also the producer of Gundam,\nbut I think you should check on this.\n\nGB: That brings up the subject of how animation is produced in\nJapan. Is it dominated by big studios, like Disney, or are there\na lot of independents? If both, what are their relationships, how\ndo they work, and if you have an idea how do you go about\nrealizing it?\n\nTL: Gainax is an example of local kids who made good. They were\nindependents that started out with some small little projects.\nLike a bunch of fans who got together just to do what they like\nbest. It was just popular enough that they have bloomed out and\nbecome this big company that is doing a lot of different shows.\nThey are doing Nadia, they are doing all kinds of things which\nwere unimaginable ten years ago when these people were working\nout of their \"garages\" doing little projects.\n\nGenerally the big studios really are the big studios. We are\ntalking about a billion dollar industry with a lot of\nmerchandising going on. It is very hierarchical. When I go over\nthere with Toshifiumi Yoshida, who you get to talk to depends\nupon who you know and how important you are. It matters whether\nthey bring you tea or not. I think Animag occupies a certain\nposition by virtue of being a novelty. Certainly when I go, I\nmean here is this blonde woman who comes in and can speak a\nlittle Japanese and I'm the editor of an American Japanese\nanimation magazine, I'm novelty city. They will haul out the kids\nand file them by to look at me.\n\nI don't know how seriously they take us. I know we are just a\ndrop in the pond. They don't even consider us a fly worth\nswatting. Some of the bigger companies, Bandai, for example, are\nimpenetrable. We have tried and tried and tried. We just cannot\nget any inroads into them. There is this one story where Toshi\nhad gone to Japan, this was around Animag 1 or 2, and he was\ntrying to get permission to do some research on Gundam in order\nto go beyond the magazine, like a book or similar project. The\nman he was talking to became very grave and started saying \"We\nwill sue you, you know. It's legal and we are going to sue you.\"\nThe idea of tackling the merchandising juggernaut, as we call\nBandai, is just beyond the reach of mortal man. It's a huge\norganization.\n\nAlthough, according to people that Toshi has talked to very\nrecently, Bandai may be on the way down. They have started\nmarketing toothbrushes, panties, shower caps. They are going into\na different branch of merchandising because the market isn't\nthere for the big robots anymore. It is just gone. It's past.\n\nGB: So they aren't following the movement, if there is one? They\naren't sure they want to go along with it. When you think about a\nstudio system like Disney, for instance, it starts out with a\ntremendous amount of innovation internal to the culture of the\nstudio and an expression of the culture it is in. It sounds like\nGainax may be an example of that. How about Hayao Miyazaki, is he\npart of a studio or does he have a studio of his own?\n\nTL: Miyazaki is a studio. All of what we call the \"great\"\nanimators are their own studios or companies. Matsumoto has his\nown production company. He's got people going all over the world\nlooking for bootleg copies of his work. He is constantly finding\nthings in Hong Kong. He will sometimes align himself with other\nstudios and do cooperative efforts, but I think he decides which\nprojects he is going to work on. The same is true of Miyazaki.\nMiyazaki is an institution in himself. He is the most beloved\nanimator of all time in Japan, and here for that matter. It was\ncertainly one of the reasons that Carl Macek got into it. There\nis even an apocryphal quote attributed to Steven Spielberg about\nCastle of Cagliostro \"having the greatest action scene that he\nhad ever seen.\" By the way, nobody can trace that down, I have\nbeen trying for five years and nobody can find any attribution to\nit anywhere. I'd like to go up and ask him sometime if he really\nsaid that.\n\nGB: He would probably say \"Castle what?\"\n\nTL: Maybe he wouldn't have any idea what we are talking about.\n\nGB: I think this is a very fertile period for Japanese animation\nin the United States. I think that people instantly recognize\nsomething like Miyazaki's art.\n\nTL: It is universal and transcends cultural boundaries.\n\nGB: That could be a major influence here and shake up the way\npeople perceive animation. I don't know how it might influence\nthe big animators like Hanna-Barbera or Don Bluth, but either we\nare dead wrong about how obviously interesting it is to people or\nit really is going to have a major influence. I think more than\nthings like the manufacturing technology, such as televisions\nand VCR's.\n\nAmerica is a melting pot of cultures but generally you become\nAmerican when you come here. I think, however, that Americans\nsomehow become Japanese when they are exposed to anime. I don't\nknow what the importance of that is, but, the more I hear people\nlike you who sound deeply involved in Japanese animation, the\nmore I get the sense that people want to learn Japanese... and it\nisn't just to do business over there.\n\nTL: That's a very insightful observation, actually. Every time I\ndo a convention or an appearance on the subject, I ask how many\npeople have studied Japanese. \"How many of you have [studied\nJapanese]? Usually it is 80% or 90% of the audience. They see it\nand they want to know more about it. It is a fascination with the\nJapanese and things Japanese. Of course there is the beauty of\nthe art, there are the stories that you aren't getting anywhere\nelse, there is the cultural taste which is pulling people in from\nall fronts. It has so many different facets that can attract so\nmany people. In a way it is a shame that it has been this secret,\nguilty pleasure for so long. It has been here for so long as a\nrecognizable, tangible, visible force, a presence in the\nmerchandising industry, since at least 1980. People are making\nbig bucks off of merchandising and syndication, but where has it\ngone since then? I know that Carl has told this story many times\nabout trying to get the rights to Nausicaa. That is one of\nMiyazaki's seminal works, I mean everyone wants to bring Nausicaa\nto the U.S., it is the project of the century. But the people who\nowned the North American rights, as soon as they realized that\nsomebody wanted it, put this huge premium on it so nobody could\ntouch it, not even Streamline Pictures.\n\nSo people are sitting on these rights. They have the rights to a\nlot of projects which they bought when they first came over\nbecause the Japanese were selling cheap. The rights to a lot of\nMiyazaki films have been snapped up by various American holding\ncompanies and they are not releasing them.\n\nGB: How aware of this is Miyazaki?\n\nTL: Very aware and very frustrated. People have gone over and\ntalked to him personally who have this desperate desire to bring\nhis work over here. It deserves to be seen, but there is nothing\nthat he can do. You were asking about the studio system and how\nmuch control they have. In a sense what goes on in Japan they can\nsay, but when it goes outside it is completely out of their\nhands.\n\nGB: Is that because they just didn't know about international\nmarketing?\n\nTL: It isn't as much of a priority. Being part of the homogenous\nJapanese society means that when you are in Japan you are\nJapanese, you only care about things Japanese. It is so important\nto remain true to your own cultural identity, to focus in on what\nis Japanese, that I think there is a lot of blindness to what is\ngoing on outside of their own inner circle.\n\nThere are two words in Japanese that describe this whole\nrelationship. There is honne and tatemae. Honne is written with\nthe kanji [Japanese ideograms --Ed.] for tree which is \"source\nroot\" and stands for the true feeling. And then there is tatemae\nwhich comes from the verb tateru which means to build or to\nconstruct and that is a foundation. These are the two sides that\nyou show the world. You show your inner circle, your family, the\none face and you show everybody else the other face. I'm going\ninto cultural things here, not really animation, but it wouldn't\nbe true to say that this doesn't affect the animation and their\nperception of it.\n\nGB: At the opening ceremony for AnimeCon '91, they showed a\nvideotape of some works in progress by American animators like\nRick Sternbach and some friends. He seems to be influenced by\nJapanese animation. Do you see this happening in American\nanimation and will Animag cover this material as well? \n\nTL: I don't think Animag will cover any American animation. We\nhave been approached about covering more American animation but\nthere are some copyright issues and it is difficult to find\npeople who are qualified to do it. Maybe, I'm damning myself, but\nwe are able to operate right now in a market where a lot of\npeople don't speak Japanese. Some think they do, but very few\nactually do. Animag has a cadre of people who really do and they\nspend a lot of time doing research and travelling to talk to\npeople in the Japanese animation field. As a little group of\nstudents I would say that it would be hard to compete with so\nmany others more knowledgeable about the subject of American\nanimation.\n\nGB: But if you see something that is obviously influenced by a \nparticular Japanese animator? \n\nTL: Well, it that case we would be interested in covering it. \n \nThe following represents excerpts from a conversation with Mr.\nKazuhiko Inomata, producer of the Dominion series for Toshiba\nVideo Software and Mr. John O'Donnell of U.S. Manga Corps,\ndistributors of Toshiba's subtitled Dominion. Also present were\nKen Toshifiumi and Trish Ledoux of Animag. John O'Donnell was\ntranslating for Mr. Inomata.\n\nThe conversation began with a discussion of the problems anime\nhas in meeting American television standards because of the\namount of violence throughout.\n\nKazuhiko Inamoto: In terms of the problems of showing Japanese\nanimation in America today, the Japanese production companies are\naimed at American film majors and aimed at the three networks.\nBut that kind of product does not mass market enough and is too\nviolent for television and is therefore better for video release.\n\nGB: In terms of marketing, do they study the networks as a market\nand are they aware of the peculiarities of those networks as\nopposed to the cable television market?\n\nKI: We produce with the thought that as long as it works in\nJapan, it is fine. Now we are thinking that perhaps, if we see a\nrising boom for this product in America, it may be time to think\nabout what works in other countries as we go into the design\nstage.\n\nGB: The market seems big enough that you could just go ahead and\nuse the original material and find a place through which you can\naccess the appropriate market for a certain kind of anime. For\ninstance, a cable channel might specifically handle Japanese\nanimation. Or would you change the content of the material\nspecifically for American audiences?\n\nKI: One way to treat the content with consideration is to take\nthe original Japanese material and put English subtitles on it.\nWhen you dub it, however, you open it up for a broader market.\nAnime needs to be accepted as not just for kids. We are\napproaching the video rental stores, which tend to market our\nproduct in the children's section, to get them to set up a\ncompletely separate Japanese animation section that stands alone.\n\nJohn O'Donnell: U.S. Manga Corps is working with Blockbuster to\nhave them set up these separate sections to handle the three\nlabels we distribute. Blockbuster wants to know how many titles\nthere are and if there is enough volume for them to warrant\npaying special attention to anime.\n\nKI: In Japan, every month about 50 new titles are released on\nvideo. These are called OVA (Original Video Animation). So the\nbasic supply of programming exists to allow a flow into America.\nEach of the groups in Japan that makes animation has its own\nsales organization which has its own relationship to American\ndistributors and each is wrestling with the decision of whether\nor not to come into this market. So unless we get a sense in\nJapan that it is worthwhile coming into America on a regular\nbasis, it is hard to give the kind of ongoing support that the\ndistributors need. Right now the videos are priced at 10,000 Yen\nand it just won't work.\n\nJOD: If a forty minute OVA were to be priced like a CD at $14 to\n$15, there would be a real market here. Presently it is $35 and\nit is just too high. It needs to come down to $14.95 and $19.95\nfor feature length animation films. Then people would find it\neasier to get several selections.\n\nTL: For people who have never seen one before, they are unlikely\nto take a chance at $35. At $14.95 they might buy it just because\nthe like the look of the cover art.\n\nGB: Because of the size of the American market, does Mr. Inomata\nfeel that it is worth the effort and expense of doing some\ntraditional market research?\n\nKI: How much does it cost?\n\nGB: It would depend on how extensive it was. If you put together\nfocus study groups who have never been shown the animation before\nand then follow it up with quantitative analysis of that\ninformation to verify what the study groups are saying, it could\nstart at around $50,000 to $100,000.\n\nKI: In Japan we did some market research. We showed the average\nman in the street and asked, \"What do you think?\" The answer was\nthat it was boring and they couldn't see the point. We went ahead\nwith the marketing and discovered that there were enough \"mania\npeople\" (fans) out there that it became a success. All these\nquestionnaires were coming in the front door saying: \"it won't\nwork, it won't work, nobody wants it!\" At the same time\nsubstantial shipments were going out the back door. It was too\nmuch of a gap.\n\nKen Toshifiumi: My opinion on the idea of a separate Japanese\nanimation corner at Blockbuster is that in order to keep enough\nstuff coming there will be a glut of stuff that isn't going to\nsell. In order to keep the flow up that will satisfy the store,\nbad product will come in to the shelves.\n\nKI: The American market now reminds me of the Japanese market\nfive years ago, before the OVA boom. When we had the boom there\nwas boring, bad stuff mixed in with the good stuff. The people\npicked what they wanted. Fans would buy this or that, some stuff\nwould sell and others wouldn't. I'm not worried about having a\nlot of stuff on the market because it will all seek its own\nlevel.\n\nKT: Right now is U.S. Manga Corps dealing exclusively with\nToshiba EMI?\n\nJOD: We've licensed the Dominion series from Toshiba Video\nSoftware and we are looking to do more work with them, but it is\nnot an exclusive arrangement.\n\nKI: Actually we are Toshiba Video Software, which is owned by\nToshiba. Toshiba EMI is a separate company because it is a joint\nventure with EMI in the record business. You have two Toshiba\ncompanies here. The fact that record sales were falling off is\nwhat brought Toshiba into the OVA market. [Note: Since this\ninterview, Mr. Kazuhiko Inomata has become a producer at Toshiba\nEMI. -GB]\n\nKT: Unlike the television programs, you also don't have to worry\nabout television commercials and having a toy line to back the\nprogram. This way the record companies can back one video\nproduction, put the money in and then get it back in direct\nsales.\n\nGB: Explain the record market in Japan?\n\nKT: The Japanese record market as it is isn't that great. There\nisn't a whole lot there. You have the \"pop idol\" industry which\nisn't a very stable market by nature since idols come and go\nquickly.\n\nTL: The \"idol\" thing in Japan is basically the marketing of a\npre-pubescent girl. They dress her up in the cutest outfit they\ncan possibly find and give her a nonsense song to sing in a\ncompetition. She basically wins because of cuteness.\n\nKT: They don't usually last more than a year. That market started\nto go bad in Japan and the companies looked for new ways to make\nmoney. They started investing in OVA.\n\nKI: Actually it was more the toy side that got into OVA. Bandai\nis one of the largest toy companies and one of the first to start\nproducing OVA.\n\nThere follows a discussion about a Japanese documentary\nconcerning fandom lifestyles.\n\nKT: In 1982 animation fandom was really big in Japan. There was\nthis production that did a \"cut-away\" view of the fans asking\nthem what they were doing that year. There was even some\nanimation created to show things that were appening amongst the\nfans. Some people watch it and don't understand it, others look\nat it and say \"My God, that was me!\" I saw a clip from the film\nwhere they interviewed 100 animation fans from 1982 and asked\nthem how many had lost their virginity before marriage. Of the\nfifty men, none had, and of the fifty women only two. None of\nthis would make any sense to American fans.\n\nTL: People would wonder this is animation why are you asking\nabout sex?\n\nKT: They were asking when was the first time you saw a porno\nmovie, that kind of thing. I think there is too much Japanese\nculture in it to be really understood over here. Maybe a little\nbit of the eroticism would be attractive to American fandom, but\nthat might be the only real draw besides the nice animation.\nAlthough cute little girls in skimpy clothes always works. We\nalways put a girl or a robot on the cover.\n\nTL: Greg and I were talking about this before. I feel that there\nis a certain amount of appeal to something that seems\nimpenetrable, which has this mystique to it. It's like having a\nRosetta stone that you decode to try to find out what is going\non. So sometimes the cultural stuff is good, but if it just the\ncultural stuff I don't think it is going to fly here. It has to\nhave something else to bring it in.\n\nJOD: Have you seen The Sensualist? It is from a book by Ihara\nSaikaku. He lived during the Genroku period, which is the\nJapanese Renaissance in early 1700 A.D. The book is called The\nLife of an Amorous Man. It is very famous. O.B. Kikaku and Studio\nJamp, which is a production company, did a feature length\nanimation of it called The Sensualist. It is very slow and\nstylized, not at all like most of what you see at this\nconvention. It is extremely elegant. I love it, but would that\nfly in America?\n\nKI: That particular film didn't even work in Japan.\n\nJOD: So where is that cultural wall? Is it a wall that you want\nto climb over because it is there and people want to look?\n\nKT: I think everyone wants to see what the culture is like in\nJapan, but it has to be interesting enough for them to keep\nwatching.\n\n-----\n\nDiscussion regarding the OVA series Dominion.\n\nGB: Is it unusual in Japan for what seem like the antagonists to\nbe the more popular and well-liked characters?\n\nKI: Yes, normally the characters who play the bad roles tend to\nhave more popularity than the good guys.\n\nGB: In the United States, we have groups that are organized to\nchallenge the content of television programming, especially\nchildren's television. Are there similar groups in Japan and\nwould they oppose the projection of an image of popular bad guys?\n\nKI: Perhaps in cases where the villains are really bad, but most\n\"bad guys\" have some redeeming values in them. In spite of the\nfact that they do bad things, there is some humanity about them\nand people who are watching feel for them. The writers are very\ngood about maintaining that sort of a balance. So they have no\nproblem with parents' groups protesting.\n\nGB: Are there such groups?\n\nKI: Yes, they have some groups like that. They are more concerned\nabout the sexual things as opposed to the perceptions of who is a\ngood guy or who is a bad guy. Things like sexual perversions that\nyou find in specialized magazines are more the concern for these\nparents' groups.\n\nGB: Dominion features a great deal of sexual innuendo in a\nhumorous way. Is that a peculiar feature of Japanese animation\nand, if so, how do you think that will play to the American\nmarket?\n\nKI: In Japan they do not have the same Judeo-Christian ethic of\nshame about the body. If a woman goes in the shower she is not\nlikely to have her clothes on because they would get wet, so that\nis why when you see a shower scene they don't have any clothes\non. This is a simple thought process so it doesn't raise any\nquestions.\n\nGB: From a marketing point of view what is U.S. Manga Corps\napproach to the product knowing that it may be sensitive with\nAmerican audiences?\n\nJOD: We play it up. We make it real clear that the reason you are\nbuying this is because it is a cartoon for college kids and young\nadults. We are putting stickers on it that state \"not recommended\nfor children.\" Our feeling, as producers of this material, that\nyou must make sure it is clear who it is aimed for on the box so\nno parent will buy it by mistake. That is our responsibility.\nThe second thing is that we feel it is part of the appeal of\nJapanese animation. Why are American cartoons boring? They are\njust children's stories with gags. You don't have the character\ndevelopment. You don't have the sophisticated plots that continue\nthe character development and get richer with more threads and\nstories. They shy away from any adult oriented concepts like\ncrime and punishment, environmental degradation. These are not\nthemes that you find in children's animation in the U.S. Part of\nthe appeal of Japanese animation is that a lot of these themes\nare included.\n\nGB: There is a program called Toxic Avengers in the U.S. that\nseems to point to a slight change in themes for American\nchildren's cartoons. Also the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, did\nthat have any success in Japan?\n\nKI: The characters just weren't appealing to the Japanese. It was\nreally bad, a total flop in Japan.\n\nGB: Yesterday at the opening ceremonies, American artist Rick\nSternbach and other animators send a video that showed some ideas\nin progress for animation programs, some storyboards and\ncharacter sketches. It seemed as though it was heavily influenced\nby Japanese anime. Is there any interest on the part of the\nbigger Japanese studios in sponsoring productions by American\nartists influenced by the Japanese, but which might be more in\ntune with the American market?\n\nKI: It is a great idea. I would like to see Japanese and\nAmericans working together on a co-production basis to come with\nprograms that would appeal to both markets.\n\nGB: What is his reaction to this first Japanese anime convention\nin the United States?\n\nKI: In Japan the scale is bigger. The annual Wonder Festival is\nabout ten times bigger than this. I am very impressed that\nAmerica has come to this kind of level for this kind of product.\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #100, from switch, 16335 chars, Sat Aug 29 12:09:26 1992\n--------------------------\nTITLE: Anime, and He May Not\nThis is an article written by Marc Elias for the next issue of\nFPS. It's basically a commentary on the merits (or lack thereof)\nof Japanese animation. Since there seems to be some healthy debate\non the subject on several BBSes and nets I call, he granted me\npermission to post this.\n\n\n\nAnime, And He May Not (or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And\nLove My Big Purple Battle Suit)\n\nby Marc Elias\n\n\nRecently, I was given an assignment for this magazine, and, well,\nhonest-to-God, I meant to do it. I really did. I wanted to\nproduce the most even-handed, thoughtful and entertaining review\nfps had ever printed. But I got distracted. When my editor\nnoticed that I was neglecting the action of the Japanese animated\nvideo I was supposed to be critiquing in favor of turning around\nand sneering at everyone else in the room, he peeked over my\nshoulder at what I had scrawled, and, in the manner of a true\njournalist, immediately saw a golden opportunity to annoy people.\n\nNaturally, his primary impulse, like mine, was to expose some of\nthe more embarrassing, irritating and regressive aspects of\nanime, an art form for which we have enough respect and love to\nwant to criticize it in a healthy, constructive way... But mostly\nhe wanted to annoy people, which often has the same effect, and\nis a lot more fun. So, with his blessing, I have a few points to\nmake--maybe a few bones to pick--about the world of Japanese\nanimation. Let's run a few up the flagpole and see who jumps into\nthe head of a twenty-storey robot (that they don't know how to\ndrive) and righteously tries to attack them.\n\nJapanese animation is not the seamless, perfect artifact that its\nmost ardent fans make it out to be. It has infuriating problems.\nIn fact, to the more moderate animation enthusiast, the human\ncost of these problems is not as evident in the medium itself as\nit is in its most visible disciples, the anime fanatics. I feel\nthat the blindest among them, either with good intentions or with\nmalice aforethought, tend to make what is admirable about anime\nvery tacky, and what is unfortunate about anime downright\nunpleasant. Theirs is the crime, or the curse, of being\nselectively diplomatic, which often boils down to accepting and\ndefending a volume of really bad ideas on the strength of the far\nfewer number of good ones.\n\nThe fanatic both helps and hinders whatever he or she is\nfanatical about. That goes for religions, or hockey teams, or\nidentity politics, or forms of art. In the case of anime, slavish\ndevotion to the product and what it represents means, in the\nsimplest terms, that someone will keep making the stuff, which is\ngood for everyone, because when anime is good, it is very good.\nBut what the stereotypical extremist (read: big fan) demands and\naccepts (one would like to say `condones') determines both the\nintention, the content and the ultimate effect of what is\nproduced. There are a lot of bad ideas in anime, and most of its\ntrue partisans don't do anything about it. The occasional\nmaverick genius will always do what he or she wants to, and it\nwill be so full of good ideas that it becomes an excuse for a\ntorrent of subsequent mediocrity and regressiveness from the rest\nof the genre.\n\nThis is true of every form of expression. But in anime, I find\nthe mediocrity easier to spot, because it doesn't seem to aspire\nto more, and consequently, neither do its fans. The fanatic, with\nhis or her strength and influence, is missing out on the chance\nto make the style they love truly a world leader within its\nmandate, instead of the unstable, borderline silly set of\ncommercials that too much of it is today.\n\nBut let me say this now, for the record: I like Japanese\nanimation. I do. Like my friend and editor Emru, I like the\nrespect with which an entire culture accords animation, an art\nform that I love; an art form that, on the whole, my culture\ntreats very roughly. In North America, most people refuse to\nunderstand what you're talking about until you say \"cartoon\", and\nthen they proceed to get the wrong idea at a furious pace, with\nan intensity that leaves the animation lover spent, and primed\nfor a good long lie-down. The fact that we market the stuff\nmostly for children is not a problem; children used to have a\nwhole lot of imagination, and the secret was safe with them. But\nnow those children have grown up, or are successfully faking it,\nand are feeling the need for the kind of freedom of imagination\nthat animation gave them as children. It's a relentlessly happy\nform of art, and a genuine one, as most desultory television\nwatchers would gladly like to announce to those responsible for\n90% of our animation. The bottom line about the art form is its\nfreedom; the freedom to add movement and timing to drawings, the\nfreedom to make absolutely anything you can force your hands to\ndraw come alive, the freedom to make things that aren't real feel\nreal, and the freedom to make things that can't possibly be real\nfeel more real than everything else you see every day.\n\nIt is a powerful way to show people things they might never see\notherwise. Americans like Disney, Bluth, Bakshi, Avery and Jones\nhave set lofty standards for their countrymen that are\nunfortunately rarely equalled. The Japanese animators, on the\nother hand, have made putting work and style into their animation\nalmost a national pastime. The Japanese have the best timing, the\nbest draughtsmen, the best scope and the best support system in\nthe world of animation. The North Americans may be funnier, the\nEastern Europeans may be more socially conscious, the Italians\nmay be more authentically lascivious. The Japanese are definitely\nthe loudest, and the brightest, and in the big picture, they take\nwhat they do very seriously indeed, which in and of itself, is\nnot only necessary, but good.\n\nHowever, anime fanatics tend to take things too seriously. And as\na consequence, some anime producers are offered the leisure of\ntaking things less seriously than they should. For example,\nanime, and the manga comic style that inspired it, has a network\nof intricate templates, traditions and rules that are adhered to\nmore or less faithfully by every animator in Japan who isn't\nworking for an American producer, and most of those who are. Some\nof these are tremendous ideas that can be adapted again and\nagain. Some of these are good ideas that have been used again and\nagain, until you are led to wonder what was so good about them\nanyway. Some of them are just plain shoddy judgement, and insults\nto the imagination, especially when judged against the best of\nthe genre. Again, this is true of every way of life that relies\non imagination to touch human emotions. But anime has a habit of\nallowing some of its weakest notions to become its standard\nbearers all over the world, largely because the genre's consumers\ndon't put enough thought into what they accept, and consequently\nthe producers only have to work half as hard to satisfy their\ndemands.\n\nEven newcomers will recognize the most obvious characteristics of\nanime. A simplified action and fewer re-drawings, coupled with an\nimpeccable timing, results in faster-paced but potentially crude\nmovement. At its best, it is nothing less than thrilling. This\nstuff can make twelve cels a second look like Disney. At its\nworst, it looks unconvincing and cheap. A uniform character\ndesign anthropomorphizes people into a bizarre pseudo-humanity in\nwhich individuality is replaced with big eyes, perky noses, long\nlegs, small waists, big breasts, strong jaws and heart-shaped\nfaces, depending on whether the character is man-boy or\nwoman-girl. As a design trick, it was once an inspired\nstylization, but it is getting tired, very tired. As it shows no\nsign of becoming extinct, it looks like we will just have to\naccept it, and move on.\n\nAnother anime staple is the incredibly complicated machine. One\ncould go on for pages about why the Japanese excel at drawing,\nalmost drafting machinery, but suffice it to say here that no\nculture does it better. Regardless of whether the devices are of\nthis world or of another, Japanese animators don't even flinch at\nputting them through the most amazing stunts, perspectives and\nexplosions. The results are often astounding. And yet, as we have\nseen, they refuse to individualize the acting of their\ncharacters, and character animation by definition is nothing less\nthan acting. The Japanese are no less human than North Americans,\nin some cases, probably more so; why won't they breathe life into\nthe majority of their people?\n\nAn example of a high-visibility anime product that seems to have\nhad little or no big-picture thought given to it is a series\ncalled BUBBLEGUM CRISIS. As outlined in the first issue of this\n'zine (by the outrageously diplomatic Emru Townsend), BGC takes\nplace in Mega-Tokyo during the first half of the 21st Century. It\nfollows the adventures of the Knight Sabers, four adorable but\ndangerous vigilante women, in their quest to work out their\ndysfunctional childhoods on anyone in Mega-Tokyo who misbehaves.\nBy day, Priss is a nightclub singer. Celia runs a lingerie shop.\nNene is an officer in the AD Police, Mega-Tokyo's Keystone Kops.\nLinna would like to be a nightclub singer, but she can't sing.\nStill, she remains the cheerful one. When danger strikes, they\nall put on big robot battle suits and fight like well-trained,\nbloodthirsty mercenaries. This, in the world of anime, is a\nperfectly reasonable concept.\n\nPerhaps the work doesn't deserve such a facetious reading,\nespecially for people who haven't seen it. But I've seen it. That\nwas the review that this article was supposed to be. The only\nmeaningful conclusions I could come up with about BUBBLEGUM\nCRISIS was that it was bursting at the seams with bad ideas, all\nseen through to their logical, inevitable conclusions. I would\nargue with those who call it stylish, because I've seen that\nstyle before, and it didn't do much for me the first time around.\nStyle as substance requires the hand of a master. The master\nstylist must instinctively know which aspects of the style he or\nshe is relating are the most important, the most meaningful, and\nexploit them. Not, as in BUBBLEGUM CRISIS, occasionally sneak one\nin during a downtime in the preposterousness. What style there is\nin BUBBLEGUM CRISIS is vastly overshadowed by cheap, exploitative\nwriting. Very sad. But what made the series this way?\n\nStereotypes abound in every art form that relies in any way on\nstorytelling. They save time and effort. If, for example, you\nwant to tell a story about two brothers, rivals since birth, who\neventually work things out, you don't want to waste the time you\nhave to put into solving the problem into setting the problem up.\nA few time-honored (time-worn?) tricks, and the audience is\nready. Use established ideas to set up your original ones. That's\nthe idea. But anime has a desperate relationship to stereotypes\nthat gives interested observers plenty of sources from which to\ntrack the growth of inexcusably bad ideas.\n\nFor example, women are so poorly treated in anime that it is next\nto impossible to nail down the main stereotype. Is it the moll\nwho, despite being the girlfriend of the lantern-jawed hero,\nisn't officially part of the gang, but can karate kick like\nnobody's business (once someone unties her), and whose main\nfunction seems to be decolletage and occasionally getting\nkidnapped? Or the teenager who takes a lot of showers with her\nblonde or redhead but otherwise identically buxom friends at the\nspace boarding school, and then unleashes savage vengeance upon\npeople after school? Is it the spunky tomboy fighter pilot, the\nzipper of her flight suit constantly under incredible strain from\nher massive breasts, who is otherwise just like the guys except\nshe can't whip it out and stand at the urinals with them? The\nkiller kid sister? The killer rock singer? The lingerie-selling\nvigilante leader?\n\nMany other necessary story elements become stereotypes as well.\nVillains gleefully stereotype one another without asking\npermission, and then ritually embark on vast world-domination\nschemes. Entire cultures are routinely threatened by Some\nSinister Something, forcing their best and brightest to band\ntogether in big machines and fight for their helpless kid\nsisters. Boyfriends and girlfriends are interrupted from the\nday-to-day business of atomic flirting by violent death from the\nskies, or maybe it's violent death on fast motorcycles. Large,\nfaceless corporations stocked with limitless greedheads exert\nfierce control over people for the sake of doing so. Convenient\nBad Guy Syndrome. If you close your eyes for too long, maybe to,\noh, I don't know, rub them in a gesture of resignation, the\nthreat might suddenly change, especially if the film has no\nsubtitles, but I guarantee that in most cases you'll be able to\nget right back into it after a quick stereotype-check.\n\nVengeance is big with anime writers, ostensibly because they need\nreasons for people to suddenly start shooting at each other.\nConquering the world is big, usually to get back at someone,\nthough. Megalomania, repression, pride... Heroes are\nwell-respected, both as fighters and lovers, and they have the\nbest clothes and the best gadgets. And at this point, I begin to\nsuspect the pervasive influence of a certain Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang\nBang. The Japanese are crazy for James Bond, an affection I am\ncompletely powerless to explain, but in any case, it seems like\nthey've lifted a good 90% of his plots, villains, gadgets and\nspy-babes for their animated stories. Naturally, most of them\ntake place in space and all that, but otherwise, it's pure 007.\nAny good ideas 007 might have had were better left with him,\nwhere someone could appreciate them. BUBBLEGUM CRISIS' good\noriginal ideas could be carried around in one of those touristy\nwaist-wallets. In anime, this situation seems to be endemic.\n\nIn fact, it seems that the same disease that has affected the\nmotion-picture industry has infected the world of anime. Bad\nwriting. Artless, brainless, flashy, water-treading formula. If\nwe stay within the traditional genres of anime (we're not even\ngoing to touch anime porno. No one's been able to prove that sex\nis a bad idea yet), this is the same disease that enables one of\nthe biggest movie studios in the States to take a superb body of\nimagination called ALIEN and completely rape and disrespect it to\nmake a thoroughly unnecessary sequel. Or how about the screenplay\nfiasco called COOL WORLD? BATMAN RETURNS? Almost every other film\nin that genre for as long as we can remember?\n\nThese may not be highbrow films, but in theory they are not\nintrinsically bad ideas. They had promise. They had the potential\nto reach a slightly patronized, if not alienated audience, a\ngroup of people with boundless imaginations, who love fantasy and\nspeculation, but have a tendency to accept easily understood\nstereotypes in favor of true emotional experience. Having\nappealed to their tastes, the vehicle can relate some enormous\nand important concepts. To the rest of the world, they could have\ndemonstrated some stellar imagination to people with uninformed\nand narrow value judgements about what can be proudly called art.\nInstead, they were badly written, telling people nothing, and\nwere allowed to be made anyway, alienating everyone who\nappreciates imagination. It seems like that's what can happen to\nour good ideas, if we don't take them seriously enough.\n\nIn my view, it is up to the fans, the partisans, the experts, the\npeople who know and love anime, who spend their money on it so\nthat it can flourish; it is up to these people to politely ask\nthose with the energy and talent to produce the animation to\nplease, even if it costs more and takes longer, please hire\nsomeone who can write coherent, imaginative meaningful ideas for\ntheir animators to bring to life. It is up to the fans to support\nthe anime projects with genuine thought and sophistication to\nthem, and to openly ignore those that persist in insulting their\nintelligence. If, instead of taking what they are offered and\npronouncing it good simply because it is what they've been\noffered, the people who love anime ask for more, then the entire\nworld would be forced to recognize and respect anime as an art\nform worth the fanatical pride of its fans.\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #101, from davemackey, 2235 chars, Fri Oct 16 06:11:54 1992\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nTITLE: New Warner Bros. laserdiscs\nHere are the contents of the six new Warner Bros. laserdiscs that will be\nreleased for this holiday season. Each disc is $34.98 list.\n\n\"Winner By A Hare\"\n The Fair Haired Hare\n Bully For Bugs\n Hare Do\n Captain Hareblower\n My Bunny Lies Over The Sea\n High Diving Hare\n Rabbit Seasoning\n Bunny Hugged\n Ballot Box Bunny\n Box Office Bunny\n Big House Bunny\n Rabbit Hood\n Hare Trimmed\n Mississippi Hare\n\n\"Duck Victory\"\n Duck Dodgers In The 24-1\/2th Century\n Duck! Rabbit, Duck!\n Drip-Along Daffy\n The Super Snooper\n Daffy Duck Hunt\n Muscle Tussle\n Don't Axe Me\n Stork Naked\n Robin Hood Daffy\n Ali Baba Bunny\n Cracked Quack\n Daffy Dilly\n Golden Yeggs\n Duck Amuck\n\n\"Looney Tunes After Dark\"\n Jumpin' Jupiter\n Water, Water Every Hare\n Bewitched Bunny\n Hyde And Hare\n The Night Of The Living Duck\n Transylvania 6-5000\n The Wearing Of The Grin\n Scaredy Cat\n Broom-Stick Bunny\n Hyde And Go Tweet\n Hare-Way To The Stars\n The Abominable Snow Rabbit\n The Duxorcist\n The Hasty Hare\n\n\"Ham On Wry\"\n Often An Orphan\n You Ought To Be In Pictures\n The Pest That Came To Dinner\n The Ducksters\n Dog Collared\n Porky In Wackyland\n Deduce, You Say\n Porky Pig's Feat\n Claws For Alarm\n The Prize Pest\n The Case Of The Stuttering Pig\n Thumb Fun\n Awful Orphan\n Boobs In The Woods\n\n\"Looney Tunes Assorted Nuts\"\n A Bear For Punishment\n Dog Gone South\n Boyhood Daze\n Pest For Guests\n Mouse Wreckers\n A Sheep In The Deep\n Rabbit's Kin\n Feed The Kitty\n The Hypo-Chondri-Cat\n From A To Z-z-z-z-z\n Chow Hound\n Strife With Father\n Bear Feat\n Feline Frame-Up\n Gone Batty\n A Hound For Trouble\n\n\"Looney Tunes Curtain Calls\"\n Rabbit Of Seville\n One Froggy Evening\n Hillbilly Hare\n Curtain Razor\n What's Up, Doc?\n Nelly's Folly\n The Scarlet Pumpernickel\n Show Biz Bugs\n Three Little Bops\n Baton Bunny\n High Note\n Long Haired Hare\n Tweety's Circus\n What's Opera, Doc?\n --Dave\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #102, from hmccracken, 103 chars, Fri Oct 16 09:23:24 1992\nThis is a comment to message 101.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nGee, they sound almost good enough to buy a laserdisk player for --\nespecially the last two!\n -- Harry\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #103, from davemackey, 234 chars, Thu Oct 22 20:28:05 1992\nThis is a comment to message 102.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nMine is as good as bought right now. It is very odd that I am getting my\nlaser disk player some ten years after I acquired my first and only laser\ndisk -- \"Coal Miner's Daughter\" starring Sissy Spacek.\n --Dave\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #104, from srider, 441 chars, Mon Oct 26 22:46:26 1992\nThis is a comment to message 103.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\n Good ones can be had for $300 nowdays. I noticed in the new issue of the\nlaser disc catalog the _Beauty & the Beast: Work in Progress_ special edition\ndisc which presents the film as shown at the New York festival last year.\n\n 70% complete, with pencil roughs in places, and the rendered ballroom scene\nnot yet complete but an in-depth study on the software and machines involved\nin creating the sequence. $49.95\n\n Already ordered. \ud83d\ude42\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #105, from switch, 194 chars, Tue Oct 27 19:19:58 1992\nThis is a comment to message 104.\n--------------------------\nYup. I've decided to ignore the Expanded Entertainment October\nspecial, and Sight & Sound's anime discounts in favor of this one...\nI have a thing for line tests and pre-production work.\n\nEmru\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #106, from davemackey, 1937 chars, Thu Nov 19 20:43:17 1992\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nTITLE: \"The Golden Age Of Looney Tunes, Vol. 3\"\n1. Harman-Ising\n One More Time\n Red Headed Baby\n Pagan Moon\n A Great Big Bunch Of You\n The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives\n One Step Ahead Of My Shadow\n The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon\n2. Bugs Bunny\n Wackiki Wabbit\n Hare Force\n Super Rabbit\n Herr Meets Hare\n Bugs Bunny And The Three Bears\n Stage Door Cartoon\n Easter Yeggs\n3. Chuck Jones\n The Squawkin' Hawk\n Inki And The Minah Bird\n From Hand To Mouse\n Fin N' Catty\n Fresh Airedale\n The Eager Beaver\n House Hunting Mice\n4. Friz Freleng\n Pigs Is Pigs\n The Cat's Tale\n Lights Fantastic\n Ding Dog Daddy\n The Wacky Worm\n Peck Up Your Troubles\n Racketeer Rabbit\n5. Early Avery\n I Wanna Be A Sailor\n Circus Today\n Aviation Vacation\n Aloha Hooey\n Holiday Highlights\n Crazy Cruise\n The Cagey Canary\n6. Tashlin And Clampett\n Little Pancho Vanilla\n Booby Hatched\n I Got Plenty Of Mutton\n Farm Frolics\n Falling Hare\n Birdy And The Beast\n Russian Rhapsody\n7. Sports\n Freddy The Freshman\n Boulevardier From The Bronx\n Along Flirtation Walk\n Sport Chumpions\n Greetings Bait\n Screwball Football\n Baseball Bugs\n8. The Evolution Of Egghead\n Egghead Rides Again\n Count Me Out\n Johnny Smith And Poker-Huntas\n A Day At The Zoo\n Believe It Or Else\n A Feud There Was\n Confederate Honey\n9. Porky And Daffy\n Daffy Duck And The Dinosaur\n Slightly Daffy\n Ain't That Ducky\n Wagon Heels\n Along Came Daffy\n Nothing But The Tooth\n The Up-Standing Sitter\n10. Politically Incorrect\n Wake Up The Gypsy In Me\n He Was Her Man\n Sioux Me\n The Mighty Hunters\n A Feather In His Hare\n The Early Worm Gets The Bird\n Inki And The Lion\n\nThe boxed set list for $99.95.\n --Dave\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #107, from hkenner, 74 chars, Thu Nov 19 21:44:13 1992\nThis is a comment to message 106.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nHey hey hey I've missed a detail-- where do I order the boxed set???\n--HK\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #108, from davemackey, 116 chars, Fri Nov 20 19:02:37 1992\nThis is a comment to message 107.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nLet me give you a tip, Hugh -- Whole Toon has it for ten bucks off. (206)\n391-8747.\n --Dave\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #109, from hkenner, 261 chars, Mon Nov 23 21:37:06 1992\nThis is a comment to message 108.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nDave, Whole Toon's phone op tells me they have something with a similar\ntitle (not identical title) on CD-ROM. Is that what you listed?\n\nI asked them to send me a new catalogue. Mine--arrived 10 days ago--is\na mess of duplicated and missing pages. ...\n--Hugh\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #110, from hmccracken, 647 chars, Mon Nov 23 22:18:20 1992\nThis is a comment to message 109.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nHugh -- If I'm not mistaken, the \"Golden Age of Looney Tunes\nVol. 3\" collection which Dave refers to is available only\non laserdisc at this time. It's $89.95. However, Vol.\none of the same laserdisc series has recently been re-issued\nas ten videotape volumes, which are available in a boxed\nset which Whole Toon sells for $74.95. (It's on page\n14 of the new catalog.) The ten tapes are \"1930s Musicals,\"\n\"Firsts,\" \"Tex Avery,\" \"Bob Clampett,\" \"Chuck Jones,\"\n\"Friz Freleng,\" \"Bugs Bunny By Each Director,\" \"1940s\nZanies,\" \"Hooray for Hollywood,\" and \"The Art of Bugs.\"\n -- Harry\n(ps: The Whole Toon catalog # for the boxed set is MGM\n802915.)\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #111, from davemackey, 331 chars, Tue Nov 24 20:27:42 1992\nThis is a comment to message 110.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nBut cartoons on CD-ROM! Wouldn't that be nice. Pop in, say, your favorite Tex\nAvery classic, open a window, and you can watch \"King Sized Canary\" while\nworking on spreadsheets in another window!\n I wonder if our more technically-oriented folk here could speculate on\nthe practicability of this.\n --Dave\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #112, from ianl, 352 chars, Tue Nov 24 20:44:20 1992\nThis is a comment to message 111.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\n\n Without specific hardware to support the playback, we're a ways from it,\nI think. You're talking about an image with roughly 512x400 pixels in \ntruecolor, moving at 30 frames per second. That's a lot data to move, \nand I haven't yet heard of any general-purpose systems that include \nhardware that's up to the task. (In the MSDOS world, anyway.)\n\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #113, from hmccracken, 389 chars, Tue Nov 24 21:56:52 1992\nThis is a comment to message 112.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nThat's right, but an easier solution to the cartoons-in-a-window\nproblem is here right now: there are several boards available that\nwill let you plug any video source (a videocamera, cable TV, etc.)\ninto your computer, then watch that video source in a Windows\nwindow. I've done just that, letting me watch cartoons in resizable\nwindow while I use my word processor in another.\n -- Harry\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #114, from ianl, 59 chars, Tue Nov 24 23:27:24 1992\nThis is a comment to message 113.\nThere are additional comments to message 113.\n--------------------------\n\n That sounds like a real boon to workplace productivity.\n\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #115, from davemackey, 139 chars, Wed Nov 25 19:38:11 1992\nThis is a comment to message 113.\n--------------------------\nThat's my next purchase. The TV board for the computer. (After I get\nChristmas out of the way, of course.)\n --Dave\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #116, from switch, 7375 chars, Tue Jan 19 11:27:20 1993\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\nOne of the great things about this city is that it's a very 'filmic'\nplace. As a consequence, we get a lot of animation programming coming\nthrough here (an average of about three hours of new theatrical\nanimation per month), quite a bit of it hard to find anywhere else.\n\nLast Wednesday, my roommate\/co-conspirator and I went to the first\nshowing of the best of the Hiroshima '92 international animation\nfestival. One or two of these shorts have already been in\nExpanded Entertainment or Mike and Spike's packages, and I expect\nsome others will make their way into the next few packages. Until\nthen, these short summaries\/critiques will have to do.\n\nGREETINGS FROM CROATIA (Josko Marusic, Croatia, 57 secs; cel\nanimation): In the lobby, I joked, \"Where could anyone have found\nthe time to animate in Croatia, with all that's going on?\" Well,\nthis film is about \"all that's going on.\" A husband and wife are\nquietly relaxing in their house. Every time the man tries to say\nsomething, there's an explosion, and another part of the house is\nblown off. It's a surprisingly funny look at the current situation\nin what used to be Yugoslavia.\n\nTHE WELL ORDERED RESTAURANT (Tadanari Okamoto, Japan, 19 mins;\nprobably fine colored pencil - maybe some pastels - on paper): Two\nhunters go out into the forest, and happen upon a seemingly empty\nhotel, where they are given instructions by an invisible host by way\nof signs and small cards. Eventually the hunters realize that they\nare the hunted... This is a nice film to look at, and it has more\nthan a few memorable scenes and images, but it could have stood to\nspend a bit more time in the editing room. We pretty much know the\noutcome from the beginning, but the pacing was such that we just\nwanted them to get on with it, already.\n\nSPOTLESS DOMINOES (Philip Hunt, Great Britain, 12 mins; stop-motion):\nTechnically speaking, this film is very well done. However, it seems\nto be an example of art for art's sake, and has no real story. I\nsuppose it could be described as an extremely surreal telling of a\nboy's discovery that his playmates and his guardian are not at all\nwhat they seem.\n\nKUBINE (Norbert Hobrecht, Germany, 4 mins; stop-motion and ink): On\na desert landscape, two cubic humanoids meet and interact; however,\nthere's a tiny person living inside one of the humanoids' heads, and\nhe\/she's trying his\/her best to survive with a pet. Unfortunately,\neverytime the cubic humanoid moves, everything inside its head tilts.\nThis is quite funny.\n\nA FEATHER TALE (Michele Cournoyer, Canada, 6 mins; ink\/paint): Um.\nWell, this tale is about in a relationship which goes from love to\nher lover's desire to possess her. At times confusing, it is at\nleast very nice to look at.\n\nTHE MIRROR (Tatsuhiro Nagayasu, Japan, 2 mins; pixellation): A man\nconfronts his animated reflection in the mirror. No real story, just\ninteresting to watch.\n\nTHE SQUARE OF LIGHT (Claude Luyet, Switzerland, 5 mins; ink & grease\nmarker): A boxer trains, and relives one of his matches. This film\nis shot in stunning and vibrant 70mm, with all the scenes in the ring\n(which are from his perspective) taking advantage of the wide-screen\nformat.\n\nOFF HIS ROCKERS (Barry David Cook, USA, 5 mins): Oddly enough, I\ndon't remember this film at all...\n\nTHE STAIN (Marjut Rimminen & Christine Roche, Great Britain, 11 mins;\ncel & stop-motion): This is a very disturbing tale about a very\nisolated and very dysfunctional family. A man and his wife live in\nseclusion in a large manor which takes up most of a tiny island. They\nhave four kids: an older sister, twin brothers, and a younger sister.\nThe parents eventually disappear (first the mother, then the father)\nthe older sister learns lives in a deranged fantasy land, and the\ntwins (Siamese?) do as their father did -- go out to work every day\nin their black suits. The introverted youngest sister is crippled by\nher older sister as a baby, and dreams of dancing. This is just the\npremise; the events themselves and the conclusion are quite\ndistrubing...\n\nAMENTIA (Sergei Ainudinov, Russia, 11 mins; cel): A look at Death's\neveryday life, and her disillusionment with the living. This is a\nsuprisingly funny look at life, death, politics, the hectic pace of\nmodern life, and plain ol' human folly.\n\nADAM (Peter Lord, Great Britain, 6 mins; clay): God creates man,\nalone on a tiny planet. What happens when man is left alone to\nlearn, without guidance. Heh heh heh...\n\nWORDS, WORDS, WORDS (Michaela Pavlatova, Czechoslovakia, 8 mins; cel):\nA day in a small restaurant is shown via the conversations of the\npeople who drift in and out. The conversations themselves are\nrepresented by music and abstract speech balloons, and the events are\noccasionally punctuated by a rambunctious dog. Funny and\nheartwarming.\n\nTHE SANDMAN (Paul Berry, Great Britain, 10 mins; stop-motion): In\nevery film festival, there is one film that stands out enough so as\nto define that festival for me. THE SANDMAN is it. The story is\nquite simple: a boy, alone in a vast house with his mother, is afraid\nto go to sleep. He sees and hears the fearsome Sandman, but is it\nreal or imagined? The characters are wonderfully defined -- their\nfaces speak volumes. The mother is relatively young but aged by\nlife; the child is tiny, innocent, and afraid; the Sandman is\naquiline, sinister, and cunning. The Sandman's movements are\nabsolutely incredible. It seems as if Berry was working from a\ndancer's movement. The combination of his style of walking, his\nbirdlike features and clothing, and that evil expression on his face\nwere enough to make him seem uncomfortably human and inhuman at the\nsame time. The set design is fantastic -- everything looks as it\ndoes at night; exaggerated, uncertain, alien. An excellent exercise\nin horror and disquiet.\n\nFRANZ KAFKA (Piotr Dumala, Poland, 18 mins; pencil or pen): After\nGREETINGS FROM CROATIA and AMENTIA, we thought Eastern European\nanimation was finally lightening up a bit. Not on all counts, it\nseems: FRANZ KAFKA's 18 minutes seem like three hours as we're\ntreated to an almost speechless slice of Kafka's life as he goes\nthrough a somewhat surreal and often disconnected series of events,\nsome of which are taken from his work. As we entered the halfway\npoint of the film and I felt like I'd been there for hours, my mind\ntook refuge by coming up with the silly versions of \"Metamorphosis.\"\n\nMANIPULATION (Daniel Greaves, Great Britain, 6 mins; pencil, cutout,\nstop-motion): Look, if you haven't seen this by now, you're\nspending too much time in front of your computer. This was last\nyear's Academy Award winner for animated shorts, and has been shown\nin several compilations. An animated character is at odds with his\ncreator, and eventually finds freedom. A slightly more vicious\n\"Duck Amuck\", if you will.\n\nCAT AND COMPANY (Alexander Guryev, Russia, 9 mins; cel): Hold it,\nfolks, we've got some more humor here. After FRANZ KAFKA I was\nafraid, but it seems it's only the Polish animators who are so\ndepressed. CAT AND COMPANY is a slightly different cat and mouse\ntale. The owner of the house wants her cat to catch (and, one\nassumes, exterminate) the mice in the house. The cat would rather\nwatch birds and dream of flying, and befriends the mice, who try to\nliberate the cat. A nice chuckle to end this part of the program.\n\n\n==========================\nanimation\/long.messages #117, from switch, 411 chars, Tue Jan 19 22:02:33 1993\nThis is a comment to message 116.\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.\n--------------------------\n>OFF HIS ROCKERS (Barry David Cook, USA, 5 mins): Oddly enough, I
\n>don’t remember this film at all…<\/p>\n

My roommate jogged my memory. This short was produced at Walt Disney, and
\ncombines three-dimensional computer animation and hand-drawn. A boy is
\nobsessively playing his home game system, and his rocking horse is feeling
\nneglected. No surprises, and the animation is what you’d expect from
\nDisney.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #120, from switch, 6275 chars, Sat Jan 23 03:20:24 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 117.
\n————————–
\nAnd now, part two of our program…<\/p>\n

One week after our last reviewed showing, the Cinematheque Quebecoise
\nshowed the second part of their Hiroshima ’92 program. I’m not going to
\nbother with any preamble.<\/p>\n

MTV WORLD PROBLEMS, WORLD SOLUTIONS: THINK (Paul and Menno de Nooijer,
\nThe Netherlands, 36 secs; pixellation): Another entry in MTV’s
\ncollection of thirty-second shorts on the environment. This is typical
\nof Paul de Nooijer’s work so far: wacko, cartoon-like color schemes, and
\nsome signs to give us messages. I dunno, his stuff is well done, but
\nit’s so similar in style that it gets tedious in short order.<\/p>\n

THE BOY AND THE LITTLE RACCOON (Tadahito Mochinaga, Japan, 13 mins;
\nstop-motion): This is quite a cute tale, and easy to understand despite
\nbeing completely in Japanese. A little girl raccoon encounters a bunch
\nof human kids. After a little pestering, her mother transforms her into
\na cute little girl. (How the heck should I know how? I just watch
\nthem.) She then goes out and explores the world of humans. At times
\ntoo sugary for words, the film is at least entertaining, since the whole
\nfilm takes place on a small revolving set with a stationary background,
\npresenting the viewer with headache-inducing pseudo-parallax.<\/p>\n

SABINA (Katherine Li, Canada, 7 mins; colored pencil): Described as “a
\nvisual poem inspired by the work of Anais Nin”, this film is dedicated
\nto Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel. This is by no means a
\nnarrative; images of woman swirl and metamorphose. It’s quite nice to
\nwatch, with a pleasant soundtrack. Images and themes: women, water,
\nflight, women, water, light, women, and water. There are worse ways to
\nspend seven minutes.<\/p>\n

LES EFFACEURS (Gerald Frydman, Belgium, 7 mins; cutout): In a bizarre,
\nsurreal landscape, people do their best to erase their faces by scraping
\nat them with their arms or against rough surfaces. One man can’t erase
\nhis face, no matter how hard he tries. Quite funny, though it could
\nhave withstood some more time in the editing room.<\/p>\n

HOTEL E (Priit Parn, Estonia, 30 mins; cel): Welcome to art film hell.
\nFirst, it’s a typically long and dreary Eastern European tale about how
\nhorrid life is there, and how easy the rest of Europe has it. Fine.
\nBut the same story could have been told in fifteen minutes! If Priit
\nParn can get a half-hour cel-animated film together in Estonia and I
\ncan’t scrape up the cash for a 30-second short, I really don’t see what
\nhe’s complaining about. Gripes aside — this film is at turns morbid
\nand funny, and it’s usually pretty interesting to watch. But after
\nabout twenty minutes we were gripping the arm rests tightly enough to
\nhave ripped them out.<\/p>\n

LES SAISONS QUATRE A QUATRE (Daniel Suter, Switzerland, 2 mins; pencil):
\nThis has been shown at one of the Expanded or Mike & Spike festivals
\nbefore. A man rides his bicycle to a particular tree, and photographs
\nit. Most of the animation takes place on a calendar notepad, where each
\nframe is drawn on a separate day. A very pleasant film, and a great
\nbreak after HOTEL E.<\/p>\n

CANFILM (Zlatin Kirolov Radev, Bulgaria, 18 mins; stop-motion): This
\nhas been shown at one of the Expanded or Mike & Spike festivals before,
\nand when I first saw it I considered it to be the first inkling that the
\nEastern Europeans were lightening up a bit when making social commentary
\nanimated films. This is my third time seeing this short, and I enjoyed
\nit more than the first two times. In a world populated by
\nanthropomorphic cans, various leaders come and go as they bid for
\npower, and hold the masses in their thrall. Very nice work.<\/p>\n

THE HUNTER (Mikhail Aldashin, Russian, 4 mins; cel): This was in one of
\nthe other festivals before. A primitive hunter does his best to use
\ndisguises to hunt ostriches, elephants, and lions — until one of his
\ndisguises works too well. Pretty funny.<\/p>\n

THE WRONG TYPE (Candy Guard, Great Britain, 4 mins; colored pencil):
\nThis is another short that’s been through one of the other festivals
\nbefore. As usual, Candy Guard’s neurotic character (whose name escapes
\nme at the moment) is trying to cope. This time, she tries to become a
\ntemp, without much success. It’s funny, but it lacks something, and I
\ncan’t quite put my finger on it.<\/p>\n

LA COURSE A L’ABIME (Georges Schwizgebel, Switzerland, 4 mins; paint on
\nglass): Scenes from various aspects of Swiss life, past and present,
\nmetamorphose into one another, until they form one very large collage.
\nVisually stunning, it’s all the more impressive when you realize that
\nthis is all being done on one piece of glass.<\/p>\n

CHOREOGRAPHY FOR A COPY MACHINE (Chel White, USA, 3 mins; photocopied
\nimages): This has been through one of the festivals. People, body
\nparts, and various items are animated via a photocopier, using some of
\nthe unique distortions that a photocopier does best. Very nicely
\nchoreographed. I’m pretty sure this was conceived one night when
\nsomeone was photocopying rude bits of their anatomy at the office…<\/p>\n

THE VACUUM (Tim Rolt, Great Britain, 11 mins; pixellation): Um. Poor
\nColin is sucked into a vacuum cleaner, and spends quite some time inside
\nuntil he is released in a rather bizarre fashion. Weird characters and
\nsome weird sets. Frightening mama vacuum.<\/p>\n

THE MILL (Petra Freeman, Great Britain, 8 mins; paint on glass): Ummmm,
\nI don’t remember this one.<\/p>\n

COLORS (Tom Renoldner, Austria, 4 mins; paint on tracing paper):
\nAaargh! It’s the return of the art film! Shapes metamorphose, syncing
\nwith a really obnoxious tone, interrupted by a regularly occuring beep.
\nIf it had been at the beginning of the program, it would have been
\ntolerable, but as it was, it was all we could do to keep poor Marc
\nsedated. Lord knows I wanted to scream.<\/p>\n

BALLOON (Ken Lidster, Great Britain, 12 mins; stop-motion, cel,
\npencil\/ink): This has been in at least two other festivals. If you
\nhaven’t seen it by now, you’re not getting out enough. This fantastic
\nshort tells the tale of a little girl, her sentient & sapient red
\nballoon, and the dirty dirty bad guy who wants to steal the balloon
\naway. The animation is top-notch, the designs are brilliant — just
\nwait until you see the balloon torture chamber — and that bad guy falls
\ninto my top ten. “Huzzah!”<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #121, from switch, 7479 chars, Sat Apr 3 01:13:40 1993
\n————————–
\nLast week Wednesday (March 24), I went to a screening which was to be held
\nat the “International Museum of Cartoon Art.” This seemed a bit odd to me,
\nas I had never heard of such a place, and I try to keep up on these things.<\/p>\n

As it turned out, the “Museum” itself is one man with an enormous collection.
\nPeter Adamakos, who runs a 22-year-old studio by name of Disada Productions,
\nis working on getting an actual location for his collection of films and
\nanimatiom-related paraphrenalia. (Actually, I don’t know if it’s just him
\nwho runs the Museum; he was the only one there, but he said “we.”)<\/p>\n

Anyway, for the time being he has an agreement with the Montreal Film
\nSociety, and he’s showing animated films at their location for the next
\nfew months. What I caught on Wednesday was actually the end of a six-week
\nstint of cartoon showings revolving around a loose theme.<\/p>\n

But I’m digressing all over the place. Last Wednesday’s theme was “The
\nArt of Animation”, and here’s what was shown. Most of the time, there
\nwas a short break between each movie as Peter explained something from
\nthe previous film, answered questions, and introduced the next film:<\/p>\n

THE UGLY DUCKLING (Disney, 1931), as well as THE UGLY DUCKLING (Disney,
\n1939): What a difference eight years makes! I had never seen either
\nversion of this tale before, and it was interesting to see both back to
\nback. The 1931 version was in black and white, the other in gorgeous
\nTechnicolor. The original is well animated, and very early-30s (rubber
\nhose limbs, the timing, certain uses of facial expressions, the gags, and
\nthe overall “simplicity”) in style. No real surprises here. The second
\nversion is an explosion of color and sound, with beautiful painted
\nbackgrounds, excellent use of shadow, and better use of music. The focus
\nmoves away from the “cartoony” gags in the original, and makes a direct tug
\nfor the heartstrings.<\/p>\n

It would be hard for me to cite a better example of the Disney
\n“naturalistic” style than the second UGLY DUCKLING.<\/p>\n

CARTOON CRAFT (RKO-Pathe, ca. 1937) was made after Snow White. With the
\nrelease of Disney’s first feature-length animated film, people were asking,
\n“How are animated films made?” This is supposed to be a documentary of
\nsorts, but it zooms by very quickly and very little actual information is
\nimparted.<\/p>\n

I managed to annoy a few people when I snorted derisively when the narrator
\nreferred to animation as a “uniquely American form of art.” I tried to
\nrestrain it, but it was better than me…<\/p>\n

ANCO ANFLEUR (television ad, Disada, early 70s): Peter showed an ad his
\nstudio had done, and then proceeded to show the pencil tests, so people
\nwould get a feel for the process of animating. Unfortunately, the film
\nbroke in the middle of the pencils.<\/p>\n

MOVING DAY (Disney, 1937): I’d never seen this before. Reasonably
\nentertaining I suppose, but aside from some of the gags I didn’t enjoy
\nit that much. It’s too much like THE CLOCK CLEANERS or LONESOME GHOSTS
\n— Mickey, Donald, and Goofy get into a situation, they become separated,
\na number of gags affect each character individually, then they’re reunited
\nfor the finale. I’ve never liked these; most of the time, the story
\nis lacking, and just padded out with gags.<\/p>\n

THE OLD MILL (Disney, 1937): Always a favorite. Disney’s first use of
\nthe multiplane camera. I felt compelled to correct Peter when he said
\nDisney invented the multiplane camera, but decided against it since I’d
\nalready annoyed a number of people with my snort.<\/p>\n

WHAT’S OPERA, DOC? (Warner, 1957): Not a great print, but who cares? We
\nloved it.<\/p>\n

PORKY IN WACKYLAND (Warner, 1938): One of my favorites. This is what you
\nget when you let a bunch of Warner animators get wacky and truly surreal
\nat the same time. Still my favorite gag in this one: the dodo rides the
\nWarner Bros. crest as it comes toward you – just like in the opening –
\nnails Porky with a slingshot, flips around, and recedes into the distance.
\nToo bad he didn’t have the color remake, DOUGH FOR THE DO-DO.
\nDo-do-de-do-do-do-do-de-do-de-yo!<\/p>\n

NORTHWEST HOUNDED POLICE (MGM, 194?): IMHO, the _best_ example of Tex
\nAvery’s wild takes. And, of course, the running-off-the-filmstrip gag,
\nwhich the Simpsons imitated recently.<\/p>\n

By now, almost two hours had gone by, so there was a break, where people
\ncould look through some cels from Disada’s work, and look at some flip
\nbooks.<\/p>\n

Back to the show.<\/p>\n

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE WALT DISNEY STUDIO: Almost twenty minutes long;
\nRichard (I think) Benchley goes to the Walt Disney Studios at the
\ninsistence of his wife to suggest to Walt that they make a film of the
\nbook, The Reluctant Dragon. He ends up getting lost several times over
\nand wanders through just about every department in the studio, where people
\nare only too happy to explain and demonstrate their jobs. An entertaining,
\ncreative, and very well done documentary. They animate storyboards to show
\nhow they’re used to plot a film; the show the artists doing sketches of
\nelephants and babies in order to understand how they move and look; they
\nshow the multiplane camera (that thing is HUGE!); they show the ink and
\npaint process. Everything is in there, to the last detail. There are a
\nfew liberties taken, such as the bit with the multiplane camera: they sort
\nof imply that it’s a special camera used to film all animation. Overall,
\nthough, very impressive, and very thorough. I’m surprised they don’t show
\nthis to first-year animation students at Concordia.<\/p>\n

THE BAND CONCERT (Disney, 1935): The first appearance of Donald Duck, I
\nbelieve. I’ve commented on this film before, so I’ll keep it brief:
\nMickey’s conduction a band playing the William Tell Overture. Donald
\nDuck interferes. As it happens, a tornado comes along in the middle of
\nthe performance, but the people playing don’t notice. This is probably
\none of the best examples of Disney’s connecting music with animation —
\nat a certain point, it’s no longer a matter of the events controlling the
\nmusic the band plays, but the music controlling events. When Horace starts
\nto beat the tympani, the a leaf blows by as a light breeze begins. As the
\nmusic becomes more forceful, the tornado comes out of nowhere. The band is
\neventually picked up by the tornado, spiralling higher into the sky among
\nthe debris, faster as the music approaches the crescendo. When that
\ndecisive note hits, everything -stops-. And then the music and the
\ntornado wind down, blah blah blah. That moment where the music stops is,
\nIMHO, the best-timed piece of animation ever.<\/p>\n

IN A CARTOON STUDIO (Van Buren, 1931) is a hilarious counterpoint to BEHIND
\nTHE SCENES AT THE WALT DISNEY STUDIO. This film is animated, and has the
\ncharacters supposedly showing us how cartoons are made. This film is
\nviolent (in the finished cartoon, the hero deals with the villain by
\nunblinkingly shooting him between the eyes), surreal (a three-legged
\ncamera running around from desk to desk filming the animators’ work), and
\nstrangely accurate — regardless of how good or bad the joke is, they’re
\nsatirizing the real processes of creating animation! I wonder how well
\nthat went over in 1931, when the process of animation was much more of a
\nmystery to the average moviegoer.<\/p>\n

Thus endeth the review. There’ll be another showing next Wednesday, and
\nif it doesn’t interfere with the Cinematheque’s upcoming focus on
\nindependent Japanese animators, I’ll be going. And, of course, reporting
\non it here.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #122, from davemackey, 7393 chars, Tue Apr 6 23:15:16 1993
\n————————–
\nTITLE: “TTA” fan poll
\nHere’s information on the annual TTA fan poll! Remember, send your entries to
\nthe proper Internet address listed!
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

Tiny Toon Adventures Third Season Poll<\/p>\n

If you have a question about something, read the instructions.
\nIf you still have a question, read them again! If you *still* aren’t sure,
\nsend e-mail to me (address at the bottom of the poll). I answer all my
\ne-mail (except ones from Jamie).<\/p>\n

The poll will close at midnight Pacific
\ntime on Thursday, May 6 (that’s 3 a.m. on Friday, May 7, EST). Votes are
\ncast by filling in your answers and mailing them, with “TTA Poll” in the
\nSubject line, to furrball@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu (Don’t worry; Furrball
\npromises to be entirely impartial in the character vote!).<\/p>\n

You may change your vote at any time prior to the closing date by sending
\nthe change *only*. Write “TTA vote change” in the subject line.<\/p>\n

Since we have a small group here, and the show is so darn good, most of the
\nsubjects will allow more than one entry. Unless the category is followed by
\na (1), you may list as many entries as you feel appropriate. Keep it fairly
\nreasonable, though, guys. If the category has a (1) after it, list only one
\nchoice! Any additional choices will not be counted.<\/p>\n

****************************************************************************
\n IMPORTANT FORMATTING NOTES!
\n Please do NOT use square brackets like this: [ ] in your entries. I’ve
\nused them to enclose my comments, so anything inside square brackets will be
\nERASED, probably before I look at it. Also, please keep the headings (A,
\nB, C, D, E) that I’ve assigned — it’ll make the poll processing much, much
\neasier. The best way to do all this is to use this file as a template, or
\nuse the template poll.temp (basically this file sans intro) which will
\nhopefully soon be available on the ftp site utpapa.ph.utexas.edu. THANKS!
\n****************************************************************************<\/p>\n

The episodes are divided into seasons according to Chris’s Episode Guide
\nand Synth’s Reference Guide. Unless otherwise specified, all categories
\ncover ALL seasons of Tiny Toons, plus all specials. HOW I SPENT MY VACATION
\nis counted as a full length episode, second season. IT’S A WONDERFUL TINY
\nTOONS CHRISTMAS is counted as a full length episode, third season.<\/p>\n

Last but not least, please don’t feel compelled to respond to every category.
\nIf you don’t know or don’t care, don’t bother.<\/p>\n

Here goes …<\/p>\n

A. CHARACTERS
\n [Except for the first category, three is usually a good number of characters
\nto list. — ed.]<\/p>\n

* Absolute Favorite Character (1)<\/p>\n

* Favorite Character
\n[including the above entry!! You may list as many as you like here.]<\/p>\n

* Favorite “Star”
\n[of Buster, Babs, Plucky, Hamton, Furrball, Elmyra, Sweetie, and Monty.]<\/p>\n

* Favorite Supporting Character
\n[all others except One-shots (see below)]<\/p>\n

* Favorite One-Shot Character
\n[character who appeared in ONLY one episode]<\/p>\n

* Favorite Villain
\n[Dizzy counts as a villain here, yes.]<\/p>\n

* Character most deserving of MORE air time<\/p>\n

* Character most deserving of LESS air time<\/p>\n

* Least Favorite Character<\/p>\n

* Most Improved Character from 1st THROUGH 3rd Season<\/p>\n

* Least Improved Character from 1st THROUGH 3rd Season<\/p>\n

* Best New Character, Third Season<\/p>\n

* Worst New Character, Third Season<\/p>\n

B. EPISODES
\n[*** Guidelines!
\n FULL episodes are those episodes which are listed as FULL in Chris’s
\nEpisode Guide.
\n SHORT episodes are *any one segment* appearing in an episode listed as
\nSHORTS in Chris’s Episode Guide.]<\/p>\n

[***Any inappropriate votes will *not be counted*, so make sure you put the
\nright episode in the right place. The Episode Guide is available on
\nutpapa.ph.utexas.edu (via ftp), or request it via e-mail from either
\nplucky@ais.org (Chris) or furrball@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu (Tim). It’s big,
\nso make sure you have the room!***]<\/p>\n

* Favorite Full Episode, First Season<\/p>\n

* Favorite Short Episode, First Season<\/p>\n

* Least Favorite Full Episode, First Season<\/p>\n

* Least Favorite Short Episode, First Season<\/p>\n

* Favorite Full Episode, Second Season<\/p>\n

* Favorite Short Episode, Second Season<\/p>\n

* Least Favorite Full Episode, Second Season<\/p>\n

* Least Favorite Short Episode, Second Season<\/p>\n

* Favorite Full Episode, Third Season<\/p>\n

* Favorite Short Episode, Third Season<\/p>\n

* Least Favorite Full Episode, Third Season<\/p>\n

* Least Favorite Short Episode, Third Season<\/p>\n

* Favorite Full Episode
\n[rank your top three, then add as many more as you feel necessary]
\n 1.
\n 2.
\n 3.
\n More:<\/p>\n

* Favorite Short Episode
\n[rank your top three, then add as many more as you feel necessary]
\n 1.
\n 2.
\n 3.
\n More:<\/p>\n

* Favorite Single Show Consisting of Short Episodes
\n[i.e. Any show listed as SHORTS in the Episode Guide, such as “Wheel O’ Comedy.”
\n The point here is which shorts, while possibly not being individually great,
\n worked well together … do NOT vote for individual short segments here!!]<\/p>\n

* Least Favorite Full Episode<\/p>\n

* Least Favorite Short Episode<\/p>\n

C. TECHNICAL<\/p>\n

[*** Information that may be helpful in the last two sections is available in
\nthe Episode Guide, mentioned above, and also in Synth’s Tiny Toons Reference
\nGuide, kept on utpapa.ph.utexas.edu (via ftp), or available via e-mail
\nrequest from synth@dreamtime.unm.edu (Synth) or furrball@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu
\n(me! :-). Careful, though — it’s huge!! ***]<\/p>\n

* Best Animation Studio<\/p>\n

* Worst Animation Studio<\/p>\n

* Best Animation in an Episode (list the episode and the studio)<\/p>\n

* Best Script (i.e. dialogue)<\/p>\n

* Best Story (i.e. plot)<\/p>\n

* Best Voice Talent (name the voice actor)<\/p>\n

D. MISCELLANEOUS (or, categories that everyone will have a different answer in)<\/p>\n

* Best ORIGINAL Musical Number
\n[this does *not* include “The Anvil Chorus,” or *anything* from TTMTV except
\n “Top Secret Apprentice,” or anything from “Toon TV” except “Toon Out.”]<\/p>\n

* Best Rendition of a Non-Original Musical Number
\n[this includes *only* music not included in the above category]<\/p>\n

* Favorite Version of the Main Title Tiny Toons Theme
\n[The Plucky Duck Show theme, The Two-Tone theme, the Plucky Show theme from
\nTINY TOONS CHRISTMAS, etc. — including the original and instrumental versions]<\/p>\n

* Favorite Tag
\n[The “tag” being the little piece of animation at the very end of the end
\n credits]<\/p>\n

* Favorite Quotation (1)<\/p>\n

* Best Gag Credit<\/p>\n

* Mystery Category (1)
\n[Give an award to something in the show that you feel is not covered in this
\n list. This can be silly or serious or anything in between. Go wild.]<\/p>\n

E. SPECIAL END SECTION<\/p>\n

* Reason you would like to see Tiny Toons continued another season (or ten):<\/p>\n

[Write this one as though you were writing to Warner Bros. Then print it out
\nand send it to them! Rob and the TTAUEC have the addresses. Maybe when the
\npoll’s done, I’ll collate all the answers to this and send it to them again —
\nbut the more letters the better!!]
\n——————————————————————————–<\/p>\n

Th-th-that’s all, folks! Please put “Poll” or “TTA Poll” in the subject line
\nwhen mailing.<\/p>\n

Need more info? Send e-mail to:<\/p>\n

plucky@ais.org (Chris): Episode Guide, general questions
\n synth@dreamtime.unm.edu (Synth): Reference Guide, general questions
\n rjung@netcom.com (Rob): WB addresses, TTAUEC, general questions
\n furrball@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu (Tim): Poll, completed ballots, general ?s<\/p>\n

Have fun!<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #123, from davemackey, 1909 chars, Fri Apr 30 20:29:45 1993
\n————————–
\nTITLE: How Looney can you get?
\nHere is the tracking for the forthcoming “Golden Age Of Looney Tunes, Vol.
\n4”, set for release this Summer.<\/p>\n

1. Bugs Bunny<\/p>\n

The Wabbit Who Came To Supper
\n The Hare-Brained Hypnotist
\n Case Of The Missing Hare
\n Hare Conditioned
\n Buccaneer Bunny
\n Rhapsody Rabbit
\n Any Bonds Today (Bugs Bunny Bond Rally)
\n A Wild Hare (restored original version)<\/p>\n

2. Early Chuck Jones<\/p>\n

The Good Egg
\n Ghost Wanted
\n Snow Time For Comedy
\n The Bird Came C.O.D.
\n Dog Tired
\n Fox Pop
\n The Weakly Reporter<\/p>\n

3. Friz Freleng<\/p>\n

The Trial Of Mr. Wolf
\n Double Chaser
\n The Sheepish Wolf
\n Hiss And Make Up
\n Holiday For Shoestrings
\n The Gay Anties
\n Of Thee I Sting<\/p>\n

4. Cartoon All-Stars<\/p>\n

Tom Turk And Daffy
\n I Taw A Putty Tat
\n Two Gophers From Texas
\n Conrad The Sailor
\n Doggone Cats
\n A Horsefly Fleas
\n Hobo Bobo<\/p>\n

5. Radio Daze<\/p>\n

Crosby, Columbo & Vallee
\n The Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos
\n Let It Be Me
\n Little Blabbermouse
\n Malibu Beach Party
\n Quentin Quail
\n Hush My Mouse<\/p>\n

6. The Frantic Forties<\/p>\n

Hop, Skip And A Chump
\n A Hick, A Slick, And A Chick
\n Meatless Flyday
\n The Foxy Duckling
\n Bone Sweet Bone
\n The Rattled Rooster
\n The Shell-Shocked Egg<\/p>\n

7. Wacky Blackouts<\/p>\n

Land Of The Midnight Fun
\n Wacky Wildlife
\n Ceiling Hero
\n Fresh Fish
\n Saddle Silly
\n Foney Fables
\n Bug Parade<\/p>\n

8. Ben Hardaway & Cal Dalton<\/p>\n

Love And Curses
\n Gold Rush Daze
\n Bars And Stripes Forever
\n Hobo Gadget Band
\n Fagin’s Freshman
\n Busy Bakers<\/p>\n

9. Sniffles<\/p>\n

Naughty But Mice
\n Little Brother Rat
\n Sniffles And The Bookworm
\n The Egg Collector
\n Sniffles Bells The Cat
\n Toy Trouble
\n The Brave Little Bat<\/p>\n

10. Merrie Melodies<\/p>\n

The Queen Was In The Parlor
\n I Love A Parade
\n The Organ Grinder
\n Billboard Frolics
\n Flowers For Madame
\n September In The Rain
\n You’re An Education
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #124, from switch, 6916 chars, Thu May 13 22:13:28 1993
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nWell, here we go again: a review that’s a week late. Blame my busy
\nschedule; I do.<\/p>\n

The week of May 2-8 was Opera Week in festival-crazy Montreal, and
\nas usual the Cinematheque quebecoise fit this into their theme for
\nthe movies shown during the week. Naturally, I caught the
\nanimation screening, and just as naturally I’ll inflict my opinions
\non you, the unsuspecting readers.<\/p>\n

WHAT’S OPERA, DOC? (Chuck Jones, USA, 1957, 7:00, cel) Oh, come on.
\nIf you haven’t seen this, you shouldn’t be reading this message.
\nGo rent the video NOW.<\/p>\n

For those of you still here: Unfortunately, the print shown has
\nseen better days. The opening and closing scenes were the most
\naffected, as the dark shades sort of fused into dark grey, and all
\nof Maurice Noble’s hard work went for naught.<\/p>\n

PULCINELLA (Giulio Gianini & Emanuele Luzzati, Italy, 1973, 10:00,
\npainted cutouts) A layabout is harshly awakened by his wife, and
\ncajoled into going out and doing something productive (presumably,
\nfinding a job.) While out, he relieve himself on a statue, arousing
\nthe ire of the authorities. He flees the scene and decides to take
\na nap, where his operatic dreams of grandeur and irreverence are
\npunctuated by images of the authorities and his wife. (One wonders
\nwhy he bothers to sleep when his dreams are just as repressive as
\nhis real life.) Eventually he gets back home, dodges his wife, and
\ngoes back to sleep.<\/p>\n

“Pulcinella” doesn’t pretend to have any real storyline, which is
\njust as well. I would have been sorely disappointed if the film
\nhad been pretty much the same but pretended to be a narrative. As
\nit was, it was enjoyable flight of fancy, and Gianini and Luzzati
\ncut loose with some dynamic, colourful, and often quite funny
\nanimation to accompany the music. When the film opened, I was
\nafraid the ten minutes would go on forever; when it ended I
\nwondered why it had to be over so soon.<\/p>\n

CARMEN GET IT (Gene Deitch, USA, 1961, 8:00, cel) A Tom & Jerry
\ncartoon that was eight minutes too long. A Hanna-Barbera offering,
\nI believe; the animation was terrible, the artistry was terrible,
\nthe gags were mostly unfunny… Gah.<\/p>\n

A HARD DAY AT THE OFFICE (Al Sens, Canada, 1977, 6:00) Uh-oh, I’ve
\nforgotten what this was. Could someone please jog my memory?<\/p>\n

RABBIT OF SEVILLE (Chuck Jones, USA, 1950, 7:00, cel) If you
\nhaven’t seen this, you are unfit to live. Either enter the
\nspike-lined coffin in all due haste, or immediately rent the video.
\nWhat are you waiting for? Get going!<\/p>\n

“Yes, you’re next. Yoooou’re so next.”<\/p>\n

BAND CONCERT (Wilfred Jackson, USA, 1935, 9:00, cel) I’ve commented
\non this before, so I’ll just steal from myself, correcting the
\ntypos:<\/p>\n

Mickey Mouse is conducting a band playing the “William Tell
\nOverture.” Donald Duck interferes. As it happens, a tornado comes
\nalong in the middle of the performance, but the people playing
\ndon’t notice. This is probably one of the best examples of
\nDisney’s connecting music with animation — at a certain point,
\nit’s no longer a matter of the events controlling the music the
\nband plays, but the music controlling events. When Horace starts
\nto beat the tympani, a leaf blows by as a light breeze begins. As
\nthe music becomes more forceful, the wind picks up and a tornado
\ncomes out of nowhere. The band is eventually picked up by the
\ntornado, spiralling higher into the sky among the debris, faster as
\nthe music approaches the crescendo. When that decisive note hits,
\neverything -stops-. And then the music and the tornado wind down,
\nblah blah blah. That moment where the music stops and the seconds
\nleading up to it is, IMHO, the best-timed piece of animation ever.<\/p>\n

OPERA (Bruno Bozzetto, Italy, 1973, 11:00, cel) Eleven minutes of
\nBozzetto madness. You know it’s going to be weird when it opens
\nwith a man serenely pointing a gun to his head, and when he pulls
\nthe trigger a mouth leaps out and eats him.<\/p>\n

The film starts out simply enough: a crowd watching an opera.
\nEvery time the curtain goes up, we see an image of a famous
\ncomposer, and we hear some strains from a more or less famous piece
\nthat person has composed. Then something ludicrous happens. This
\nkeeps up for a few minutes, but by the time it’s over the audience
\nis in stitches.<\/p>\n

Cut to next series of gags: people trying to perform in an opera
\nquite normally, but more absurd gags come along, at a faster pace
\nthan before. The proverbial fat lady is singing, and the strangest
\nthings happen as people run under her skirt — wacko things like
\nthat. By now, the audience is gasping for air as they thrash about
\non the floor laughing.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, the film loses it. Oh, it’s still quite funny and
\nfrenetic, but now the images are becoming serious. Pollution.
\nOver-population. Nixon in a bomber. You get the idea. It’s
\nalmost as if Bozzetto ran out of ideas halfway through and decided
\nto get topical instead of continuing along his opera theme. A
\npity, since the sudden change from outright madness to political
\ncommentary jars you enough to diminish enjoyment of the film.<\/p>\n

THE CAT ABOVE AND THE MOUSE BELOW (Chuck Jones, USA, 1964, 7:00,
\ncel) One of those ‘toons that proves that even at his worst, Jones
\nis still right up there among the best. Jerry’s living under the
\nstage where Tom is performing. Of course, Jerry does his best to
\nget Tom the hell out of there. We’ve seen this scenario played out
\ntime and again, and there’s really nothing new here. The only
\nthing that makes this cartoon worthwhile is that it’s chock full of
\nthose Jones mannerisms. Heh heh.<\/p>\n

MICKEY’S GRAND OPERA (Wilfred Jackson, USA, 1936, 7:00, cel)
\nMickey’s going to conduct, and somehow Pluto shows up, to the
\nmouse’s consternation. He tells Pluto to go home. Donald is the
\nmale lead, singing to his matronly lover in “Romeo and Juliet”.
\nPluto runs afoul of some rabbits in a magician’s hat. Chaos
\nabounds. Some funny bits, but I have a bias against Disney shorts
\nin general that’s hard to overcome. Yes, they’re technically
\nexcellent, but I was raised on Warner Bros. cartoons and it’s hard
\nto top those for humor.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which…<\/p>\n

MAGICAL MAESTRO (Tex Avery, USA, 1952, 6:00, cel) If you haven’t
\nseen this, please smear yourself with dog food and present yourself
\nto the nearest Doberman kennel — or rent the video.<\/p>\n

Gotta love those rabbits.<\/p>\n

BARBER OF SEVILLE (James Culhane, USA, 1944, 7:00, cel) I never did
\nlike Woody Woodpecker. While other characters grew out of the “I’m
\njust plain nuts” mold, he never seemed to break out of it (mind
\nyou, I haven’t seen a WW ‘toon in years — I could be wrong.) The
\nbarber goes off for his physical, and Woody decides to take over.
\nManic, but overall unfunny. A couple of gags borrowed from “Rabbit
\nof Seville” pop up. The only bit I really like is when Woody makes
\nthis vicious swipe at this poor guy with the razor.<\/p>\n

Next week: The Three Caballeros. I’ll try to get that one out
\nearly.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #125, from hmccracken, 565 chars, Fri May 14 09:35:21 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 124.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 124.
\n————————–
\nSounds like a great show, although I would have ditched those
\ntwo post-Hanna-Barbera Tom and Jerrys personally, replacing
\none of them with Chuck Jones’s _Long Haired Hare_ and another
\nwith one of the better Mighty Mouse operettas (the best work
\never done at the Terry studio).<\/p>\n

Also, the Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry you mention was done after
\nHanna and Barbera left the MGM studio, but before their own
\nstudio did some Tom and Jerry cartoons. It was one of a series
\nof T&Js done by Deitch at his studio in Czechoslavakia (sp?),
\nall of which are terrible.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #126, from davemackey, 635 chars, Fri May 14 20:17:39 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 124.
\n————————–
\n“Carmen Get It” had nothing to do with Hanna-Barbera, who by then were
\nrunning their own studio. And Deitch made his cartoons in Prague,
\nCzechoslovakia, so listing USA as the country of origin isn’t quite exact.
\n I’m sorry you didn’t think more of Woody Woodpecker since “Barber Of
\nSeville” is one of his all-time best cartoons. Few directors can make the
\nmost of their first opportunity to work with a character; “Barber” was Shamus
\nCulhane’s first chance with Woody, and the woodpecker seems to have had some
\nfeisty Irish blood in him that the director seized upon, and the teaming was
\na success.
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #127, from davemackey, 253 chars, Fri May 14 23:33:04 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 125.
\nThere are additional comments to message 125.
\n————————–
\nThe only one of the Deitch T&J’s that was any good was “The Tom And Jerry
\nCartoon Kit,” mainly because it strayed from the formulaic nature of T&J.
\nThat short was written by one of “Bullwinkle”‘s storymen, Chris Jenkyns.
\n –Dave<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #128, from switch, 255 chars, Tue May 18 01:28:11 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 125.
\n————————–
\nI was hoping to see _Long Haired Hare_ on the big screen as well,
\nbut no luck.<\/p>\n

Oh, and it was pointed out to me that the Woody Woodpecker cartoon
\nwhich I said borrowed a few gags from _Rabbit of Seville_ predates
\n_Rabbit_ by seven years. Oops. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #129, from switch, 7544 chars, Thu Jun 3 00:36:54 1993
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Another Cinematheque outing<\/p>\n

For most of the month of June, the Cinematheque Quebecoise is
\nfeaturing Eastern European cinema, in a program titled “Hier, a
\nl’Est” [“Yesterday, in the East”]. Every Wednesday they’re
\nfeaturing animation from a certain Eastern European country, and
\nthis Wednesday’s program focused on what was called the USSR when
\nthese shorts were created.<\/p>\n

One of the hallmarks of Eastern European animation has been that
\nthese works tend to be technically excellent, and quite long.
\nThey often contain huge doses of social commentary, and can be at
\ntimes quite dreary. Sometimes they’re downright
\nincomprehensible. All of the USSR program was technically
\nexcellent, and the shortest film was eight minutes, but the
\nstories varied enough in subject matter that we didn’t walk out
\ndespondent enough to slit our wrists.<\/p>\n

The titles given in the program are in French, and I can’t read
\nthe Cyrillic characters, so I’ll be providing the best
\ntranslations I can for them.<\/p>\n

THE FACE HIDDEN IN THE MOON
\nA. Tatarskij, 1984, 10 minutes
\nPaint
\nThe plot for this is really simple: a man carrying a trunk walks
\ninto a completely empty white space. Humming a simple tune and
\nsmoking his pipe, he proceeds to pull a table, food, companions
\nand later whole buildings and landscape from the small trunk.
\nThey eat, drink, and are merry, until the other residents annoy
\nhim enough to shove them all back into the trunk. The film ends
\nwith the man walking through the blank space again, until he
\ndecides to set up a table once more…
\nI’d have to call this an average film. The animation was
\nserviceable, the handful of jokes were funny, and the scenario
\nwas pleasant enough that you didn’t mind the mostly laid-back
\npacing. Not awful, but not spectacular.<\/p>\n

TYLL THE GIANT
\nRein Raamat, 1980, 14 minutes
\nCel, paints
\nThe operative word here is “Wow.” This film is an adaptation of
\nEstonian folk tales. Is Tyll a giant or a god? We’re not sure.
\nBut he is a hard worker who tills the fields, until his people
\nare invaded and cry for help. After feeding himself (he can’t
\nwar on an empty stomach) he throws himself into the fray,
\nsweeping scores of enemy soldiers through the air with his mighty
\nblows. He loses his beloved, and after burying her and surviving
\nan attempt on his life by a demon, is called back to war. This
\ntime, he not only faces the opposing army but their giant\/god.
\nHe destroys the giant\/god, but loses his own life in the
\nprocess… or does he?
\nTYLL reeks of capital-L Legend. At first the style looks rather
\nsimplistic, considering it’s flat-colour cel work compared to
\nsome of the fantastic ink and paint work in other “Soviet” work.
\nBut then you look at the way the eyes and heads are drawn, or how
\na combat scene is structured, and it becomes apparent that it’s
\nmore or less modeled on early narrative artwork. Although the
\ncharacters are mostly rendered in flat colours on cel, the
\ncolours aren’t Disney-bright but somewhat muted; this plus the
\ndark blues, blacks, greens and browns used for the backgrounds
\ngives the viewer the feeling that a storm is constantly brewing
\nin the late afternoon — the perfect setting for gloom, death,
\nand destruction. Add the soundtrack — men chanting in,
\npresumably, Estonian — and the grisliness of the deaths on the
\nbattlefield and you’ve got a film that has to be experienced to
\nbe believed.<\/p>\n

THE ADVENTURES OF AN ANT
\nEdward Nazarov, 1984, 8 minutes
\nCel
\nThis is my second time seeing this film, and I enjoyed it more
\nthis time. An ant gets lost in the forest and with the help of
\nother bugs manages to get back home before dark. Some wonderful
\nforest scenes and multiplane effects here.
\nThis is an enjoyable and funny film. The bugs and the occasional
\nbird look and act like real bugs and birds, the occasional
\ncartoony face notwithstanding. Better yet, they move like real
\nbugs and birds, only occasionally lapsing into cartooniness for
\nhumourous effect. Nazarov has mastered what Disney has always
\nstriven for in its naturalistic films: the ability to make a
\nparticular animal identifiable as a that animal, but still
\naccessible to a human audience. Nazarov’s skill is especially
\napparent in most of the funny moments of the film, which are not
\nmade up of slapstick gags but as the results of particular bugs
\nacting as they should under certain circumstances. (There’s one
\nexception to this, but the joke is so funny that it’s worth it.)
\nA certain situation between a beetle, some ants, and some aphids
\nis funny because we know how these creatures interact in real
\nlife.
\nBest of all, Nazarov adds voices to the creatures, all of which
\nare hilariously appropriate. Some mumble what appears to be
\nnonsense; others speak fluent Russian. However, the film
\nsurvives the (modified) Chuck Jones principle: the tone of voice
\nis all you need to get the point.<\/p>\n

GARDEN OF CHRYSANTHEMUMS
\nNicolai Smirnov, 1987, 10 minutes
\nDrawings on cutouts, some stop-motion
\nWow! A 2:1 aspect ratio! Very nicely rendered characters,
\nexcellent backgrounds, wonderful use of dissolves, excellent
\nlayout! But what the hell was it _about_?
\nAt least it was nice to look at.<\/p>\n

THE SWAN’S PLUMAGE
\nIda Garanina, 1977, 10 minutes
\nStop-motion
\nThis is a bit of an oddity. If I hadn’t seen the credits, I
\nwould have bet my last dollar this was a Japanese film. (Heck,
\nthe opening and closing credits are presented in Cyrillic, but
\nrendered to look Oriental and read vertically.) The story is a
\nvery Japanese tale about a swan shot by a hunter, who is found by
\nan old man who pulls the arrow out and lets the swan fly free.
\nLater, the man and his wife are visited by a woman who we know to
\nbe the swan in another form… I won’t give the rest away.
\nPLUMAGE seems to have been created by a Kihachiro Kawamoto fan;
\nthe movement and designs of the puppets, combined with the
\nstaging, are reminiscent of Japanese theater. The editing is
\nfantastic. PLUMAGE is without dialogue, letting the actions and
\nthe music tell the story. It’s not _quite_ in Kawamoto’s style,
\nbut it gets the essence of Kawamoto’s intentions: to present
\nJapanese stories in the animated form, mimicking other Japanese
\nartforms. It just so happens that PLUMAGE is from the USSR.
\nGo figure.<\/p>\n

THE COUNT OF COUNTS
\nYuri Norchtein, 1979, 26 minutes
\nPencil, paints, inks
\nClocking in as the longest film in the collection, it’s also the
\none that fits into all the categories outlined in the
\nintroduction. Technically excellent, it’s also overly long,
\ncomments on war and how it can shatter the dreams of the average
\nperson, and mostly incomprehensible. Considering the film has no
\ndialogue, the film is IMHO a failure as a narrative since we
\nreally don’t understand what the heck is going on. Why do we
\nkeep flashing back to the family picnic? What is the deal with
\nthe fox and the baby? Why the cuts to young boy eating an apple?
\nIn short, what the hell is going on here?<\/p>\n

THE BATTLE OF KERJENETZ
\nIvan Ivanov-Vano and Yuri Norchtein, 1971, 10 minutes
\nCutouts
\nAnother 2:1 film. A telling of a battle, presumably that of
\nKerjenetz. I must confess that I didn’t follow the story all the
\nmuch, numbed as I was by COUNT OF COUNTS. What I found most
\ninteresting was the use of two-dimensional cutouts rendered as
\nfigures from classical paintings used in three-dimensional shots,
\nsometimes playing with perspective and multiplane effects. The
\nresults were sometimes strange, but always interesting. I’d like
\nto see this again, if only to analyze the image construction
\nmore.<\/p>\n

Next week: Poland.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #130, from jshook, 906 chars, Fri Jun 4 00:09:27 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 129.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

I believe the film you list as “Count of Counts” by Yuri Norchtein
\nis the one known to me as “Tale of a Tail” by Yuri Nordstein.<\/p>\n

If so, I am sorry you did not like it. I have seen it 6 or 7 times,
\nand have never found it less than profoundly moving. I remember
\nfirst seeing it at one of the Ottawa animation festivals about
\n10 years ago. It was the last film in that night’s program, and
\nI recall that when the lights came on, I and my friends sat motionless
\nand silent for a number of minutes (some of us blinking back tears)
\nbefore leaving the theatre.<\/p>\n

If you’re willing to give Norchtein\/Nordstein another chance, be on
\nthe lookout for an earlier film “Hedgehog in the Mist” which is
\nalso beautifully done, and a lot lighter in tone.<\/p>\n

You’ll have to be patient, however, as for many years there
\nwas exactly one print of this film in all of North America,
\nbut perhaps that has changed recently….<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #131, from switch, 746 chars, Fri Jun 4 13:02:34 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 130.
\n————————–
\nYes, _Tale of a Tail_ would make more sense. I translated the French title
\nfairly literally right after I got home (around midnight) — not a good idea.<\/p>\n

I’ve seen some of Norchtein’s other work, but nothing jars my memory. I’m
\nsure if I saw an image it would come back to me.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I found some parts of the film very moving, most notably any scene
\ninvolving the young men being taken from their girlfriends to fight in wars,
\nwith only some returning. As a whole, however, it was hard to see how one
\nscene related to the next. If I see it again, I’ll try to make more sense of
\nit.<\/p>\n

(One problem is that the Cinematheque Quebecoise has incredibly comfortable
\nseats, and it’s very easy to nod off unless it’s a very exciting film…)<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #132, from switch, 5355 chars, Mon Jun 21 23:00:41 1993
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Cinematheque quebecoise outing<\/p>\n

Almost a week late, but I’m a busy guy so I’m allowed.<\/p>\n

Last Wednesday, the Cinematheque featured Czechoslovakian animation.
\nAgain, all titles are translated from French, so they may differ from
\nthe “official” English titles.<\/p>\n

Most of the films were “language-less,” so it’s no big deal figuring
\nout the stories. Only one film required any explanation (which
\nwasn’t supplied.)<\/p>\n

ONE GLASS TOO MANY, Bretislav Pojar, 1954, 20′, stop-motion, color
\nThis is a rather heavy-handed tale on the tragedies resulting from
\ndrinking and driving. With foreshadowing this obvious, Pojar might
\nas well have ended the film ten minutes early. The sets and the
\nfigures are well done, though (superb attention to detail), as is
\nsome of the camera work. There were moments when I felt as though I
\nwas careening out of control on a rain-slicked road, despite the fact
\nthat these are little wooden figures and props.<\/p>\n

THE MILLIONAIRE WHO WOULD STEAL THE SUN, Zdenek Miler, 1948, 8′,
\ncharcoal & ink
\nA very wealthy man has his countless working masses build him bigger
\nand bigger factories and buildings, until he builds so large that he
\ncan — and does — envelop the sun. Of course, it backfires…
\nCan’t complain. I liked the rendition of the rich guy, and though
\nthe delivery was a bit ham-fisted we clearly understood the extent to
\nwhich he prospered by oppressing others.<\/p>\n

BIRD FUNNIES, Vladimir Lehky, 1964, 4′, line drawings, b&w
\nWhen my companion Robert and I saw this beginning, we thought it was
\ngoing to be unbelievably stupid. At first it seemed to be two birds
\nwith a Chester & Spike relationship. As we prepared for the worst, a
\nfew really funny gags popped up. Then another. And another.
\nReally, this is an avian buddy film. No plot, but who cares?<\/p>\n

EXCUSE ME, PLEASE, Lubomir Benes, 1974, 5′, stop-motion, color
\nHeh heh. A man who is pushed around by his wife, total strangers,
\nand eventually a dog has a fantasy of being able to push back. Thus
\nstrengthened, he goes out with new resolve, with interesting results.
\nServiceable, animationwise. Not brilliant, but not shoddy. The
\ncomic timing is just fine.<\/p>\n

THE CLEANING PHANTOM AND THE SS, Jiri Trnka, 1946, 10′, cel, b&w
\nI’m positive I didn’t get the title right. I’ve seen this film
\nbefore, but with English title cards (these were Czech). As I
\nremember it, they say that during WWII there was a person whose
\nexistence was whispered back and forth: a bounding chimney-sweeper
\nwho would foil Hitler’s minions.
\nIn the film, a mustachioed character squeals on suspected Allied
\nsympathizers, no matter how ludicrous his grounds. It’s partly done
\nout of spite, partly self-aggrandizement, and of course fear. A
\nchimney-sweeper spies a procession of people being hauled away by the
\nSS and accidentally happens upon sofa springs which he uses to bound
\nfrom place to place. Donning a mask, he proceeds to make trouble for
\nthe Nazis.
\nThis is good, clean fun with a few really good gags thrown into the
\nmix. I like the bit when the camera cuts to a park and there’s a
\npair of SS officers who are obviously in love: one wanting, the other
\ndemure. Another pair walks past a fountain, holding hands. Laugh
\nriot.<\/p>\n

WHY DO YOU SMILE, MONA LISA?, Jiri Brdecka, 1966, 12′, cel, color
\nA nice combination of fine arts and stylish line drawings. Brdecka
\nhas a good eye for design here, being spare in his use of colors.
\nIt’s hard to decide what’s more important: the tribute to da Vinci’s
\ntalent and versatility, or the string of gags that leads to the
\nreason for Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile. The plot is simple: a man of
\nsome import brings his love, Mona Lisa, to have Leonardo paint her
\nwith one of his famous beautiful smiles. Mona is a rather portly
\nwoman who doesn’t seem to want to smile. There must be some way to
\nget a grin out of her, but how? Heh heh…<\/p>\n

THE PARASITE, Vladimir Lehky, 1960, 7′, line drawings, color
\nThis is just *great*! LIQUID TV’s “Stick Figure Theater” series
\nreminded people that you don’t have to draw to animate. The simple
\nfigures here are very expressive in their simplicity.
\nThere are two characters: a resourceful fellow who uses his mind to
\novercome adversity (like finding shelter, harnessing fire, learning
\nhow to cook) and a guy who leeches off of his hard work. The film
\nmoves throughout the ages, always using the same two characters.
\nVery funny, very poignant, and best of all — the parasite gets his.<\/p>\n

NON-SENSE, Macourek, Doubrava & Born, 1974, 8′
\nI don’t remember this at all. Does anyone know?<\/p>\n

THE HAPPY CIRCUS, Jiri Trnka, 1951, 13′, cutouts, color
\nJ.S. BACH: FANTASIA IN SOL MINOR, Jan Svankmajer, 1965, 8′, animated
\nlive footage, b&w
\nAaaargh! I have immense respect and admiration for Trnka and
\nSvankmajer’s work, and that’s probably why these pained me so.
\nCIRCUS makes good use of 2-D cutouts in 3-D sets, but what’s the
\npoint? This film is just like a real circus. Seats full of easily-
\namused kids, trained animals, clowns. I don’t like this kind of dull
\nstuff in real life (give me something like Archaos any day) and I
\nlike it less animated.
\nFANTASIA is animation set to music — only the animation is of
\npatterns in a decaying building, and not particularly interesting
\ndecay, either.
\nLooks like even the masters have off years.<\/p>\n

This week: Yugoslavia, including Zagreb of course. Yahoo!<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #133, from hmccracken, 37 chars, Tue Jun 22 09:11:43 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 132.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nYou *DON’T LIKE CIRCUSES*?
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #134, from switch, 460 chars, Tue Jun 22 21:33:21 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 133.
\nThere are additional comments to message 133.
\n————————–
\nNot ones like that, no. Well, let’s break this down:<\/p>\n

Bears: pandas and koalas, yes.
\nSeals: the sillier, the better (since they’re always silly, this
\n isn’t a problem.)
\nKids: Love ’em when they’re in groups of ten or less. Then I get
\n tired.
\nClowns: Only Obnoxio the clown and others of his stripe. Otherwise
\n they annoy me.<\/p>\n

And, of course, I like Trnka and bizarre circuses. Unfortunately,
\nthis short didn’t quite fit the bill…<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #135, from number6, 64 chars, Wed Jun 23 01:01:15 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 133.
\n————————–
\nHey, I don’t, either. ‘Cepting the circus of Dr. Lao, that is.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #136, from switch, 5213 chars, Tue Jun 29 13:38:16 1993
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Yet another Cinematheque screening
\nSigh. I went to the Cinematheque after a long days’ work and only
\n3 1\/2 hours of sleep. So I fell asleep in the comfy chairs, making
\nthis set of capsule reviews a bit short. Anyway, this program
\nfeatured Yugoslavia, which means lots of stuff from the Zagreb
\nstudios.<\/p>\n

Again, titles are loosely translated from French.<\/p>\n

P.S. Sorry if this seems a bit disjointed, I wrote this in bits and
\npieces throughout the week.<\/p>\n

THE AGE OF VAMPIRES
\nNikola Majdak, 9′, 1970, cel
\nThis was seven minutes too long. The setting: an inn situated next
\nto a cemetery. The cast: three musicians, a womanizer, three women,
\na vampire killer, two funeral processions, three spirits, and a
\nbrief visit from a mobile hand a la Thing of the ADDAMS FAMILY movie.
\nThe womanizer seduces several women through the course of the evening
\nand takes them to the cemetery to have sex. Every time a funeral
\nprocession goes by, the vampire killer runs out and rams a wooden
\nstake through the corpse’s chest. Every so often we see the band
\nplaying wacky music. Eventually the vampire hunter is killed and his
\nspirit joins two others, and they go about doing mischievous things
\nuntil we get to the punchline.
\nSight gags abound, but don’t save the film. The animation’s fine.
\nOh, yes — the character designs are very sixties.<\/p>\n

NIGHTMARE
\nAleksandar Marks and Vladimir Jutrisa, 10′, 1977
\nA man walks into his home, goes to sleep, and has a series of
\nnightmares, waking up screaming from every one. This went nowhere,
\nand I fell asleep at this point.<\/p>\n

The ones I missed: DISINFECTION (Ante Zaninovic), FROM INSIDE AND
\nOUTSIDE (Josko Marusic), CAPTAIN ARBANOS MARKO (Zlatko Bourek), and
\nMAYBE DIOGENE (Nedeljko Dragic).<\/p>\n

OPTIMIST-PESSIMIST
\nZlatko Grgic, 8′, 1974, cel
\nA devil-may-care optimist spends ten minutes trying to make an overly
\ncynical pessimist lighten up. The plot’s useless, really. It’s just
\na bunch of non-sequiturs strung together. It’s dubbed into English,
\nby the way, which is so-so. The sight gags are pretty funny, though,
\nso the lack of any coherence isn’t really a problem.<\/p>\n

SKIN OF GRIEF
\nVlado Kristl, 10′, 1961, cel
\nWell, wow. This is one of those tales where some poor sap finds a
\nmagical but malicious artifact which grants him a wish — for which
\nhe later pays a price. Raphael leaves his love, Pauline, and after
\nlosing money at a roulette table is led to something called the skin
\nof grief — a red square that promises to fulfil any wish, but once
\nused will diminish — as will the owner’s life. Raphael has money
\nand happiness until he realizes he’s aging rapidly. He ends up back
\nin Pauline’s arms, but soon it’s too late…
\nIn terms of the story itself, this is rather predictable. What makes
\nit so striking are the visuals. The characters are stylized adn
\nslightly asymmetric, and their smooth animation may not be perfectly
\nlifelike, but they move in a striking manner. (I’d really have to
\nwatch it again to put my finger on exactly what it is about the
\ncharacter animation that grabs me…) The backgrounds are all
\nbroadly painted dark reds, browns, greys and blacks, punctuated by
\nthe odd white. The lack of an horizon or of anything concrete in a
\nscene adds to the surreal and dreamlike (well, nightmarelike) nature
\nof this film. Take all this with some melodramatic acting and some
\nfunky editing, and you’ve got a pretty riveting short.<\/p>\n

SATIEMANIA
\nZdenko Gasparovic, 15, 1978, mostly pencil, ink, and paints
\nI’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen this, but that doesn’t
\nmean I’m tired of it. Gasparovic animates to the music of Erik
\nSatie, alternating between bouncy and somber. It starts with the
\nbouncy stuff, with shots of people walking. But these are *funny*
\nwalks, because he’s taken the way some people walk and exaggerated
\nit to this music. Aside from some annoying stereotypes, this
\nguarantees a smile. The next segment is quite somber, with lots of
\npans across still shots, or cross-dissolves substituting for
\nanimation. Scenes of rainy days, women in anguish while their lovers
\nwatch stone-faced, things like that. Back to the funny stuff, with
\nscenes of extreme and comical violence. Then back to the somber
\nstuff, and fade to black.
\nI’ll break this into two components, the funny stuff and the bleak
\nstuff. The funny segments take advantage of the vibrancy of animated
\ncolored pencil and pen and Satie’s exuberant piano to make give a
\nreal sense of dynamism and energy. Gasparovic concentrates mainly on
\nthe humor of walking in the first segment, and so spends most of his
\ntime focusing on feet and legs. He also expends considerable effort
\non the textures and shades of the people and their clothing. The
\nextreme violence segment uses mostly ink and watercolor with less
\ncolor detail, as things move very quickly.
\nThe bleak stuff is interesting because it employs some dark humor and
\nincongruities. There are scenes where men sit at a table with lavish
\nfoods (mostly meats) and on the table only partly onscreen is a
\nwoman’s stockinged leg, for instance. The lack of dynamism and extra
\nattention to layout, color, and detail make these bits seem
\nparticularly grim.<\/p>\n

Next, and the last for a long while: Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #137, from elfhive, 4616 chars, Sat Oct 2 23:22:49 1993
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: \u001b24th International Tournee of Animation<\/p>\n

Here are some thoughts about a week after the screening.<\/p>\n

WE LOVE IT
\nFrom the folks who brought you Fast Food Matador, this one is a
\nlot more repetitive and consequently weaker. It was good for a
\nverse and a chorus. I would have shortened it by at least three
\nminutes.<\/p>\n

THE MAN WHO YELLED
\nFunny concept and it didn’t go on too long. Hope that your sound
\nsystem isn’t going to distort because there is a lot of yelling
\nin this one.<\/p>\n

THE STAIN
\nEvery so often I have to stop and wonder if such dark humor in
\nthe UK is the price we pay for gems like Fawlty Towers. This was
\na really depressing piece about a family with more than its fair
\nshare of problems. The script could have been written by Joyce
\nCarol Oates. Apparently the idea was taken from a classified and
\nI have to wonder if the story is a completely fabricated or
\nrepresents some kind of research into that classified. Anyway,
\nwho wants to know about this kind of stuff.
\nThe technique was bizarre to match. Cross cutting from something
\nakin to pictillation and then stop-motion but none of it very
\naccomplished.<\/p>\n

THE BILLY NAYER SHOW
\nAnother entry in the watch-me-perform-in-close-up category of
\nanimation. Lots of brush strokes over what must have been
\nrotoscoping, if not, hats off. Still it wasn’t holding my
\ninterest.<\/p>\n

By this time I was getting a little concerned that I was in for a
\nreal tedious exploration of the avant-garde and perhaps even,
\nshudder, politically correct themes that are often interwoven in
\nTerry Thoren’s compilations. And then suddenly my life brightened
\nremarkably with<\/p>\n

LITTLE WOLF<\/p>\n

This was worth the price of admission. This was great. What can I
\nsay about this elixir? I will buy this reel just to get this
\ncartoon. This was from the UK by a man or woman with the unlikely
\nEnglish name of An Vrombaut. It won best debut film at Annecy
\nthis year and I can clearly see why. I’ll be watching for the
\nnext one.<\/p>\n

THE SQUARE OF LIGHT<\/p>\n

Very interesting animation, again the broad brush strokes and
\naccurate action portrayal of a boxing match. Wish I liked boxing
\nmore.<\/p>\n

PREHISTORIC BEAST<\/p>\n

This looks like Phil Tippett’s bid to do _Jurassic Park_ special
\neffects. Extremely well-done stop motion work on the old theme of
\nT-Rex meets Stegosaurus. While it was beautiful it does
\nillustrate the limitations of stop motion and why Spielberg went
\nwith the computer animation for the most part.<\/p>\n

I THINK I WAS AN ALCOHOLIC<\/p>\n

John Callahan must be from the Bill Plympton school of humor. I
\ndidn’t want to smoke cigarettes before I saw Plympton’s _25 Ways
\nto Quit Smoking_, I don’t want to become an alcoholic after
\nseeing this short. Crude but effective animation yet not as
\nstylized as Cruikshank for instance.<\/p>\n

A SALUTE TO THE DIMENSIONAL ARTISTRY OF WILL VINTON STUDIOS<\/p>\n

Hold on, did I just say limitations of stop motion animation!!!
\nWash my mouth out with soap — or at least amend that to
\nlimitations of stop motion to achieve accurately realistic
\nportrayals. With MR RESISTOR, however, stop motion reaches new
\nheights. Here stop motion brings the fantastic to life and it is
\ncompletely believable. I really enjoyed this segment.<\/p>\n

THE RIDE TO THE ABYSS<\/p>\n

Beautifully set to classical music and drawn in primitive art
\nstyle, this held my attention and built to a fine finale.<\/p>\n

THE SANDMAN<\/p>\n

UK’s Cosgrove-Hall has really got my attention now. First
\n_Truckers_ now this beautiful film from Paul Berry. Again that
\nreally dark British humour but this is done so well that the
\nhorror really comes through. In _The Stain_ I didn’t care about
\nthe characters, but here I’m instantly identifying with the
\nlittle boy and what happens to him happens to me. Not for the
\nsqueamish!<\/p>\n

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS<\/p>\n

Very much an Eastern European film (made in Czecho when it was
\nstill attached to Slovakia) that examines human behavior and
\nrelationships through tones rather than actually words. Here
\ncrudeness of style seems to underscore the creator’s intent
\nrather than distract from it.<\/p>\n

GAHAN WILSON’S DINER<\/p>\n

The third of four reasons to own this reel. Only because I think
\nthat _Little Wolf_ and _The Sandman_ are more powerful stories.
\nThe animation in this is GREAT. The story is pure Gahan Wilson
\nbut it didn’t leave me with the same emotional intensity that the
\nother two did.<\/p>\n

GET A HAIRCUT<\/p>\n

A disappointing finale. After Canada’s _Get A Job_ this won’t
\ncompete either melodically or visually.<\/p>\n

Still it was a great experience and a chance to see what is going
\non in the wide world of animation. Wish they played more of this
\non tv but I’ll bet I’m not missing it by not having The Cartoon
\nNetwork \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #138, from hmccracken, 90 chars, Sat Oct 2 23:43:44 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 137.
\nThere are additional comments to message 137.
\n————————–
\n]Thanks for the comments, Elf! Sounds like the Tournee is well worth
\ncatching.
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #139, from sharonfisher, 423 chars, Sun Oct 3 14:40:00 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 137.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 137.
\n————————–
\nJohn Callahan is a paraplegic, caused by an accident with a drunk driver.
\nI’m not expressing myself well. He was drunk, and a passenger in a car
\nwhere the driver was drunk. He’s written a couple of books, starting with
\n“Don’t worry, he won’t get far on foot” and does some lovely cartoons on
\nthe handicapped, which generally draw letters about how terrible it is
\nthat some cartoonist is making fun of handicapped people.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #140, from elfhive, 322 chars, Sun Oct 3 18:44:37 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 139.
\n————————–
\nThere was something very immediate about “I Think I Was An Alcoholic,”
\nit wasn’t the kind of thing that someone unfamiliar with the symptoms
\nwould be able to produce as effectively.<\/p>\n

I would think that animation would be a great activity for someone
\nconfined to a wheelchair. If that isn’t too insensitive a statement \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #141, from jshook, 84 chars, Sun Oct 3 23:44:11 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 137.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 137.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

Do you happen to remember what piece of music was used for THE RIDE
\nTO THE ABYSS?<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #142, from elfhive, 233 chars, Sun Oct 3 23:47:24 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 141.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nI keep wanting to say Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique but that’s just
\nbecause I got the CD from BBC Music two days ago and I have been listening
\nto it. Does Gounod and ”
\n“Damnation of Faust” sound right?
\nSorry that I don’t remember.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #143, from jshook, 207 chars, Sun Oct 3 23:56:55 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 142.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

Berlioz also wrote a “Damnation of Faust.” I was wondering it that’s
\nthe one that was used in the film. I think it would probably make
\na better soundtrack than Gounod’s (which I admit I have not heard.)<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #144, from elfhive, 375 chars, Mon Oct 4 22:29:46 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 143.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nI seem to recall Gounod for some reason. In any case it was a good
\nblend between the visual and aural elements. I could stand to see
\na lot more “Fantasia” animation going back to explore classical
\nmusic with wonderful images. I liked the computer match up in
\n_The Mind’s Eye_ and _Beyond The Mind’s Eye_ but that still leaves
\na *lot* of room for real talent to get in there.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #145, from switch, 770 chars, Wed Oct 6 21:42:01 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 137.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nNice reviews, Greg! I hope the Tournee makes it here — our usual venue for
\nExpanded’s stuff has closed down.<\/p>\n

> THE STAIN<\/p>\n

I found it to be an interesting short. Mind you, I have it on tape from the
\nUK Channel Four show, “Four-Mations”, and they talk with the creators.
\nUnfortunately, they don’t say much that’s worthwhile (to me, anyway.)<\/p>\n

The cross-cutting worked for me. Have you seen “Balloon”?<\/p>\n

> THE SANDMAN<\/p>\n

Another good one, which I have on the same tape. Two chaps from England,
\none rather normal-looking and the other with bright orange hair. But listening
\nto them talk, I’m more frightened by the normal-looking one.<\/p>\n

> WORDS, WORDS, WORDS<\/p>\n

I agree with your sentiments. A very touching film.<\/p>\n

> DINER<\/p>\n

Now I *really* hope the Tournee gets here.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #146, from switch, 179 chars, Wed Oct 6 21:43:39 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 144.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nHave you seen any of the other animated renditions of, say, “Sorceror’s
\nApprentice” or “Night on Bald Mountain”?<\/p>\n

(Hmmmn, _Allegro non Troppo_ will be showing this week…)<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #147, from elfhive, 232 chars, Thu Oct 7 21:47:20 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 145.
\n————————–
\nIt’s them normal lookin’ ones what really surprises. Who cares about
\nbright orange hair?<\/p>\n

I’d like to see _Diner_ again. I must have missed the punch line at the
\nend because it seemed to, how can I say this, “fishtail” as it ended.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #148, from elfhive, 257 chars, Thu Oct 7 21:49:37 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 146.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nNo, I haven’t seen those pieces rendered by anyone but the Disney
\nartists. I have a copy of _Allegro non Troppo_ on laserdisc. I really
\nlike that film. I’m tempted to pick up _Volere Volare_ but I haven’t
\nseen it and hesitate to part with $35 that easily.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #149, from switch, 245 chars, Fri Oct 8 19:57:32 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 148.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nAck! I just discovered that I just missed _Allegro non Troppo_ *again*.
\n*Sigh*<\/p>\n

Anyway, there are three or four _Night on Bald mountain_s out there, and
\nplenty of other examples of animation to classical music. Well worth
\nferreting out.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #150, from elfhive, 78 chars, Fri Oct 8 21:32:58 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 149.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nDo you have titles and creators for the _Night on Bald Mountain_
\nanimations?<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #151, from switch, 139 chars, Fri Oct 8 22:16:38 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 150.
\n————————–
\nOnly one I remember offhand: _Night on Bald Mountain_ by Alexieff and Parker.
\nA quick scan through my database reveals nothing else.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #152, from switch, 7350 chars, Fri Oct 22 22:24:35 1993
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Nick Park Retrospective
\nBusy, busy, busy. Normally I do this sort of thing within a few
\ndays of a screening, but I’ve been real busy with school, work,
\nand meeting deadlines. Ain’t life sweet.<\/p>\n

Here’s what happened: the Cinematheque Quebecoise, in conjunction
\nwith SoftImage, hosted a week of animation October 5 to 10,
\ncramming in no less than 24 hours of animation, often with guest
\nspeakers. At $4 per 1 1\/2 to 2 1\/2 hour screening in the city’s
\nmost comfortable cinema, this was a bargain, to say the least.
\n(I wish I had known earlier that an ASIFA-Canada membership
\ngrants free access to Cinematheque screenings; even though I
\nmissed most of the shows, I’d save quite a bit of cash.)<\/p>\n

I’ve already gone on about the evening with the folks from
\nSoftImage, which helped kicked off the week. I missed the James
\nWhitney, Bruno Bozzetto, and Raoul Servais retrospectives, as
\nwell as the Italian and Belgian animation retrospectives, among
\nother things; I’d be damned if I’d miss the Nick Park\/Aardman
\nAnimations retrospectives, and if I didn’t catch at least one
\nhalf of the Annecy ’93 show I might as well jump off a bridge.<\/p>\n

Wishing to avoid eternal damnation and incidentally take a break
\nfrom working on my animation assignment, I went to the
\nCinematheque on the evening of October 9 for the Nick
\nPark\/Aardman shows. David Sproxton, who co-founded Aardman with
\nPeter Lord, was there, and gave a short but interesting talk
\nabout Nick Park. Basically, Park was working on A GRAND DAY OUT
\non his own on a grant, for five years. He was in a bit of a
\nsituation; not yet out of school, he had gotten this grant (which
\nhe could use on nothing but the film) but had no job. Surviving
\non the dole, he was about halfway through when Sproxton and Lord
\ngave a talk at his school. They saw his work, hired him at
\nAardman, where he did some commercial work for them and they gave
\nhim the facilities to finish A GRAND DAY OUT, which he did over
\nthe course of the next two years.<\/p>\n

The lights dimmed, and Sproxton looked for a seat in the packed
\nhouse. By chance, the only empty one was the aisle seat next to
\nme. I tried not to gush and embarrass myself, and managed to
\narrange an interview with him without lapsing into Drooling
\nFanboy Mode. My mother would have been proud.<\/p>\n

Anyway, on to the films:<\/p>\n

A GRAND DAY OUT
\n1989, 23 minutes<\/p>\n

CREATURE COMFORTS
\n1989, 5 minutes<\/p>\n

Director: Nick Park
\nGreat Britain<\/p>\n

Now, look, this is very simple. If you haven’t seen this or
\nCREATURE COMFORTS by now, you’ve simply not been paying
\nattention. Both these films have been in any number of animation
\nfestivals; CREATURE COMFORTS has been on PBS and Canada’s CBC
\nmany times over. If you missed them, go out and rent or buy
\nExpanded Entertainment’s BRITISH ANIMATION INVASION or AARDMAN
\nANIMATIONS videocassettes (the latter is also available on
\nlaserdisc by Lumivision).<\/p>\n

The reviews for both these films are the same I used when I first
\nsaw them in 1990, with minor edits.<\/p>\n

GRAND DAY OUT
\nA twenty-three minute clay animation would have struck me as an
\nexercise in terror before I saw this film, but I’ve seen it
\ninnumerable times in the last three years and I’m not tired of it
\nyet. Nick Park has the incredible ability to convey a lot of
\ncharacter with his figures (some only about three inches tall),
\nand his detailed backgrounds and props have to be seen to be
\nbelieved. The man’s imagination and talent are seemingly
\nendless. Anyway, the story: Wallace and his dog Gromit are
\nsitting about the house on a bank holiday, looking for somewhere
\nto go. While preparing some tea, Wallace notices they are out of
\ncheese. Looking at the moon, he has an idea: the moon is made of
\ncheese, and they’re looking for somewhere to go, so why not fly
\nto the moon? They build a rocket in the basement and fly to the
\nmoon, and… it’s too funny just thinking about it. Gromit, in
\nthe tradition of mute animal sidekicks, steals the show.<\/p>\n

CREATURE COMFORTS
\nSurprisingly, this film is funnier and technically amazing every
\ntime I see it. While GRAND DAY OUT was a quite well done and an
\nentertaining narrative, CREATURE COMFORTS, at a little over a
\nthird the running time, is a more compact, tightly-edited film
\nand is closer to perfection. Animals in a zoo are interviewed
\nabout their living conditions. It captures the feeling of
\ntelevision interviews perfectly, which isn’t really surprising:
\nvoice track is comprised of clips from interviews with real
\npeople, under differing circumstances. Aardman started doing
\nthis sort of thing in 1978 with a series of shorts called
\nANIMATED CONVERSATIONS, where they would record some real-life
\nevent and animate to it, sometimes taking a few liberties with
\nthe animation, but rarely with the voice track. In the case of
\nCREATURE COMFORTS, they spoke to kids in a zoo and asked what
\nthey thought of the animals being in cages; to senior citizens in
\nan old-age home; and to foreigners living in Britain, most
\nnotably an irate Brazilian student. These became the voices of
\ndifferent animals in a zoo, responding to unheard questions from
\nan unseen interviewer. Whatever you do, don’t miss this film.
\nIn my most personal opinion, if I can make a film with half the
\nwit, character, technical excellence, and humor Park worked into
\nthis, I’ll be very happy.<\/p>\n

And now, a drum roll, please…<\/p>\n

THE WRONG TROUSERS
\n1993, 29 minutes<\/p>\n

Director: Nick Park
\nGreat Britain<\/p>\n

Tremendous! Amazing! Incredible!<\/p>\n

But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.<\/p>\n

Imagine, if you will, a new film with Wallace and Gromit from A
\nGRAND DAY OUT. Imagine an animated Gary Larson cartoon in
\nstop-motion. Imagine the most sinister, mute penguin you’ve ever
\nseen. Imagine Nick Park with a serious budget, four years more
\nexperience, and the tools and staff of Aardman Animations at his
\ndisposal. These just barely describe his new opus, THE WRONG
\nTROUSERS.<\/p>\n

We were fortunate; this screening was the North American
\npremiere, and the third public showing worldwide. As such, the
\nprint was fantastically clean, the sound and colours deliciously
\nrich.<\/p>\n

I’m not going to give even a hint of the story here. Seeing
\neverything unfold with Park’s impeccable sense of timing is a
\njoy, and I think it would be a shame to give any of it away. But
\nI will make a few comments on the film overall.<\/p>\n

I’d said that THE WRONG TROUSERS is like a stop-motion Gary
\nLarson cartoon. On the surface, this may seem like a ludicrous
\nidea, but hear me out before you call the boys in the white
\ncoats.<\/p>\n

One of Larson’s recurring themes in THE FAR SIDE is to play on
\ncinematic or literary cliches, usually cliches so
\nwell-established you instantly recognize them even if you’ve
\nnever seen them in a movie or a book. THE WRONG TROUSERS crams a
\ndiverse array of cliches both old and new, sometimes with
\nwonderfully absurd twists. Through it all, Park manages to keep
\nWallace and Gromit’s characters intact, so their reactions are
\nunsurprising but entertaining. Park’s sense of timing and
\nmeticulous character animation serve particularly well here,
\nespecially since two of the three characters are mute.<\/p>\n

In short: drop everything and see this when it comes to your
\nlocal cinema. Consider chipping in on a rental car with your
\nfriends if it’s out of town. It’s worth it.<\/p>\n

Comments on the Aardman retrospective and the Annecy ’93 showing
\nto come later.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #153, from jshook, 128 chars, Fri Oct 22 23:13:56 1993
\nThis is a comment to message 152.
\n————————–<\/p>\n

Thanks for posting this. I promise to drop my trou… er, drop everything
\nif THE WRONG TROUSERS gets within viewing distance.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #154, from switch, 9882 chars, Mon Nov 1 22:36:12 1993
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Aardman Animations Retrospective
\nAs promised, here’s my overview of the Aardman Animations
\nretrospective of a few weeks back.<\/p>\n

For those who don’t know, Aardman is a British animation studio
\nthat does a lot of spectacular stop-motion and clay animation.
\nTheir best-known work in North America is probably Nick Park’s
\nCREATURE COMFORTS, or the SLEDGEHAMMER music video.<\/p>\n

I’ll just cut to the chase. I won’t be commenting on all the
\nshorts, though.<\/p>\n

DOWN & OUT (Peter Lord & David Sproxton, 1978, 5′) This is the
\nfirst of the Animated Conversations series. A (senile? drunk?
\nderelict?) man tries to get a ticket for food at a hostel. The
\nwhole thing centres around the clerk and a security guard trying
\nto explain things to the befuddled old man.<\/p>\n

This is good, but doesn’t show off the Aardman brilliance; this
\nserves more as a hint of things to come. As sets and props go,
\nthis is adequate, as is most of the stop-motion; however, the
\nAardman touch is apparent in little details. There is of course
\nthe attention to stance and facial expressions, but part of the
\nAardman aesthetic when it comes to using “found” voice tracks us
\nthat they avoid a straight script-to-screen adaptation; if they
\ncome across and interesting background noise, they use it for
\nsomething. Or occasionally the camera wanders away from the
\nperson talking.<\/p>\n

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF MORPH: “Grand Morph’s Home Movies”
\n(Peter Lord & David Sproxton, 1981, 5′) This is a kids’ show
\nfeaturing a tiny clay creature called Morph. He has a whole
\nbunch of clay friends and relatives, and they live in various
\nitems on a tabletop. The show’s actually quite entertaining in
\nits own right, even in a room full of adults, as there are some
\nfunny asides in the narration, and we begin to see the boys at
\nAardman playing with facial expressions and actual body language,
\nas opposed to just stances. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of
\nthese.<\/p>\n

EARLY BIRD (Peter Lord & David Sproxton, 1981, 5′) Another
\n“found soundtrack” work. Here they compress about an hour’s
\nworth of a weekday early morning show into five minutes. The DJ
\nwakes up in the studio, and while doing his patter he shaves,
\nmakes breakfast, and prepares to leave. Attention to detail is
\nthe key here: the DJ’s booth is crowded, and he has to pull
\nthings out of drawers, place records on turntables, etc., so the
\nplace is appropriately cluttered.<\/p>\n

BABYLON (Peter Lord & David Sproxton, 1986, 14′) The program
\njumps forward in time, presenting us with a work after Lord and
\nSproxton have become more proficient. To jump from 1981’s EARLY
\nBIRD to 1986’s BABYLON and then back to 1981 with LATE EDITION
\nwas somewhat jarring for me; I would have put this after LATE
\nEDITION.<\/p>\n

In any event, BABYLON is a more serious Aardman offering. It’s
\nset at a dinner for higher-ups in the arms and munitions
\nindustries; the keynote speaker spews extreme right-wing
\nrhetoric, while deals and power games are in progress at the
\ndinner tables. Actually, there’s more to it than that, but it
\nwould take some time to explain it.<\/p>\n

Technically, this film is amazing. There are overhead pans
\nacross crowd scenes with over a hundred figures, all animated so
\nyou’d swear you’re looking at live-action shots of a ritzy dinner
\naffair. Absolutely stunning.<\/p>\n

This isn’t a straight narrative, and there’s visual and aural
\nallegories aplenty. The soundtrack — or rather, soundscape —
\nis well done. An ominous basso rumble permeates the film,
\npunctuated by a whispered “Peace… and… profit”; people’s
\nvoices are distorted; and so on.<\/p>\n

My only complaint is in the delivery of the film’s message. In
\npart, it depends on the image of very extreme right-wing arms
\ndealers, and a final sequence I won’t describe for those who
\nhaven’t seen it. The trouble is, it’s too pat; these guys sell
\narms, ergo they’re warmongers, ergo they’re right-wing fascists.
\nWell, it doesn’t always work that way, guys. And the final
\nsequence is, well, predictable. The only thing that saves it is
\nthe wonderful animation and sound work.<\/p>\n

LATE EDITION (Peter Lord & David Sproxton, 1981, 5′) Another
\n“found soundtrack” work, this time at a newspaper office, as the
\nlate edition is being prepared. It seems that the recordist
\nmoved around the room, as conversations fade in and out, often
\nobscured by the general sounds of the newsroom. Lord and
\nSproxton take advantage of this by similarly shifting the visual
\npoint of view. I liked how the camera kept moving back to this
\none worker, unnoticed (ignored?) by all, who either had his head
\non the desk or was pouring himself a drink; it added tragic
\npunctuation to the film.<\/p>\n

WAR STORY (Peter Lord, 1989, 5′) This one has done the rounds at
\na few festivals: an old man tells about his service in WWII.
\nSort of “found soundtrack” — this is from an interview, and thus
\nless is left to chance; also, extra sound effects are added for
\nthe old man’s flashbacks. My favourite touch — they left in the
\nrecordist saying the tape was running when it shouldn’t have
\nbeen, the pair laughing, and the old man jovially saying, “Shut
\nthat thing off!”<\/p>\n

MY BABY JUST CARES FOR ME (Peter Lord, 1987, 3:00) This seems
\nlike a tribute to Tex Avery; I’ll have to find out for sure
\nsomeday. The cast for this film is all anthropomorphic cats, and
\nit centres around a lady cat singing “My Baby Just Cares For Me”
\nat a nightclub. One male cat, obviously a fan, attracts the
\nattention of a bouncer when he’s obviously overly affected by her
\nsong…<\/p>\n

What makes this film for me is not the animation but the
\natmosphere. The animation’s great, no doubt about it — but the
\nname of this game is lighting and mood. This is a very
\nconvincing nightclub scene, and Lord manages to make the lady cat
\nvery sensual.<\/p>\n

GOING EQUIPPED (Peter Lord, 1989, 5:00)<\/p>\n

LURPAK: “Sailor” (Peter Lord, 1986, 30″; advertisement)<\/p>\n

KP DISCOS: “Ouch” (Peter Lord, 1988, 30″; advertisement)<\/p>\n

NERDS: “Monster Mash” (Peter Lord, 1989, 40″; advertisement)<\/p>\n

ADAM (Peter Lord, 1991, 6′)<\/p>\n

BAREFOOTIN’ (Richard Goleszowski, 1987, 2′) What happened here?
\nThis is clay animation to the song “Barefootin'”, featuring
\nbizarre space aliens with really big feet. It’s not that this is
\nparticularly bad, it’s that there’s nothing that makes it stand
\nout, which is very un-Aardman, in my opinion. Ho hum.<\/p>\n

IDENT (Richard ?oleszowski, 1989, 5′) This is more like it.
\nSurreal, bizarre, strangely poignant. It’s rather hard to
\ndescribe this one effectively…<\/p>\n

REX THE RUNT: “Dinosaurs” and “Dreams” (Richard ?oleszowski,
\n1991, 2′ each) I think these shorts are for televised inserts,
\nbut I’m not sure. Rex the Runt is a little dog character (you
\ncan see his spiritual ancestor in IDENT) who has a show along
\nwith his girlfriend and their pals. Rex and his friends are
\nalmost two-dimensional clay figures in a pretty much
\nthree-dimensional setting. These shorts are witty and
\nfast-paced. Quite fun to watch.<\/p>\n

SCOTCH TAPE: “Not Fade Away” (Bill Mather, 1985, 30″) An advert
\nfor Scotch VHS and Beta cassettes. Quite a normal ad, except for
\ntwo things: (1) it’s in stop-motion, and (b) the fellow walking
\nand talking is a richly-voiced skeleton. It lends an eerie
\ntouch, to be sure.<\/p>\n

SLEDGEHAMMER (Stephen Johnson, 1986, 4′) You know, the Peter
\nGabriel music video.<\/p>\n

NEXT (Barry Purves, 1989, 5′) Shakespeare, apparently in the
\nafterlife, acts out all of his plays in mime, with the help of
\nsome stage props. This has done the festival circuit, and is a
\njoy to watch each time. Everything after the wondrous shot of
\nol’ Will ascending on silver wings amidst sparklers and scrolls
\nbearing the names of his works is superfluous.<\/p>\n

CREATURE COMFORTS (Nick Park, 1989, 5′) Haven’t we been here
\nbefore?<\/p>\n

LOVES ME… LOVES ME NOT (Jeff Newitt, 1992, 8′) Remember what I
\nsaid about Nick Park’s THE WRONG TROUSERS? The part about
\ndropping everything to go see it. The same goes for this. In
\nconversation, David Sproxton told me that this is Jeff Newitt’s
\nfirst work (more accurately, his first personal work — he had
\ndone ad work before.) Hearing that almost made me want to throw
\nin the towel and switch majors from animation to something
\neasier, like rocket science. Yes, it’s that good.<\/p>\n

It starts with a man — a very, very well-dressed and
\nwell-coiffed man — smoothly walking into frame, oozing
\nself-confidence from every pore of his latex body. He espies a
\nflower and plucks it — “Ow!” it quietly cries — and regards it.
\nFor almost a full minute, he holds it at arm’s length, inspects
\nit closely, even seems to dance with it. This serves the purpose
\nof (a) showing us that this man is incredibly suave and
\nself-assured, and (b) showing off Newitt’s incredible skill.<\/p>\n

The man plucks a petal — “Ow!” — and we hear the deep
\nintonation, “Loves me…” and he allows the flicker of a grin.
\nAnother petal — “Ow!” — “Loves me not…” and there is the
\nbarest flicker of a frown. It proceeds like this for the rest of
\nthe film. When it says “Loves me…” he gets happier and happier
\nwith each petal. When it says “Loves me not…” he despairs more
\nand more, until he finds himself in life-threatening situations,
\nsometimes attempting to kill himself. As the short progresses,
\nhe realizes that the flower’s petals are the key — but since the
\nflower died when he plucked it, the petals are starting to fall
\noff whether he plucks them or not! He frantically tries to keep
\nthe petals from coming off…<\/p>\n

Whew. It almost leaves me breathless just thinking about it.
\nThe precise character animation is matted onto the background,
\nallowing for all sorts of extra animation and eye-popping optical
\neffects. The soundtrack is nothing to sneeze at, either.<\/p>\n

LOVES ME… LOVES ME NOT speaks of love, desire, obsession,
\nsuperstition, narcissism, the unwitting destruction of a
\nsignificant other… and it’s an awfully fun way to spend eight
\nminutes. Don’t miss this.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #155, from elfhive, 4130 chars, Fri Nov 12 00:27:05 1993
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Anime America ’94 Update
\n————————————————————–<\/p>\n

Anime America Electronic Progress Report, November 1993<\/p>\n

Anime America
\n Red Lion Inn
\n San Jose, California
\n July 29,30,31, 1994<\/p>\n

Sponsored by:
\n The Foundation for Animation and Comics Education
\n a California not-for-profit corporation<\/p>\n

GUESTS OF HONOR:<\/p>\n

GO NAGAI
\nCreator of Devilman, Mazinger Z, Cutey Honey, Violence Jack, and
\nmany other famous anime and manga characters.<\/p>\n

AKEMI TAKADA
\nCharacter designer for Urusei Yatsura and Kimagure Orange Road.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Principle event summary:<\/p>\n

35mm and 16mm Film Programs
\n Special Benefit Auction – proceeds to scholarship program
\n Anime Game Show – Hosted by AnimEigo
\n Artist and Industry Panels
\n Autographs and Sketches
\n Art Show
\n Dealer’s Room
\n Projection screen video theaters with surround sound
\n Information channel and updates on room tv<\/p>\n

Accommodations and Room Rates:<\/p>\n

Anime America 1994 will be going home to the traditional
\nconvention hotel in San Jose, CA, the Red Lion Inn off Highway
\n101. The Red Lion hosted AnimeCon 1991 and Anime Expo 1992, so is
\nwell-tuned to supporting anime conventions. The hotel facilities
\nare spacious, comfortable and convenient to San Jose airport.<\/p>\n

Single\/Double Occupancy: $72.00 per night
\nTriple\/Quad Occupancy: $79.00 per night<\/p>\n

Reservations must be made before July 1, 1994 in order to be
\nguaranteed by the hotel. You must mention Anime America in order
\nto get the special convention rates. Please contact:<\/p>\n

The Red Lion Inn
\n San Jose, CA 95054
\n (408) 453-4000<\/p>\n

Fans attending from Japan should contact the following
\ntravel agent:<\/p>\n

Mr. Yukio Yanadori
\n Deputy General Manager
\n Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., Ltd.
\n 19-2 Kanda Matsunaga-cho
\n Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101
\n phone (03) 3255-7077<\/p>\n

Membership rates:<\/p>\n

—– $35.00 until 12-20-93
\n —– $40.00 until 3-20-94
\n —– $45.00 until 7-1-94
\n —– $50.00 at the door<\/p>\n

Anime America invites fans from around the world. For further
\ninformation, write or call:<\/p>\n

Anime America
\n 298 4th Avenue, Suite 472
\n San Francisco, CA 94118
\n Voice Mail: (415) 241-8823
\n Fax: (408) 748-9620
\n In Japan: 0468-21-1910 ext 243-2034 (voice or fax)<\/p>\n

————————————————————-
\nEmail address: anam@rahul.net
\nJapan email: Niftyserve SGQ01534
\n————————————————————-<\/p>\n

35mm and 16mm Film Programs:<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Tokuma Shoten –<\/p>\n

RCockpitS by Leiji Matsumoto – This brand new OAV series
\nwill be shown in itUs entirety, three half-hour segments, in
\n35mm. Subtitled video may be available as well.<\/p>\n

RThe Deep Blue FleetS – A Japanese viewpoint World War II
\nseries, also in 35mm. There will be two 45 minute segments. A
\nsubtitled video may be available by the date of the Con.<\/p>\n

RWild SevenS – Another brand new one, about motorcycle
\ngangs. There are two 45 minute segments in 35mm.<\/p>\n

More films will be announced as they are confirmed.<\/p>\n

Special Benefit Auction – proceeds to scholarship program:<\/p>\n

Anime AmericaUs sponsor company, F.A.C.E., is dedicated to
\neducation, especially with respect to artistic expression in
\ncomics and animation. In support of this goal, Anime America
\nwill host a Benefit Auction. Go Nagai has already donated
\nseveral matted and autographed cels from his hit OAV series
\nRDevilmanS. More info to come.<\/p>\n

Anime Game Show:<\/p>\n

AnimEigoUs Robert Woodhead will host this computer-assisted
\ngameshow romp through various translated releases. Prizes have
\nyet to be determined but they will be listed here in an update
\nto follow. There will be three segments – a qualification round,
\nsemi-final and final – on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n

More info next month!
\n————————————————————-<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #156, from elfhive, 3560 chars, Thu Dec 9 23:11:28 1993
\n————————–
\nTITLE: THE AIRTIGHT GARAGE
\nAn Animation Odyssey<\/p>\n

For the past several years, Starwatcher Graphics, French
\nartist Moebius’ American company, has been developing a feature-
\nlength animation film based on his graphic novel, The Airtight
\nGarage, written in 1987. Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier
\ncollaborated on a working script and a draft storyboard was
\nproduced by Moebius and his assistants in order to bring this
\nidea to the screen. Their efforts to bring a story to the screen
\nillustrates the difficulties that independent producers have in
\nrealizing their creative dreams. As of this writing the
\npossibility of realization seems good, but it is important to
\nremember that any number of circumstances could still derail the
\nprocess.
\n Starwatcher initially worked with a small Canadian
\nproduction company in Montreal called Pascal Blais Productions.
\nWhen those efforts failed to pan out, they found a potential
\ncollaboration with the then Soviet animation company,
\nSoyuzmultfilm. This is the company that produced The Snow Queen
\nand the animated Shakespeare series currently airing on HBO. The
\ntwo groups attempted to realize the project during the period
\nspanning 1989 to 1991 – a very difficult period given the
\nhistorical events that occurred in Russia during those years.
\n Due to in part to the impact of political and financial
\ndevelopments, the collaboration was abandoned. A number of
\nartistic and technical differences inherent in the joint-venture
\nnature of the project and arising from the cultural differences
\nbetween Starwatcher’s “western” approach and the Russian style
\nand techniques of Soyuzmultfilm contributed to its ultimate
\ndemise.
\n Following the collapse of the co-venture with the Russians,
\nStarwatcher flirted briefly with Animedia, a group of former Don
\nBluth Animation employees in Ireland, but nothing came of those
\ndiscussions and Animedia ultimately declared bankruptcy. By this
\ntime the diligent efforts of producer Philippe Rivier had
\nprovided a foreign pre-sales distribution arrangement for The
\nAirtight Garage, but there was still no US distribution deal and
\nthis element is crucial to full financing of the film project.
\n Finally, in 1992, Rivier also negotiated an association with
\nAkira Kurosawa Enterprises that began to open new doors. In fact,
\nthe idea of working with Japanese animators seems ideal for this
\nparticular story. Here was an opportunity to combine the best of
\nanime – the special effects and backgrounds – with a Western
\napproach to storyline and characters. The approach to the project
\nwould be to have all pre-production, the final storyboard, the
\n“model pack” (defining the character designs, props and
\nbackgrounds), and the layout prepared by Western artists under
\nthe supervision of Moebius and his assistants. At that point, the
\nproduction would move to Japan for the completion of the film. A
\nverbal agreement was recently reached with the director of Akira,
\nKatsuhiro Otomo to co-direct The Airtight Garage with Moebius.
\n At this point things are looking up for both the producers
\nand for lovers of anime and animation. The potential for a great
\nfilm production is certainly in place and we can only hope that
\nnothing will disturb the synergy that has been lovingly crafted
\nwith perseverance. If you are interested in knowing more about
\nthe original story, Marvel has recently re-released The Airtight
\nGarage as a four comic-book mini-series and it should be
\navailable at your local comic store.<\/p>\n

Please do not cross-post or publish elsewhere without permission.
\nGreg Barr<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #157, from elfhive, 4795 chars, Fri Dec 17 20:46:19 1993
\n————————–
\nTITLE: KATSUCON ICHI
\n Katsu Con Ichi
\n The First (announced) East Coast
\n Anime Convention
\n February 17 – 19, 1995<\/p>\n

at the
\n Hoilday Inn Executice Center
\n Virginia Beach, Virginia<\/p>\n

Confirmed Guests<\/p>\n

_Johji Manabe_ – Artist, writer and creator of,
\n – Outlanders (Manga and Anime OAV)
\n – Caravan Kidd (Published in Us by Dark Horse Comics)
\n – Capricorn (One shot Manga story and OAV)<\/p>\n

_Scott Frazier_ – First American to work and teach in a Japanese
\n Animation School
\n – First American to work production and be a
\n directors assistant on a film.
\n – Founder and Chief Executive of Tao Corporation LTD.
\n (Tao Studios)<\/p>\n

_John & Jason Waltrip_ – Artist on Enternity Comics’
\n – Robotech II: The Sentinals
\n – Robotech Genisis
\n – Cybernights
\n – Metal Bikini
\n – Amazon Gozangas<\/p>\n

_Danny Fahs_ – Artist for Antartic Press’
\n – Stellar Losers
\n – Zetraman Revival”
\n – Girls of NHS, NHS Yearbook and NHS Swimsuit Issue<\/p>\n

_C. Sue Shambaugh_ – Renound Fan Translaor
\n – Translator for AnimEigo<\/p>\n

(other guests to be announced)<\/p>\n

Katsu Con is hoping to become the East Coast Regional Anime Convention
\nfor the United States. We’re entering our first event with alot of optimism!
\nWe hope to include events such as:<\/p>\n

Panels
\nWorkshops
\nDealers Room
\nVariety Show
\nAmateur Film Fest
\nArt Show
\nModeling Contest
\nA Fri and Sat Dance
\nCostume Show
\nModeling Contest
\nAn anime based Game Show
\nand (of course) LOTS of Anime!!!<\/p>\n

_Memberships_ _Hotel room rates_
\n$22 until June 30, 1994 $59 per night, per room.
\n$26 until Dec. 31, 1994 (Make sure to mention Katsucon when
\n$30 at the door. making your room reservations)<\/p>\n

_Exhibitors Tables_
\n$75 per table till the con date.
\n$100 at the Con.
\n(1st & 2nd tables incluude one membership each. 4 table limit)<\/p>\n

_Hoetl Information_
\nHoliday Inn Executive Center
\n5655 Greenwich Road
\nVirginia Beach, Virginia 23462
\n(804) 499-4400
\n1-800-HOLIDAY<\/p>\n

***NOTE*** The hotel cannot take reservations unitl one from the date of
\nKatsucon.<\/p>\n

The hotel is centrally located in the Tidewater area of Virginia which includes
\nNewport News, Norfolk, Hampton and Virginia Beach.<\/p>\n

From I-64 East, take Exit 264-B (Newtown Road) then the South Newtown Road
\nexit. At the light go straight onto Greenwich Road. The Hotel is located on
\nthe right. Free parking for registered hotel guests on the premises for cars
\nand busses. The hotels complementary shuttle handles arrivals and departures
\nfrom Norfolk International Airport.<\/p>\n

The Katsu Con staff invites everyone to come and join us for a weekend
\nof Ani-mania. to register and receive more information on Katsu Con Ichi,
\nfill out the questionaire below and mail it to:<\/p>\n

Katsu Productions
\nPO Box 11582
\nBlacksburg, Virginia 24062-1582<\/p>\n

Internet Mail: katsu-con@polaris.async.vt.edu<\/p>\n

BBS: SkyNET BBS (703) 552-3308 (operational Aug. 1993)<\/p>\n

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Katsu Productions
\n(No Cash PLEASE)
\n+——————————————————+
\n| Name:______________________________________________ |
\n| |
\n| Address:___________________________________________ |
\n| |
\n|City:______________State:_____Zip:__________Age:_____ |
\n| |
\n| 1. Are you a member of any Anime\/Manga clubs? |
\n| If Yes, which(please use full names)? |
\n| |
\n| 2. Are you a student? |
\n| |
\n| 3. Would you interested in volunteering at the Con? |
\n| If so, in what capacity? |
\n| |
\n| 4. Have you attended other Anime related conventions?|
\n| |
\n| 5. Given that God is infinite, and that the universe |
\n| is also infinite, would you like a toasted tea |
\n| cake? |
\n| |
\n+——————————————————+<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #158, from switch, 9940 chars, Mon Dec 27 17:10:56 1993
\n————————–
\nThe following are some animation-related excerpts from FineArt Forum #12,
\nan online magazine. At the end is information for subscribing to FAF, if
\nyou’re interested.<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________
\nFrom: Susanna Koskinen
\nSubject: Re: ISEA Online<\/p>\n

Beginning 1st January 1994 there will be an online discussion
\nforum for topics of ISEA’94 – The 5th International Symposium on
\nElectronic Art. It is a lively forum for discussion prior to the
\nartistic event in Helsinki, Finland in August. The online
\nconference can be reached from throughout the world, wherever
\nthere is an access to InterNet. It will contain all the information
\nabout ISEA’94, an ongoing discussion with a hypertext interface
\nand possibility to view audio and image information.<\/p>\n

ISEA ONLINE is based on the World Wide Web hypermedia service
\nwhich can be viewed with a program called Mosaic. It is available
\nfor Unix, Windows and Mac by anonymous ftp from:<\/p>\n

FTP.NCSA.UIUC.EDU<\/p>\n

You can use programs like FTP (or Fetch for Macintosh) to retrieve
\nthe files from NCSA.<\/p>\n

If none of these suits you, you can mail to<\/p>\n

isea-forum-request@uiah.fi<\/p>\n

for information about ISEA. That way you will receive the updates
\nregularly, and your name and address will be added to the
\nisea-forum discussion list.<\/p>\n

A mailserver may also come online later in case there’s need for
\nemail access to ISEA archives. If you haven’t contacted ISEA’94
\nbefore and would like to be updated, please request for information
\nat isea-info-request@uiah.fi.<\/p>\n

The Mosaic connection (or URL) for ISEA ONLINE is:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.uiah.fi\/isea<\/p>\n

These above addresses will start working on January 1st 1994<\/p>\n

Hope to see you soon in ISEA ONLINE!<\/p>\n

ISEA’94
\n5th International Symposium on Electronic Art
\nAugust 23-28,1994 – Helsinki<\/p>\n

Coordinator
\nMs. Susanna Koskinen
\nUIAH \/ Media Lab
\nHameentie 135 C
\nFIN – 00560 Helsinki
\nFinland
\ntel. +358-0-7563 601
\nfax +358-0-7563 602
\nE-mail: isea@uiah.fi<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________
\nFrom: “Roland Yeo”
\nSubject: IEEE TENCON ’94 – Call for Papers<\/p>\n

IEEE Region 10’s 9th Annual International Conference)
\n22 – 26 August 1994, SINGAPORE
\nSpecial Session On
\nCOMPUTER GRAPHICS & APPLICATIONS<\/p>\n

This one-day special session, organized by the Center for Graphics
\nand Imaging Technology, Nanyang Technological University, will
\nprovide a forum for the presentation and exchange of current work
\non all areas of computer graphics technology and its applications.<\/p>\n

Details
\nDr. Murali Damodaran
\nCenter for Graphics and Imaging Technology
\nNanyang Technological University
\nNanyang Avenue, SINGAPORE 2263
\nTel: (65)-799-5599, Fax: (65)-792-4117
\nE-mail: mmurali@ntu.ac.sg<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________
\nFrom: Mike Gigante
\nSubject: CG International ’94<\/p>\n

Insight Through Computer Graphics
\nRoyal Melbourne Institute of Technology
\nMelbourne, Australia, June 27 – July 1<\/p>\n

Details
\nCGI ’94 Secretariat
\nRMIT Advanced Computer Graphics Center
\nRoyal Melbourne Institute of Technology
\nGPO Box 2476V
\nMelbourne, Victoria, 3001
\nAustralia<\/p>\n

Tel: (+61 3) 282 2462 or (+61 3) 459 4752
\nFax: (+61 3) 282 2490
\nEmail: cgi94@godzilla.cgl.rmit.oz.au<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________
\nFrom: PRISMA.D@AppleLink.Apple.COM (PRISMA HgmbH,F.Biernat,DE,IVC)
\nSubject: world Media interactive – call for entries<\/p>\n

In January 1994,”worldmedia(c)”, the international art magazine
\nfor electronic media, will be published on interactive CD-ROM as
\npart of the digital world edition.<\/p>\n

Besides the actual electronic media-magazine world Media interactive
\nthere will be also the world media Art Gallery on the CD to present
\ninternational new media artists and their projects, animations,
\npictures and interactive documentation as independent applications.
\nThe concept and intention of the worldMedia Art Gallery is to build
\nup an independent platform for any kind of art work made with
\ncomputers.<\/p>\n

All artists and creative directors of new media are invited to
\nappear in the worldmedia Art gallery on CD. Anybody who may be
\ninterested in presenting his work or parts of it, documents, etc.
\nto a larger audience should send their work or should contact
\nthe “worldMedia interactive” in Berlin.
\ndeadline of advance notice: 22.12.93!!<\/p>\n

Details:
\nworldMedia interactive
\nRedaktion Berlin
\nGerichtstrasse 23, 5.H.
\n13 347 Berlin
\nFax: 030 \/ 465 14 80
\napplelink: DIGITALWORLD<\/p>\n

contact USA:
\nworldMediainteractive, USA
\nSeth J. Goldstein
\n131 Varick Street # 902
\nNew York, New York 10013
\nFax (212) 627 0129
\napplelink: IMAP
\nAppleLink: Paul.Kaiser<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________
\nFrom: “Roger F. Malina”
\nSubject: Molecular Graphics Art Show – Call for entries<\/p>\n

Original works with a molecular theme are invited in a broad
\nrange of formats – computer generated or hand drawn formats,
\n2 or 3D, film or video. Accepted Entries will be displayed
\nat the Molecular Graphics Art Show at the 1994 Meeting of the
\nMolecular Graphis Society and documented in a special issue of the
\nJournal of Molecular Graphics. Contact David Goodsell, Molecular
\nBiology Institute, Univ of Calif, Los Angeles, Ca 90024
\nFax 1-310-825-0982, email goodsell@uclaue.mbi.ucla.edu<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________
\nFrom: John Sappington
\nSubject: baseinfo<\/p>\n

bASE.ARTS is a digital resource and facility providing artists
\naccess to technology and alternative methods of exposure. Our
\nintentions are to further the relationship among contemporary
\nartists, new technologies and their audiences establishing a base
\nfor artistic collaboration.<\/p>\n

We accept submissions for work that is originally photography,
\nvideo, text or computer based.<\/p>\n

Currently we are working towards the production of a series of solo
\nexhibitions to be delivered on diskette. (cross platform). We accept
\nslides, video tape (vhs,super vhs, hi-8, 8) text or digital sketches
\n(mac or ibm compat). Please include; resume, SASE, support materials
\nwith your submission.<\/p>\n

bASE.ARTS
\nP.O.Box 78154
\nSan Francisco, CA. 94107
\nVoice 415-821-4989
\nFax 415-821-4119
\nbase@well.sf.ca.us
\nbase.arts@AppleLink.Apple.com
\n71742.2615@Compuserve.com<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________
\nFrom: gsingh@iss.nus.sg (Gurminder Singh)
\nSubject: CFP: VRST – Virtual Reality Software & Technology<\/p>\n

V R S T ‘ 9 4
\nAugust 23-26, 1994, Singapore<\/p>\n

C A L L F O R P A R T I C I P A T I O N
\nPapers, Panels and Tutorials due February 7, 1994
\nDemos due: February 28, 1994
\nThe Conference on Virtual Reality Software and Technology,
\npresents a high-quality forum for innovative virtual reality
\nresearch and development. Papers, panels, tutorials and
\ndemos are sought on a wide range of topics in virtual reality.<\/p>\n

Papers in hardcopy form must be received no later than
\nFebruary 7, 1994 by: <\/p>\n

Gurminder Singh
\nInstitute of Systems Science
\nNational University of Singapore
\nHeng Mui Keng Terrace
\nKent Ridge
\nSingapore 0511
\nREPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE<\/p>\n

gsingh@iss.nus.sg
\n+65 772-3651
\n+65 774-4998 (fax)<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________
\nHow to use FineArt_Online :<\/p>\n

at the InterNet prompt you type
\n ftp ra.msstate.edu
\nwhen is asks for your Name you type –
\n anonymous
\nthen it asks for your password and you type your Email address
\nnote that this may not echo on your screen. If you type it OK
\nthen you should see a banner than ends:
\n Guest login OK, access restrictions apply.<\/p>\n

You can use Unix commands like ls (list) or cd (change directory)
\nto navigate around. Remember that cd .. (cd followed by two
\nperiods) will take you back to the parent directory.<\/p>\n

First you need to get to FineArt_Online – you type:
\n cd pub\/archives\/fineart_online
\nYou can retrieve files by typing:
\n get
\nIf you get a message:
\n not a plain file
\n– it means you have probably asked for a directory. cd to that
\ndirectory then ls its contents and try again.<\/p>\n

FineArt_Online has three subdirectories: Current_Events;
\nBackissues and; Online_Directory. The current issue is usually
\nat this level also as FAFvnn where v=volume and nn=number (with
\na leading 0 if necessary). ie. FAF710 is v. 7 no. 10. This same
\nnaming convention is used for backissues.
\n_________________________________________________________________
\nExecutive Editor: Paul Brown \nAssociate Editor: Hudson Oliver
\nOnline Database Moderator: Reed Altemus <\/p>\n

ASTN President: Annick Bureaud
\nASTN 57 Rue Falguiere, Paris, France<\/p>\n

ASTN Advisory Board Chair: Roger Malina, Leonardo-ISAST<\/p>\n

Correspondents:
\n Canada – Jeff Mann
\n Italy – Francesco Giomi
\n Japan – Hiroshi Okuno
\n USA – Annie Lewis
\n – Susan Kirchman
\n ISEA – Wim van der Plas <\/p>\n

Mail:
\nPaul Brown, PO Box 1292, Mississippi State, MS 39762-1292, USA.
\nVoice 601 325 3053, fax 601 325 3850<\/p>\n

Support also provided by:
\nThe Inter-Society for the Electronic Arts
\nThe Visualization Lab. Texas A&M University.
\n_________________________________________________________________
\nSend requests for subscription to FineArt Forum to:<\/p>\n


\n or:
\nwith the message: SUB FINE-ART your Email address,
\n first-name, last-name, and postal address.<\/p>\n

Paper copies available for USD $65 per year subscription. Payment
\nis to ISAST, 672 South Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA.<\/p>\n

Send submissions of items to be published in FineArt Forum to
\npgb2@ra.msstate.edu
\n_________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #159, from elfhive, 2687 chars, Tue Jan 25 00:43:16 1994
\n————————–
\nTITLE: LIST OF JAPANESE ANIMATION RELEASED IN US<\/p>\n

as of April 1994 announcements<\/p>\n

STREAMLINE PICTURES<\/p>\n

Films<\/p>\n

Akira
\nFist of the North Star
\nVampire Hunter D
\nCastle of Cagliostro
\nTwilight of the Cockroaches
\nLensman
\nWindaria
\nRobot Carnival
\nThe Professional
\nSilent Mobius\/Neo Tokyo
\nWicked City<\/p>\n

OAV<\/p>\n

Dirty Pair “Affair on Nolandia”
\nZillion “Burning Night”
\nRobotech II: “The Sentinels”<\/p>\n

Mini-Series<\/p>\n

Robotech: Macross
\nRobotech: Southern Cross
\nRobotech: Mospeada
\n3×3 Eyes
\nDoomed Megalopolis
\nCrying Freeman<\/p>\n

TV Series<\/p>\n

Nadia
\nZillion
\nTales of the Wolf
\nSpeed Racer (3 parts)<\/p>\n

ANIMEIGO<\/p>\n

Films<\/p>\n

Kimagure Orange Road Movie
\nUrusei Yatsura #1 “Only You”
\nUrusei Yatsura #2 “Beautiful Dreamer”
\nUrusei Yatsura #3 “Remember My Love”
\nUrusei Yatsura #4 “Lum …”
\nUrusei Yatsura #5 “Final …”
\nUrusei Yatsura #6 “Always …”
\nArcadia of my Youth<\/p>\n

OAV<\/p>\n

Madox-01
\nRiding Bean
\nUrusei Yatsura (6 parts so far)
\nGenesis Survivor Gaiarth: (3 parts so far)
\nOtako No Video (2 parts)
\nTen Little Gall Force\/Scramble Wars
\nThe Dagger of Kamui
\nShonan Bakusozuku
\nOh! My Goddess (3 parts so far)<\/p>\n

Mini-Series<\/p>\n

Bubblegum Crisis (8 parts)
\nBubblegum Crash (3 parts)
\nVampire Princess Miyu (4 parts)
\nAD Police Files (3 parts)
\nKimagure Orange Road (4 parts)<\/p>\n

TV Series<\/p>\n

Urusei Yatsura (14 so far)<\/p>\n

US RENDITIONS\\L.A. HERO<\/p>\n

Film<\/p>\n

Appleseed
\nBlack Magic M-66<\/p>\n

OAV<\/p>\n

Kabuto<\/p>\n

Mini Series<\/p>\n

Gunbuster (6 parts)
\nDangaio (3 parts)
\nIczer One (3 parts)
\nMacross II (4 parts)
\nThe Guyver (10 parts)
\nOrguss (17 parts)
\nGiant Robo (1 part)
\nDevilman (2 parts)<\/p>\n

US MANGA CORPS<\/p>\n

Film<\/p>\n

Project A-ko
\nProject A-ko 2: Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group
\nProject A-ko 3: Cinderella Rhapsody
\nProject A-ko 4: Final
\nCrystal Triangle
\nGall Force: Eternal Story
\nGall Force 2: Destruction
\nVenus Wars
\nThey Were 11
\nOdin: Photon Space Sailor Starlight
\nHarmagedon
\nUrotsukidoji I: Legend of the Overfiend
\nUrotsukidoji II: Legend of the Demon Womb
\nDemon City Shinjuku<\/p>\n

OAV<\/p>\n

MD Geist
\nThe Humanoid
\nDog Soldier
\nExplorer Woman Ray (2 parts)
\nWanna Be’s
\nRoots Search
\nRumik World: Fire Tripper
\nRumik World: Mermaid Forest
\nRumik World: Laughing Target
\nRumik World: Maris the Chojo
\nArea 88 (3 parts)
\nThe Ultimate Teacher
\nThe Guyver – Out of Control
\nOutlanders
\nRG Veda (2 parts)
\nHeroic Legend of Arislan (2 parts)
\nBurn Up!
\nU-Jin Brand
\nGenocyber: Birth of Genocyber
\nHades Project Zeorymer (2 parts)<\/p>\n

Mini-Series<\/p>\n

Dominion Tank Police (4 parts)<\/p>\n

A.D. VISION<\/p>\n

OAV<\/p>\n

Devil Hunter Yohko
\nSol Bianca
\nThe Girl from Phantasia<\/p>\n

VIZ VIDEO<\/p>\n

Film<\/p>\n

Ranma 1\/2: Big Trouble in Nekronron China<\/p>\n

TV Series<\/p>\n

Ranma 1\/2 (8 parts)<\/p>\n

OVA<\/p>\n

Ranma 1\/2: Desperately Seeking Shampoo
\nMermaid’s Scar<\/p>\n

PIONEER<\/p>\n

Tenchi Muyo (1 part)<\/p>\n

OTHER<\/p>\n

Astroboy (24 parts)
\nTobor the 8th Man
\nBolar Wars (Starblazers)<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #160, from hmccracken, 5169 chars, Thu Mar 31 21:48:03 1994
\n————————–
\nTITLE: A review
\nThe Music of Disney: A Legacy in Song
\n(Walt Disney Records)<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Harry McCracken<\/p>\n

Suppose for a moment that you’ve been given the job of assembling
\na three-CD tribute to Disney music. The goal is unquestionably
\nlaudable, but what’s the best way to accomplish it? Do you fill
\nthe discs with what you consider to be the finest music ever
\nassociated with the Disney name — even if most of it appeared in
\na small cluster of relatively early animation films? Or is it more
\nimportant to try to cover everything, from Steamboat Willie up until
\nyesterday’s episode of Bonkers? Another dilemma: is it crucial that
\nevery famous Disney song be included, or would it be more productive
\nto include lots of worthwhile music that’s not so well known, the
\nbetter that listeners can discover gems they haven’t heard before?<\/p>\n

Your answers to these tough questions are probably different than
\nmine, and it’s likely that neither of us would address these issues
\nin exactly the same way that the producers of The Music of Disney:
\nA Legacy in Song did. Anyone interested enough in Disney to buy the
\nset (or receive it as a present, as I did) will enjoy at least some
\nof the seventy-eight tracks it includes. But after having soaked it
\nall in, I’m not sure if I’m more or less convinced that Disney music
\n— taken as a whole — is something deserving of such a lavish,
\nexpensive tribute.<\/p>\n

Part of the problem lies in the discs’ organization. Disc one covers
\nDisney theatrical animation from Steamboat Willie (1928) through The
\nSword in the Stone (1963). Disc two picks up with Mary Poppins (1964)
\nand continues through Beauty and the Beast (1991). The final disc
\nthen goes back and covers a hodgepodge of different areas: live-action
\ntheatrical films, TV animation, theme-park music, and more.<\/p>\n

In other words, the first thirty-five years of Disney theatrical cartoon
\nmusic are crammed onto one-third of the available space. Indeed, by the
\ntime the first five tracks of the first disc are over, we’ve heard all
\nwe’re going to hear of the first decade of Disney music.<\/p>\n

For me, this is a huge disappointment; to my ears, the first twelve years
\nor so of Disney theatrical animation include the vast majority of the
\nstudio’s greatest music — say, 75% or so. And much of that 75% came in
\nthe wonderful scores of the Silly Symphony shorts, of which we get exactly
\none selection in this set: the oft-heard music from The Three Little Pigs.<\/p>\n

Especially on the first disc, a lot of my quibbles are highly personal
\nones. I would have gladly done with only one of Bambi’s bland songs rather
\nthan two, in order to squeeze in more of Dumbo’s marvelous songs. Bambi
\nfanatics would likely feel otherwise. Similarly, I’d have chosen “Minnie’s
\nYoo Hoo,” Mickey’s early theme song, instead of the music from Steamboat
\nWillie. Heck, I’d have included both.<\/p>\n

By the time we get to the start of Disc two, The Music of Disney has
\nalready begun to turn into The Music of Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman,
\na situation that continues for the rest of the set, except for a brief
\nrespite when it covers the theatrical cartoons of the late 1970s onward.
\nFans of the Bros. Sherman may be pleased, but I began to overdose after
\nthree or four songs. <\/p>\n

There’s no doubt that any overview of Disney music is going to include a
\nlot of the Shermans’ work, and some of it stands up well, like the Mary
\nPoppins and Jungle Book songs. But do we have to hear Annette Funnicello
\nsinging not one but two Sherman-written themes from live-action films
\n(The Parent Trap and The Money’s Uncle)? And Maurice Chevalier and Hayley
\nMills harmonizing on a song from In Search of the Castaways? And two
\nsongs from The Aristocats? Rather than being a selection of their best
\ncompositions, this provides compelling evidence that the brothers cranked
\nout many very superficial tunes and began to repeat themselves very early on. <\/p>\n

Besides the Sherman stuff, Disc three covers many other bases, like the
\nDuckTales and TaleSpin themes, music from The Mickey Mouse Club (of which
\nI’d like to have heard more), and theme-park material ranging from the
\nwell-known Pirates of the Caribbean theme to obscure Epcot music. I can’t
\nimagine that the compilers of the set, or anyone else, feels that most of
\nthis is excellent music; its appeal will be based almost entirely on
\nwhether or not it stirs up any nostalgic feelings for any
\nparticular listener.<\/p>\n

Because the third disc is devoted to such odds and ends, the music from
\nrecent Disney animated features — the Ashman\/Menken scores for The
\nLittle Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast — is on disc two, where it’s easy
\nto gloss over. (The set was apparently produced before Aladdin’s release.)
\nThat’s too bad; these pieces (and the hummable and witty “Perfect Isn’t
\nEasy,” from Oliver & Company) are the best Disney music in many decades,
\nand the set would make a much stronger overall impression if they were the
\nfinal cuts.<\/p>\n

The Music of Disney also includes a slick and reasonably informative
\nsixty-page booklet, with terrific illustrations. Despite the complaints I
\nhave about the set — the biggest by far being the lack of Silly Symphony
\nscores — I’m glad I have it.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #161, from hmccracken, 210 chars, Tue Sep 27 16:55:32 1994
\n————————–
\nTITLE: The next message…
\nis the text of a column I’ve written for an upcoming issue of _Animato_
\nmagazine. My “Curiosity Shop” column is on obscure, offbeat animation
\nthat’s generally not available on video.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #162, from hmccracken, 7258 chars, Tue Sep 27 17:03:32 1994
\n————————–
\nCURIOSITY SHOP
\nColumn #2<\/p>\n

THE LOST BOY: REDISCOVERING SCRAPPY<\/p>\n

By Harry McCracken<\/p>\n

In 1980, Leonard Maltin called the Van Beuren Studio the least-known of
\nthe animation studios of the 1930s — but today that dubious honor more
\nrightly belongs to the Columbia studio. After all, in the years since Maltins
\ncomment, the Van Beuren films have gone from near-total obscurity to being
\navailable nearly everywhere for a few dollars, thanks to the pervasive public-
\ndomain cartoon tapes that also feature formerly-forgotten cartoons from
\nFleischer, Famous Studios, and other companies.<\/p>\n

You wont find Columbia cartoons on those $2.98 tapes — or almost
\nanywhere else, for that matter. The studio has apparently diligently renewed
\nthe copyrights on its animated films, preventing them from lapsing into the
\npublic domain. But aside from one botched tape of recolored Lil Abner
\ncartoons, the Columbia library has received no exposure on videotape or
\nmodern-era television.<\/p>\n

That makes Scrappy, the small boy who appeared in more than 75 Columbia
\nanimated shorts from 1931 through 1941, one of the most forgotten major
\ncartoon characters of the 1930s, along with his fellow Columbia star Krazy
\nKat. Produced by Charles Mintz in California, the Scrappy cartoons are
\namusing, offbeat, and thoroughly worthy of rediscovery.<\/p>\n

Dick Huemer, who was responsible for the early Scrappy cartoons along with
\nSid Marcus and Art Davis, has described the informal process by which
\nthese films were produced: each of the three artists would be completely
\nresponsible for one-third of the cartoon, devising gags and animating with
\nwithout consulting much with the other two. Scrappy was a little kid with an
\noversized head, but otherwise never seemed to look — or sound — quite the
\nsame from scene to scene or cartoon to cartoon.<\/p>\n

The disorganized approach extended to the cartoons cast of characters. The
\nprimary supporting player was a smaller boy, apparently Scrappys younger
\nbrother; Maltins Of Mice and Magic says he was known alternately as
\nOopie or Vonsey, but in the only cartoon Ive seen in which he was identified
\non-screen, it was as Poopsie. Scrappy had a dog — a terrier named Yippy —
\nbut in some cartoons he unaccountably owns a different canine companion.
\nThe cast was rounded out by Margie, a little girl whose appears in relatively
\nfew shorts.<\/p>\n

Scrappy was superficially one of the legion of Mickey Mouse knockoffs that
\npopulated animation in the 1930s, but hes a much more original character
\nthan Warners Bosko or Columbias own Krazy Kat (who owed far more to
\nDisney than Herriman). Unlike the incessantly cheery Mickey wannabees,
\nScrappy is an often sour-tempered fellow with a short fuse. Nominally a little
\nboy, he also appears in such adult occupations as pet store owner, South Pole
\nexplorer, or Royal Canadian Mountie as each cartoon requires.<\/p>\n

He regards Oopie — a much more likable character than his older brother —
\nas a major annoyance, telling him to shut up and\/or spanking him in
\ncountless scenes. (He even slaps him around in Scrappys Boy Scouts
\n(1936), an otherwise wholesome film apparently produced in conjunction
\nwith the Boy Scouts of America.) In Techno-Racket (1933), Scrappy is a
\nfarmer who fires Oopie and all the animals on his farm from their jobs with
\ngreat relish, in order to replace them with robots!<\/p>\n

Its unfair to Scrappy to single him out for his unsympathetic behavior,
\nthough. In his world, almost everyone seems to take a certain glee in wanton
\nviolence, including animals. In The Pet Shop (1932), for instance, some
\nmonkeys string up Oopie from the ceiling with a length of rope, so that two
\nfish may play tic-tac-toe on his scalp. The winner of each game gets to
\nwhack Oopie on the backside with a two-by-four. <\/p>\n

Almost without exception, adults in Scrappy cartoons are lazy, untrustworthy
\ntypes, like the jury members in The Dog Snatcher (1931) who wake up long
\nenough to railroad Yippy into the dog pound, then fall asleep again. (That
\ncartoons most memorable moment, however comes when Scrappy rescues
\nhis pal by yanking the skin off of a guard dog and donning it as a disguise!)<\/p>\n

The apotheosis of the Scrappy style has to be The Flop House (1932), in
\nwhich our enterprising hero runs a thriving business by providing 25-cent
\ntemporary bedding for down-on-their-luck dogs, goats, and kangaroos, not to
\nmention his own kid brother. As usual, several gags involve senseless
\ndestruction: When Oopie gargles before going to bed, he casually smashes a
\nwindow merely so he can spit his used mouthwash through it. The climactic
\nchase scene comes when Oopie discovers his bed is full of bedbugs (whom
\nare lovingly and repulsively animated), which leads to a riot in which the
\nvagrant animals storm out of the flop house.<\/p>\n

Seen today, the Scrappy cartoons can be a lot of fun, but as Maltin points out
\nin Of Mice and Magic, the structure most of these shorts is so hap-hazard
\nthat they dont make a lasting impression. In many cases, its ambitious
\nartwork rather than gags that stick in the mind: Sassy Cats (1933) opens
\nwith a striking sequence — in which a cat carouses over a series of fences —
\nthat uses three-dimensional, moving backgrounds, a rarity in animation until
\nDisney began accomplishing similar effects with computers in the 1980s.
\nEven more memorably, Scrappys Art Gallery (1934) has a nifty scene in
\nwhich Oopie frolics through slickly animated versions of famous paintings.<\/p>\n

Like most of the significant cartoon stars of the early and mid-1930s,
\nScrappy really wasnt destined to outlive the decade. By 1936, Columbias
\ncartoons began to take on more and more of a Warner Bros.-like screwball
\nflavor, a style of humor that Scrappy was ill-suited to tackle. He became a
\nmore placid, somewhat more realistic little boy, and the cartoons lost their
\nweird charm and slightly unnerving edge. <\/p>\n

Like Porky Pig, who went through an similar evolution, Scrappy began
\nhosting spot-gag cartoons, such as Scrappys News Flashes (1937).
\nEventually, in films including A Worms Eye View and The Millionaire
\nHobo (both 1939), he became a minor character in his own cartoons. (The
\ntitle character in the latter film is a vagabond entertainingly voiced by Mel
\nBlanc, who contributed to the soundtracks of many Columbia shorts of the
\nperiod; Scrappy has a bit part as a messenger boy.)<\/p>\n

A few months after Scrappy made his final appearance in The Little Theatre
\n(1941), Frank Tashlin came to Columbia and made The Fox and the Grapes,
\nan excellent, Warner-style cartoon that introduced the Fox and the Crow, the
\nstudios major characters of the 1940s. Unfortunately, the Fox and the Crow
\nhave faded as completely from public view as Scrappy has. Theyd be a
\nperfect subject for a future Curiosity Shop column — except Ive only seen a
\nhandful of them myself.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

When not writing about obscure cartoons in Curiosity Shop, former Animato
\neditor Harry McCracken covers computers and multimedia for magazines
\nincluding PC World, Multimedia World, and Digital Video. Know of a
\nforgotten masterpiece he should be aware of? Write him c\/o Animato.
\nSpecial thanks to Kip Williams for research assistance with this installment.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #163, from hmccracken, 119 chars, Tue Sep 27 17:04:12 1994
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: I’m not sure why…
\nbut all the apostrophes disappeared from the text in the previous
\nmessage. Sorry!
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #164, from peabo, 143 chars, Tue Sep 27 17:17:57 1994
\nThis is a comment to message 163.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\nThere are additional comments to message 163.
\n————————–
\nWere you using typographical apostrophes? Those would have the high bit set
\nand might disappear (or not) depending on how you connect.<\/p>\n

peter<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #165, from hmccracken, 46 chars, Thu Sep 29 23:33:02 1994
\nThis is a comment to message 164.
\n————————–
\nThat’s probably my problem. Thanks!
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #166, from dgh, 150 chars, Mon Oct 3 02:21:43 1994
\nThis is a comment to message 163.
\n————————–
\nThey showed up as AE dipthongs (yes, that’s really a word) on my OS\/2 PC,
\nwhich means the decimal value of the character was 146.
\n\t ,
\n |) \/\\ \\\/ | +)<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #167, from switch, 1233 chars, Fri Oct 7 23:44:45 1994
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Introduction
\nIn early 1988, I first heard about the Ottawa International
\nAnimation Festival. For a little over $120, you could spend a
\nweek watching independent and commercial animation from around
\nthe world; fans, animators, and production people from various
\ncompanies mingled in a more or less informal setting, mostly
\nrevolving around the National Arts Centre (NAC). And there were
\nall kinds of parties. It was sort of a mix of a film festival, a
\ntrade show, and a fan convention — and it was only two hours
\naway from home. I had to go.<\/p>\n

Of course, I missed it entirely that year. I caught small
\namounts of the next two festivals in ’90 and ’92, but I was
\ndetermined to somehow catch an entire festival, preferably before
\nthe century ended.<\/p>\n

This year, I succeeded. The Ottawa ’94 festival ran from
\nWednesday, September 28 to Sunday, October 2, and I managed to
\nstay for almost the whole thing. And, being the appallingly
\nverbose person I am, I’ve decided to tell you all about it.<\/p>\n

What follows will be more or less a play-by-play of what went on
\nfrom my point of view. Aside from certain highlighting points, I
\nwon’t be doing one of my usual lists and mini-reviews of the
\nfilms I saw; that’ll come later.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #168, from switch, 4818 chars, Fri Oct 7 23:45:08 1994
\n————————–
\nNormally, the festival names an honorary president. This year
\nthey didn’t, instead dedicating Ottawa ’94 to the late Mike
\nGribble, of Spike and Mike.<\/p>\n

D A Y O N E<\/p>\n

Wednesday started late, as companies set up their displays and
\npeople came in to pick up their passes. At 6:30 the place was
\ncrowded with people. Disney Feature Animation and SoftImage had
\ntheir booths already set up.<\/p>\n

Well, maybe calling Disney’s display a “booth” is a bit of a
\nmisnomer. Their setup was bigger than the rest and had its own
\nseparate area. They had images from _The Lion King_ which I
\nmostly skipped over; I was more interested in the pre-production
\nartwork from their projects in various stages of development.
\nFrom the Florida and California studios, there was _Fantasia
\nContinued_, _Pocahontas_, _Hunchback of Notre Dame_, and _Legend
\nof Fa Mulan_. The _Fantasia Continued_ display contained
\nbeautiful color images of glaciers, and whales both underwater
\nand flying through the clouds. _Legend of Fa Mulan_ is based on
\na Chinese folk tale, and the concept sketches looked delicious.
\nThe representative I spoke with said that they’re trying to make
\n_Fa Mulan_ the first Disney feature completely done at the
\nFlorida studio. He confirmed that they’re still aiming for one
\nfeature a year, but they’re willing to occasionally let that
\nslide if a movie needs more work.<\/p>\n

A video monitor ran line tests of _The Goofy Movie_ all through
\nthe festival; I think they said that was being animated at the
\nParis studio.<\/p>\n

The rest of the booth had work and promotional shots from
\n_Frankenstein_, _The Spookiest Town on Earth_, _Tarzan_, _Weird
\nHenry Berg_, and _Wolves_. _Wolves_ is mostly set in a medieval
\nforest; a royal hunting dig gets lost, and after severe exposure
\nand starvation, is saved and cared for by wolves. Living among
\nthem, he realizes that these wolves are also caring creatures
\nwith families, and he falls in love with one of them. Of course,
\nhe eventually has to go back. _Weird Henry Berg_ is about a
\nnerdy, unpopular kid who is overshadowed by his popular older
\nbrother — until a baby dragon is dropped into his lap.<\/p>\n

This stuff is apparently slated for the Canadian studio. Yes,
\nCanadian studio. They’re still figuring out where it’s going to
\nbe, but there’s a reasonable chance it’ll be in Vancouver.
\nTalking to Linda Hume, I got the impression that the Canadian
\nstudio will be where they would work on some of the more
\n“experimental” films. Films without songs, films with slighly
\nnon-Disneyesque plots. Some, she said, might be released under
\nTouchstone.<\/p>\n

SoftImage was showing their CreativeToonz software, but I didn’t
\nsee that right away as I ran into friends from my first year in
\nanimation at Concordia. I also bumped into Chris Hinton and
\nWendy Tilby (their films, _Blackfly_ and _Strings_ respectively,
\nwere nominated for Academy Awards two years ago). Then at 7:00
\nwe all filed in for the first Competition screenings.<\/p>\n

An explanation is in order: a godawful number of short films are
\nsubmitted to the festival (this year, about 850), and about a
\nhundred of them are selected by a selection committee of four
\npeople from within the animation industry. These were split up
\namong six Competition Programme screenings, and were up for
\nvarious awards and prizes. During these screenings, if the
\ndirector is present in the audience, they are announced and
\nspotlighted.<\/p>\n

After the screening, I ran into Jerry Beck (co-author of _Looney
\nTunes and Merrie Melodies_, co-founder of Streamline Pictures,
\nand other stuff too numerous to list), and I reintroduced myself
\n(I’d only met him in person once before; we’ve interacted many
\ntimes in the past, but usually via phone or modem, and for
\nseveral different things like my magazine or a BIX animation
\nconference live chat). He jokingly handed me a card, which I
\ndidn’t really look at as I filed it away; when I looked at it a
\nlittle later, I discovered that he’s now VP of feature animation
\nat Nickelodeon.<\/p>\n

Then it was off to the Blue Cactus for the opening party. This
\nwas thrown by Cinar Animation, who are based in Montreal.
\nSeveral friends who work at Cinar were there, and it was good to
\nsee them again. Free food and drink abounded, and everyone
\nmingled. I got to chat with Abby Terkuhle (VP of Creative and
\nOn-Air Promotions at MTV, and executive producer of _Liquid
\nTelevision_) again; he said that _LTV_ itself is in limbo, but
\nMTV is producing more animated work.<\/p>\n

I talked to some more friends, then chatted briefly with Gabor
\nCsupo (of Klasky-Csupo) and Linda Simensky, Director of Animation
\nfor Nickelodeon (she was also part of the aforementioned selection
\ncommittee.)<\/p>\n

I saw Paul Driessen (_The Killing of an Egg_) from a distance,
\nbut didn’t get a chance to talk to him throughout the festival.
\nDrat.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #169, from switch, 3384 chars, Sun Oct 9 01:23:32 1994
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Ottawa ’94 – Day 2<\/p>\n

D A Y T W O<\/p>\n

My day started off with an African animation retrospective at the
\nNAC (all the retrospectives were screened at the NAC.) Bruno
\nEdera, the person who organized the retrospective, gave a short
\nintroduction in halting English and fluent French, where he said
\nthat this wasn’t so much a retrospective as a glimpse of the body
\nof work coming from Africa, or Africans abroad. After the
\nscreenings, booklets were available that contained more detailed
\ninformation about African animation schools, directors, and
\nfilms.<\/p>\n

Then it was off to a panel on woman animators. The first half
\nhour was mostly talking about life as an independent animator in
\ngeneral — little if any gender issues. I stepped out to drop
\noff some _fps_ fliers and talk to a few people, then came back in
\ntowards the end (which, according to my friend who stayed, is
\njust when it got interesting.)<\/p>\n

A bit later, it was off to an Art Mode gallery to see a
\ndisplay of work from woman animators from around the world.
\nThere was work from Joyce Borenstein, Faith Hubley, Karen Aqua,
\nCandy Kugel, Lynn Smith, and many more. A wide and interesting
\nvariety of styles, and some of it was for sale. I couldn’t
\nafford anything except the free wine and hors d’oeuvres.<\/p>\n

After dinner, it was off to the NAC. More booths had been set
\nup, and I talked to several people while waiting for the second
\ncompetition screening.<\/p>\n

Over at the Amblimation booth: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s _Cats_
\nshould be due in early ’95, about the same time as they start
\nproduction on _Bolto_. _Bolto_ is a feature based on a true
\nstory about some crisis in 1950’s Nome, when the only way to get
\nhelp or supplies was by dog sled — only the movie is from the
\nperspective of the dogs. Hey, get this — _Bolto_ will have =no
\nsongs=. Ron Rocha, the person I spoke to, didn’t figure they’ll
\nbe doing many musicals. Feeling bold, I asked about animated
\nfeatures in other genres, and he said that Spielberg is
\ninterested in doing an animated action movie.<\/p>\n

SoftImage’s Creative Toonz 2-D animation software is being used
\nby Amblimation for their features. Or rather, Creative Toonz is
\nthe base, and they’ll be modifying it for their needs. Toonz is
\nalso being used for the production of _Asterix in America_,
\ncurrently being produced in Germany, due for North American
\nrelease early next year.<\/p>\n

Then it was off to the screening. Highlight: probably due to
\nthe various changes in formats and projectors during each
\nscreening, there were frequent — but minor — boo-boos with
\nseveral films. During the first attempted screening of _The
\nDangwoods_, the video had no accompanying sound, but the people
\nin the booth didn’t realize it. The audience spontaneously
\nstarted filling in the sound effects, screaming, crowing, and
\nmaking tooth-brushing noises where appropriate. We all had a
\ngreat time.<\/p>\n

After the screening was Chez Ani, Late Night. Every festival has
\none or two rooms set aside, designated for “Chez Ani” — a place
\nwhere people can get together to give presentations, hold panels,
\nhave meetings, eat, drink, leave leaflets, advertise for work,
\netc., in an informal setting. When Chez Ani isn’t being used for
\na planned event, people can use it to show their latest work.
\nThe Late Night Chez Ani had free snacks and cheap drinks, and
\njust allowed people to mingle.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #170, from switch, 2644 chars, Sun Oct 9 16:16:49 1994
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Ottawa ’94 – Day 3
\n D A Y T H R E E<\/p>\n

The first thing we caught was the Australian animation
\nretrospective in the morning. Then we scurried off to Warner
\nFeature Animation’s Animator’s Picnic. This was sort of a large
\nscale, outdoor Chez Ani. Double-decker buses carted us to the
\npicnic site, a lovely expanse of green on the river. There, a
\ntent awaited us with plenty of tables and delicious food and
\ndrink. There was also a pumpkin-carving thingie (missed that),
\nand a bonfire for those who wanted to ward off the light chill or
\njust melt marshmallows.<\/p>\n

This lasted for four hours, and people mingled, ate, threw
\nfrisbees, hula-hooped, arranged to show portfolios, and took
\nphotographs all over the place. I got to talk to Linda Simensky
\nand Gabor Csupo for a bit longer, as well as some folks from MTV,
\nPacific Data Images, Universal Cartoon Studios, and ILM. Marv
\nNewland was there, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.
\nDouble drat. Aside: International Rocketship’s Hallowe’en
\nspecial based on Gary Larson’s _The Far Side_ has been completed;
\nKlasky-Csupo is looking at doing feature projects (it seems
\neveryone is; this could an interesting couple of years.)<\/p>\n

Linda, Gabor, Janna from PDI plus a few other people and myself
\ncaught the last double-decker back, which was fun. After we
\nreturned to the NAC, we scattered all over the place; I grabbed
\nforty winks, and then returned to the NAC for a retrospective of
\nCinemascope Classics. This was hosted by Jerry Beck, who gave a
\nshort explanation of Hollywood’s push for Cinemascope as a draw
\nagainst TV, and pointed out things to watch for. It was great
\nseeing _Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom_ again, especially with
\nsuch a nice clean print.<\/p>\n

Oh, yes — Ellen Cockrill, Director of Development for
\nHanna-Barbera, also gave a short introduction. I managed to
\ncatch her after the screening (wasn’t hard — I found out to my
\nsurprise that she was sitting right behind me) and asked her why
\n_Super Secret Secret Squirrel_, my favourite new Hanna-Barbera
\nshow, didn’t return this season. She said it was one of those
\ndecisions based on the letters they got in from viewers — people
\nliked the show and everything, but it was generally agreed that
\nit didn’t fit with _2 Stupid Dogs_. So the people who make such
\ndecisions axed it. (Now, =I= would think that would be an
\nindicator to make more _Secret Squirrel_ episodes. But I must be
\nweird.)<\/p>\n

Shortly after was the third competition screening, where they
\nfinally showed _The Dangwoods_, which garnered thunderous
\napplause because the sound worked. Then everyone repaired to
\nChez Ani.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #171, from hmccracken, 56 chars, Sun Oct 9 16:29:09 1994
\nThis is a comment to message 170.
\nThere is\/are comment(s) on this message.
\n————————–
\nWhat’s Universal Cartoon Studios up to, Emru?
\n — Harry<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #172, from switch, 293 chars, Mon Oct 10 12:07:12 1994
\nThis is a comment to message 171.
\n————————–
\nCouldn’t say. There were several people with UCS jackets, and the two I
\nfinally caught up with were two animators who had just finished working on
\n_Monster Force_. They told me a bit about the show, and their plans to
\nstart a small independent studio; but it seems by notes were lost.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #173, from switch, 2082 chars, Fri Oct 21 21:58:26 1994
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Ottawa – Day 4
\n D A Y F O U R<\/p>\n

Saturday morning was the fourth competition programme, and one of
\nthe most packed. More people brought kids than usual, so we got
\nto hear some great editorial gurgles when strange things happened
\non the big screen.<\/p>\n

From noon to 1:15 was SoftImage’s demonstration of CreativeToonz,
\ntheir answer to Disney\/Pixar’s CAPS. Designed to run on any SGI
\nplatform, it’s designed to be intuitive enough that animators
\nwith minimal computer experience can get a lot of work done with
\nit.<\/p>\n

After missing the Ernest Pintoff retrospective and catching the
\nnext competition screening, we scurried over to the Capitol Hills
\nfor Hanna-Barbera’s Open House. The first thing we noticed was
\nthe free Pez; I got a Dino. Next, right in front of the table of
\nfree tea, coffee, and snacks, was Ellen Cockrill and another
\nHanna-Barbera staffer with a large-screen TV showing some clips
\nfrom the Hanna-Barbera Shorts project: a collection of 48
\ndirector-driven shorts created by new and veteran directors,
\nincluding John Kricfalusi, Ralph Bakshi, and Joe Barbera. Most
\nof the stuff by these guys elicited little in the way of reaction
\nfrom the audience… but then came _The Power Puff Girls_, by
\nsomeone whose name escapes me. In Hollywoodspeak, this is _Astro
\nBoy_ meets _Charlie’s Angels_ as grade school kids. Someone
\nknew and loved Tezuka’s style enough to amiably poke fun at him.
\nBrilliant work.<\/p>\n

The next Special Programme focused on computer animation,
\nfeaturing people from SoftImage, ILM, Pacific Data Images and a
\nproduction studio whose name also escapes me. Mostly, they spent
\nninety minutes demystifying different kinds of computer
\nanimation. The most interesting, to me, was 24-year-old Kyle
\nBalda showing some of the work he did on _The Mask_ bit by bit
\n(ahem), illustrating the work involved in effects that whiz by
\nfaster than you can blink.<\/p>\n

After another competition screening, we hurried to the Upstairs
\nClub, where MTV and Funbag studios threw a very loud and very
\nfunky party. My ears are still ringing.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #174, from switch, 3270 chars, Sat Jan 28 23:15:28 1995
\n————————–
\nTITLE: Tic Tac Toon
\nA little over a month ago (December 15, to be exact), I and about
\nsixty other members of ASIFA-Canada were invited to a demonstration
\nof a new computer-based animation production system, name Tic Tac
\nToon. I was planning to write a review of the system shortly after,
\nbut work and _fps_ have kept me so busy I’m just getting to it now.<\/p>\n

Tic Tac Toon currently runs on the DEC Alpha platform, though there
\nare plans to port it to SGI and Windows NT. The major distinction
\nbetween it and SoftImage’s Creative Toonz, Pixar\/Disney’s CAPS, or
\nCambridge’s Animo is that it’s based on vectors as opposed to
\nbitmaps. The folks there kept harping on that fact, which drove me a
\nbit crazy.<\/p>\n

Using vectors is a good thing: programmed properly, they can
\npreserve the animator’s line fairly well; images can be expanded or
\nreduced at will without scaling artifacts; images take up far less
\nmemory and disk space; certain functions are sped up. But there’s
\none big drawback, at least to the ASIFA-Canada crowd: the use of
\nvectors limits you to cel-style animation, period. Aside from clever
\nuse of gradients, that eliminates any kind of painterly effects,
\nphoto manipulation, and any form of interaction with original film or
\nvideo images, outside of straight matte effects.<\/p>\n

Aside from this feature\/flaw, Tic Tac Toon seems to be a fairly well
\nthought out animation production system for the lone animator or the
\nproduction studio, though the $50,000 to $60,000 pricetag per
\nworkstation\/software setup might turn off most lone animators.<\/p>\n

Tic Tac Toon can be used for as much or as little of the animation
\nprocess as you like, from pre-production (storyboards) straight
\nthrough to post-production (well, that’s not entirely true — the
\ncross-dissolve and fading functions are still in the planning stages,
\nand it was never made clear just how advanced the sound sync
\nfunctions were).<\/p>\n

Like Creative Toonz, Tic Tac Toon is built for networking; the
\ndirector can restrict certain aspects of a production to certain
\nusers, making sure the colourist doesn’t start messing around with
\nmultiplane effects, and so on.<\/p>\n

Some cool functions:<\/p>\n

* The program has about a dozen mouth positions preprogrammed into
\nit, and it can extrapolate mouth movements from a soundtrack to
\ncreate guides for lip sync. This also automatically makes an index
\nfor the exposure sheets. A very nice time-saver, and the mouth
\nposition index can be customized.<\/p>\n

* Animated objects can be attached to the camera, or vice versa, for
\nnear first-person effects.<\/p>\n

* Lines do not need to be closed for colouring; reference vectors
\nclose the gaps. This frees up considerable time and gives a bit more
\nflexibility in colouring and aesthetic styles.<\/p>\n

* The program multitasks quite well; you can set it to, say, colour
\nin someone’s hat red for 200 frames, and while it does that, you can
\nbe working on something else. There’s less chance for error than on
\na bitmap-based system, since it defines fill areas by the vectors
\nthemselves.<\/p>\n

At the time we saw the demonstration, the reps said that Tic Tac Toon
\nwas being tested in the States, and had been used in the creation of
\nthe opening for _Highlander: The Animated Series_ in France.<\/p>\n

More details as I sift through the promo literature.<\/p>\n

Emru<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #175, from hmccracken, 22006 chars, Sun Mar 12 21:12:23 1995
\n————————–
\nThis document includes all of the columns from the March issue of the
\nmonthly newsletter of the International Animated Film Society:
\nASIFA-Hollywood, the “Inbetweener.” For more information on ASIFA or to
\norder back issues of the Inbetweener, contact Dave Koch at the ASIFA office
\nTel. (818) 842-8330 or write: ASIFA-Hollywood, 725 S Victory Bl., Burbank,
\nCA 91502<\/p>\n

The Inbetweener is edited by Stephen Worth and the contributors to this
\nissue include: Dave Koch, Milton Knight, Jim Korkis, David Ehrlich, Bill
\nTurner, Antran Manoogian, Frankie Kowalski, Kit Tomasco, Jere Guldin, Pat
\nRaine Webb, John Cawley and Ellen Harrington. The contents are copyrighted
\n1995 by ASIFA-Hollywood. Opinions expressed herein are those of the
\nindividual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect those of
\nASIFA-Hollywood.<\/p>\n

We hope you enjoy this posting and will consider joining and supporting
\nASIFA-Hollywood and its projects.
\n___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
\nBy Antran Manoogian, President of ASIFA-Hollywood
\n___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Although the 23rd Annual Annie Awards Ceremony is still many months away
\nfrom now, preparations for this prestigious event are already well
\nunderway. The first major task, the selection of this year’s award
\ncategories, has been completed. With the exception of the Annie Awards for
\nAnimated Feature, TV Program, Creative Supervision, Voice Acting, the
\nWinsor McCay Award and the Certificates of Merit, the remaining honors are
\neither revised from last year’s competition or are completely new awards.<\/p>\n

Here are the returning award categories that have been revised since last
\nyear’s event: The Animated Television Commercial category has been retitled
\nthe Animated Promotional Production Award, to include bumpers, titles,
\ninterstitials, and promotional productions. The Animated Home Video Award
\nhas been revised to exclude videos of previously released material. The
\nAnimated CD-ROM Award has been re-named the Animated Interactive Production
\nAward, to include any interactive medium. The Individual Achievement Award
\nfor Artistic Excellence has been retitled the Production Design Awardto
\nrecognize individuals working in the areas of color, design, and layout.
\nThe Individual Achievement Award for Story Contribution has now been split
\ninto two categories: Writing and Storyboard.<\/p>\n

The completely new Annie Award categories that are being introduced this
\nyear are: Animated Short Subject Award, which will cover both theatrical
\nand television shorts; the Animation Award, which will honor achievement
\nspecifically in the area of animation; and the Music Award, for both
\nfeatured and incidental music in an animated production. There will also be
\ntwo juried Annie Awards: Special Presentation of an Animated Production,
\nwhich will include such things as compilations and restorations; and the
\nTechnical Achievement Award, which will recognize advancements in the craft
\nof animated filmmaking. Finally, the last new award which will be
\nintroducing this year is the June Foray Award. This special Annie will be
\ngiven to an individual whose involvement in animation has made a positive
\nand significant impact on the industry and the art form as a whole.<\/p>\n

I would like to thank everyone who provided suggestions for this years
\naward categories, and I would like to acknowledge the contributions of my
\nfellow Annie Awards Rules Committee members: Chris Craig, Harvey Deneroff,
\nand Bob Miller, who were largely responsible for determining this year’s
\naward categories.<\/p>\n

JOHN HALAS: A REMEMBERANCE
\nBy David Ehrlich, Vice President of ASIFA
\n___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

I first met John at the 1979 Annecy Animation Festival, it was the third
\nday of the festival and in my shyness, I had met very few of the animators
\nwho all seemed to know each other. I was standing next to an animated
\nhologram I had brought to exhibit and an elderly man with a very thick
\nHungarian accent came up to me and began asking questions about the
\ntechnique I had used. After a very long discussion, he left and soon
\nreturned with others. Before long, we were all sitting on the terrace
\ndrinking fine French wine and philosophizing. When I finally learned this
\nman’s name, I was overwhelmed that this giant of animation had taken the
\ntime to meet me and bring me into the circle. Through the years, John and I
\nbecame good friends. He always encouraged my personal experimental work as
\nwell as the international collaborations that I was involved in, and by
\nboth personal example and tutelage, he was one of the people who passed on
\nto me a hope for what ASIFA could truly be. His greatest pride was his
\nsuccessful effort, during the height of the Cold War, to bring together in
\nASIFA, the American and Russian groups, to have them coordinate projects
\nand to have them drinking and laughing together.<\/p>\n

Since I first met John in 1979, I’ve seen him encourage many other young
\nartists. In those early years of computer animation, when animators would
\njoin together in disparaging the medium and booing the beginning efforts,
\nJohn did everything he could to support those around the world in
\nstretching the medium. I’ve never seen John so happy as when John Lasseter
\nwon the first Academy Award for a computer-generated animated short. Even
\nafter his strokes in the first few years, John remained a source of
\nunlimited energy even from his sickbed, organizing retrospectives,
\ncontinuing his manuscripts and his correspondence. It is hard to believe
\nthat this man, his presence and the continual flow of his output, is gone.
\nI shall miss him greatly, but he has given all of us so much to take
\nforward with us.<\/p>\n

THE ANIMATION PRESERVATION PROJECT REPORT
\nBy Jere Guldin
\n___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

A couple of issues back, we reported on the possible discovery of a lost
\nToby the Pup cartoon. Previously, only a fragment of a single entry in this
\nseries, released by RKO during 1930-31, was known to exist. This newest
\nToby cartoon to be found comes from a collection of silent and sound films
\nbeing repatriated to the United States from Australia, more about which can
\nbe read in the article on animation preservation in the current issue of
\nAnimato! (#31), which is on the newsstands now.<\/p>\n

Only recently, “Circus Time,” the title of the Toby cartoon, arrived at
\nUCLA Film and Television Archive, which had elected to preserve the short
\n(along with numerous other subjects from Australia,) providing it turned
\nout to be what it was supposed to be, and the money could be raised to do
\nit. When taken out of its can and inspected, “Circus Time” did indeed prove
\nto be the film of the same name. Although relatively short, as cartoons go,
\nit appears to be mostly complete. The main titles are partially intact; and
\nalthough the end title is missing, the print concludes just as the picture
\nbegins irising to a close.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the condition of the film leaves something to be desired.
\nIt’s what generally is regarded as a battered print: damage to the
\nperforations is heavy; and the splices, although not numerous, are shrunken
\nand buckled, and need to be remade. Most of these problems will be
\ninvisible to an audience when a copy made off the preservation negative
\ngenerated from this print is screened. What will be noticeable though, is a
\nbig chunk of missing footage during the credits, several feet in length, at
\nthe dissolve between the first and second title cards. Since the titles
\nare, for the most part, complete, this wouldn’t be critical, except that
\nthe music accompanying this portion would be lost. (Unfortunately, the
\ntitles don’t exist on the other surviving fragment.) Amazingly, the
\nsoundtrack remains intact at this section in a thin ribbon of film
\ncontaining sprocket holes and track, but from which the picture has been
\nshorn away completely. It may or may not be possible to salvage that
\nportion of sound, which certainly will be one of the challenges in
\nrestoring the film.<\/p>\n

Obviously, this little five-minute cartoon is incredibly rare, and, just as
\nobviously, it will take many hours of intensive labor to get it into a
\ncondition from which it can be copied. It will also take approximately one
\nthousand dollars in lab costs to see it preserved. Luckily, there is
\nsomeone who is so enthusiastic about the idea of returning Toby the Pup to
\nthe silver screen that the film may end up getting preserved fairly soon
\nthrough the Animation Preservation Project. There’ll be more on that when
\nit happens. Meanwhile, you can catch our latest effort, the George Pal
\nPuppetoon, “Sky Princess,” when it is screened in April as part of UCLA
\nFilm and Television Archive’s Seventh Annual Festival of Preservation. It
\nis being included in an evening of Puppetoons, presented in newly-struck
\ncopies from preservation materials or in original Technicolor nitrate
\nprints. You won’t want to miss it, particularly as the event will include a
\nguest panel comprised of persons who worked on the Puppetoons. Currently,
\nthe program is set for 7:30pm on Tuesday, April 25, but that date is not
\nyet firm. Call (310) 206-FILM in April for confirmation.<\/p>\n

CEL BREAK!
\nBy Jim Korkis
\n___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

BOOP-OOP-A-DOOP IS ILLEGAL IN THIS STATE!
\nRecently, a teacher at my school was charged with a misdemeanor entitled
\n“Child Annoyance.” After a little research, we discovered that this statute
\nrefers to an adult who is “vexing, annoying, irking or disturbing” a person
\nunder the age of eighteen, usually with sexually suggestive comments. The
\naccused teacher had mentioned he enjoyed watching Baywatch, wished he was
\nmarried to Cindy Crawford and told kids not to play with his toys- all of
\nthese statements were classified as sexually suggestive by a group of
\nright-wing fundamentalists who feel it is their moral duty to cleanse the
\nschools of any unorthodox teacher who might be foolish enough to exhibit a
\nlame sense of humor. The teacher in question was found not guilty, but it
\nscared the rest of the teaching staff.
\nDo you think Betty Boop is sexy? Then you may be next in line! When Betty
\nBoop was created, studio blurbs clearly stated that the classic little
\nflapper was only sixteen years old and would remain sixteen forever. Even
\nthough she wore revealing outfits, made suggestive movements and had a
\nteasing little girl voice, Ms. Boop was still a bit prudish in her own way-
\nshe was genuinely shocked and offended when some lecherous adult wanted to
\ntake her “boop-boop-a-doop” away! During a copyright infringement suit in
\n1934, a judge offered the following description of Betty: “There is the
\nbroad, baby face; the large, round, flirting eyes; the low-placed, pouting
\nmouth; the small nose; the imperceptible chin; and the mature bosom. It is
\na unique combination of infancy and maturity- innocence and
\nsophistication.” Betty Boop was never a rocket scientist, but even she
\nwould be smart enough to charge her lecherous cartoon peers with child
\nannoyance complaints if she could. And based on the exaggerated reactions
\nfrom these ink-and-paint Romeos to her teasing, panty-flashing and
\ntop-dropping, she would most likely win a King’s ransom in damages to boot!
\nNext time you watch a Fleischer classic, keep in mind that Betty’s just a
\nminor and the law protects her!<\/p>\n

THE BARRIER BOOK
\nLast issue, I referred to Mike Barrier’s History of Animation which has
\nbeen in preparation for close to a decade. Barrier was the editor of the
\njustly-revered Funnyworld magazine, which for the longest time was the only
\nmagazine devoted to animation history. Concerning the progress of his
\nlong-awaited tome, Barrier recently wrote: “Earlier this year, I finished a
\nlong chapter on the making of Snow White, and I’m now writing a chapter on
\nthe other early Disney features. It’s the last section to be written of the
\nbook’s seven central chapters, on the Disney cartoons of the 1930-1942 and
\nthe Warner cartoons of 1933-1953. I don’t expect the remaining chapters to
\nbe nearly so hard to write, and I hope to have the book finished by the end
\nof next year. The manuscript totals around 600 pages at this point, and
\nwill probably grow to more than 1,000 before I’m done. Then I’ll pare it
\nback by 200 pages or so.” One of the things slowing Barrier down was the
\nLos Angeles earthquake which prevented him from completing some much-needed
\nlibrary research. One person who has read some of the rough draft of
\nBarrier’s book has assured me that this will indeed be the definitive
\nhistory of the Golden Age animation. Hopefully, it will be released before
\nthe next Golden Age!<\/p>\n

J. EDGAR DISNEY
\nI was quite pleased with my recent purchase of Walt Disney: The FBI Files
\nby Richard Trethewey. ($23.95 from Rainbo Animation Art, 8 Duran Court,
\nPacifica, CA 94044-4231) Trethewey’s book reproduces the FBI-related
\ndocuments about Walt Disney available through the Freedom of Information
\nAct, as well as providing a common sense commentary to help put all this
\ninformation into the proper perspective. With all the hoopla surrounding
\nMarc Eliot’s book covering the same material,Walt Disney: Hollywood’s Dark
\nPrince, it’s nice to see some alternative viewpoints.<\/p>\n

DEWEY’S NEWSLETTER
\nDoes the world really need yet another specialty publication dedicated to
\nthe discussion of animation related topics? Probably not, but that hasn’t
\nstopped Dewey McGuire from producing a pleasant and professional newsletter
\nentitled McBoing-Boing’s “Journal of Drawings In Motion.” ($8 for every 4
\nissues from Dewey McGuire, 134 Cardiff Circle, Iowa City, IA 52246) The
\nfirst issue primarily concerns itself with discussions about Disney’s
\nDonald Duck short, Der Feuhrer’s Face, and the early sixties cartoons from
\nWarner Brothers. McGuire also makes a plea in the first issue for
\nsubmissions of articles, columns, essays and letters, and is “particularly
\nkeen on pieces about rarely seen films and subjects not heavily covered
\nelsewhere.” I enjoyed the first eight page issue and am looking forward to
\nfuture issues.<\/p>\n

CRAZY STUFF
\nIn the late 1950’s, Dr. Lauretta Bender, senior psychiatrist at Bellevue
\nHospital, was employed as an advisor for DC Comics at the salary of a
\nhundred and fifty bucks a month. This was during the time that comics were
\ncoming under heavy attack for supposedly having an adverse impact on
\nimpressionable young minds. Bender stated that she considered Disney films
\nmore potentially damaging than comics. “The mothers are always killed or
\nsent to the insane asylums in Walt Disney’s movies,” she claimed. What
\nmovies was she watching?!<\/p>\n

BUT WHAT ABOUT HIS EVIL TWIN?
\nIn his column for the Comic Buyer’s Guide, writer Tony Isabella states:
\n“Mark Evanier knows everybody and everything. The world is fortunate,
\nindeed, that he is a force for good.”<\/p>\n

SNOOP DOGGY MUTT
\n“Snoopy cannot be a real dog. Neither can he be too much like a child,”
\nstated cartoonist Charles Schulz in a 1978 interview, “His entire
\nrelationship with the kids in the comic strip and in the animated specials
\nis based on his being neither animal nor human, but something in between-
\nretaining some characteristics, good and bad, of both. Snoopy is an actor,
\nand a good one. He can act like a dog, but he’s not about to be one. After
\nall, did Bela Lugosi decide to be a full-time vampire?”<\/p>\n

FRED FLINTSTONE FOR PRESIDENT!
\n“One study revealed that only one half of adults around the world could
\nidentify a picture of their national leader, but the same study showed that
\n90 percent of the three-year-olds in this country could easily identify a
\npicture of Fred Flintstone.” revealed the deputy director of the Bureau of
\nConsumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission in 1978. Sounds like
\nthe basis of a political career to me!<\/p>\n

TOO MACHO FOR CARTOONS
\nBack in 1987, an animated project was being developed that was tentatively
\ntitled “Michael’s Pets,” which would showcase the exotic animals that were
\nkept by singer Michael Jackson in his private zoo. At the time, there was
\nsome speculation whether Jackson himself would be directly involved with
\nthe series or a possible feature film adptation. His representative, Bob
\nMichaelson, stated, “I think Michael is too macho- you might argue with me
\non that- but I think he’s too macho, too cool to be seen with a bunch of
\ncartoon animals.”<\/p>\n

CONGRATULATIONS
\nCongratulations to Jerry Beck, who was appointed Director of Animation for
\nNickelodeon Movies. One of Jerry’s stated goals is to revive some of the
\nclassic Terrytoon characters like Mighty Mouse, Tom Terrific and Heckle and
\nJeckle. Jerry plans on being bi-coastal so West coast animation fans can
\nstill look forward to occasionally enjoying Jerry’s company.<\/p>\n

FUNNY BONER
\nBy Kit Tomasco
\n___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

More than anybody else in the animation industry, I am uniquely qualified
\nto speak on the subject of how to apply for a job. (Heaven knows, I’ve
\napplied for enough of them!) Well, I’ve taken note of all of the mistakes I
\nmade, and have come up with a sure-fire recipe for success when showing
\nyour portfolio to potential employers…<\/p>\n

Before you leave for the Expo, ask yourself these important questions: Am I
\nwearing a T-shirt sporting the most popular character from the studio for
\nwhom I hope to work? Is it clean? (Here’s a tip for expert readers- Wear
\nmore than one T-shirt so you can peel off Mickey before you approach the
\nWarners table… and peel off Bugs before you approach the Film Roman
\ntable… But don’t embarrass yourself by running out of shirts. If you get
\ndown to the Inspector Gadget T-shirt, it’s time to go home.) The next
\nquestion to ask yourself is: Did I spend at least as much time arranging
\nand re-arranging my artwork in a costly leather portfolio case as I did
\ncreating the artwork in the first place? (Handy tip- If it just so happens
\nthat your portfolio case is MUCH nicer than the portfolio case of your
\ninterviewer, an inside deal can sometimes be struck!) And perhaps most
\nimportantly… Does Mom know what time to pick me up?<\/p>\n

Dave Master did a great job of pointing out what should go into a
\nportfolio, but I can think of a few more important things to include:
\nAlways include lots of drawings of various characters in the same “Ta-Da!”
\npose. Countless merchandising experts agree that this ubiquitous pose makes
\nthe biggest impression on the average cartoon lover. Besides, if you can
\ndraw a character with a manic smile, wide open eyes and rigid body, you can
\ndraw him in any mode or pose. Never include clean-up drawings. Portfolio
\nreviewers love roughs. Make them as rough as you can… scribble
\nshamelessly! If you see the reviewers reach for their glasses, you know
\nthat you’re getting their attention! Remember that “man does not live on
\nfunny animals alone.” Include gory scenes based on your impressions of the
\nO.J. Simpson case, or stylized “Hello Kitty’s” with grossly oversized,
\ngelatinous eyes. Don’t forget that realism is what folks are looking for
\nnowadays… do tightly rendered drawings of your Aunt Lucy’s dermoid cyst,
\nthe mold growing in the bottom of your refrigerator, or the funny old bum
\nthat’s always hanging out behind the supermarket. Don’t be afraid to
\ninclude the “old favorites.” Make sure you include lots and lots of those
\nhilarious comics you did featuring your classmates in Junior High School.
\nIf you notice that the portfolio reviewers are skimming over these
\nsketches, stop them and read every one out loud to them and explain the
\njokes so they can fully appreciate them… “Oh-Ho-Ho! This one’s a killer!
\nSee that girl there? That’s Eileen McGregor… She used to pick her nose
\nshamelessly in class. That’s why I drew her with the oversized nostrils!”
\nLastly, always remember a good portfolio should include… 8X10 glossies
\nfrom The Alligator People and My Three Sons, and a sharpie… just in case
\nyou should bump into Beverly Garland, herself in the parking lot!<\/p>\n

O.K. You’ve followed all of this advice, and you still feel a little uneasy
\nabout the quality of your portfolio… Not to worry! There are a few
\nspecial techniques that I’ve designed to put you over the top and into the
\njob of your dreams. The Blackmail Method: Space out your artwork a bit, and
\nfollow each really horrible drawing with a photograph of the reviewer in a
\ncompromising position. When they object to seeing themselves depicted that
\nway in your portfolio, point out that if you had a good paying job, you
\nwouldn’t ever need to show your portfolio to anybody else ever again!
\nHere’s another sure-fire trick: The Sympathy Ploy: Slip an extra twenty
\nempty sleeves into your book after the last piece of art. Then rip them out
\nand crumple them a bit. Finish the job up by pouring water all over the
\nmess and zip up your case. Now you’re ready to go see the folks at the
\nWarner table… When you unzip the case, and the water pours out, look
\nshocked and say, “That guy at the Disney table must have spilled his
\nSnapple on my portfolio!” Fight back the tears as you show them the soggy
\nand smeared remnants, and when you get to the torn pages, burst into tears,
\nwailing, “Those meanies from Disney have stolen my BEST work!” Works like a
\ncharm! Another good way to get their attention is: The Brady Technique:
\nOpen your portfolio to reveal architectural blueprints. Exclaim, “Oh my
\ngosh! Dad must have taken my Yogi Bear sketches to the big presentation to
\nthe City Council!” Enlist the help of Marsha, Cindy, Bobby and Alice to run
\nthroughout the Expo searching for the missing artwork, while you quietly
\nlift art from other people’s books while they’re distracted by the chaos.<\/p>\n

Posted for ASIFA-Hollywood by:<\/p>\n

____________________________________________________________________________
\n__Stephen W. Worth Vintage Ink & Paint
\nvintage@lightside.com Animation Art Restoration,
\n Authentication, Appraisal
\n and Sales<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #176, from hmccracken, 24386 chars, Sun Mar 12 21:13:17 1995
\n————————–
\nThis document includes all of the news stories from the March issue of the
\nmonthly newsletter of the International Animated Film Society:
\nASIFA-Hollywood, the “Inbetweener.” For more information on ASIFA or to
\norder back issues of the Inbetweener, contact Dave Koch at the ASIFA office
\nTel. (818) 842-8330 or write: ASIFA-Hollywood, 725 S Victory Bl., Burbank,
\nCA 91502<\/p>\n

The Inbetweener is edited by Stephen Worth and the contributors to this
\nissue include: Dave Koch, Milton Knight, Jim Korkis, David Ehrlich, Bill
\nTurner, Antran Manoogian, Frankie Kowalski, Kit Tomasco, Jere Guldin, Pat
\nRaine Webb, John Cawley and Ellen Harrington. The contents are copyrighted
\n1995 by ASIFA-Hollywood. Opinions expressed herein are those of the
\nindividual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect those of
\nASIFA-Hollywood.<\/p>\n

We hope you enjoy this posting and will consider joining and supporting
\nASIFA-Hollywood and its projects.<\/p>\n

___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

ASIFA NEWS
\nBy the staff of the Inbetweener
\n___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

DAVE MASTER’S PORTFOLIO TUTORIO!
\nIn anticipation of the upcoming ASIFA Animation Opportunities Expo, Dave
\nMaster, Director of Training at Warner Feature Animation, provided tips on
\nputting together a successful animation portfolio to a receptive and
\nenthusiastic audience which packed the Animation Center last month. Dave
\nhad a “dummy portfolio” with him, which he compiled from portfolio pieces
\nshown by artists recently hired as employees in the business. Dave stressed
\nthat portfolios should include about 25 pages, consisting of 12 human
\nfigure drawings, 3 animal studies, and 10 pieces which exemplify your
\nability in the area for which you are applying. If your goal is character
\nanimation or design, show a versatility of styles and include characters
\nwhich display uniqueness and a definite attitude and personality. Layout
\nand background artists should include thumbnail layouts depicting a variety
\nof different interiors, exteriors and moods (ie: rainy nights, winter
\nscenes, night-time scenes, etc.) Also, consider doing a layout or
\nstoryboard treatment of a familiar story or fairy tale, so that your work
\ncan be judged within the context of a theme the reviewer is familiar with.
\nIf you have a sketchbook, you should include it as one page of the
\nportfolio. But don’t worry about a few bad drawings reflecting negatively
\non your work- reviewers usually focus on the good stuff. Videotapes should
\nbe no longer than 3-5 minutes, and like any other element of your
\nportfolio, they should pertain to the position for which you are applying.
\nAs for computer animators, Master stressed that being able to run the
\nmachine or program is no longer the only prerequisite for getting hired.
\nCGI animators need to display a proficiency with figure drawing and the
\nmechanics of human movement.<\/p>\n

Aside from these specifics, Dave offered some general advice about
\npresentation as well: neatness does count! Due to the volume of
\nsubmissions, portfolio reviewers, despite their idealized “let the art
\nspeak for itself” rhetoric to the contrary, will by nature form a better
\nimpression of an organized, easy-to-peruse, concise portfolio than a
\nmixed-up, dog-eared one. Pay attention to page direction , eliminating the
\nneed to keep twisting and turning the portfolio. Also, when including
\nxeroxes, it’s a good idea to use color copies – even on black & white
\nstuff- since the reproduction quality is so much better. Tapes don’t
\nnecessarily have to fit inside the portfolio, as long as you have each
\npiece of your submission clearly marked, listing what work you did on each
\nsegment included on your tape. Lastly, include a cover letter and resume,
\nattached to the outside of your portfolio. Indicate what sort of animation
\nwork you want to do, your current prospects, contract expirations, etc.
\nYour actual work experience should be displayed at the top, and include
\nanimation or art classes you’ve taken. Master was kind enough to stick
\naround after the crowd had dispersed, to answer a few specific questions
\nfrom stragglers, even taking the time to glance at some work. Before
\nwrapping the evening up completely, however, he gently reinforced the
\ntutorial’s implicit, underlying point: You can’t draw enough. Take an
\ninstructed life-drawing class, practice what you learn at workshops such as
\nASIFA’s Tuesday\/Thursday ones, and always improve upon your portfolio.<\/p>\n

WIA: 1ST ANNIVERSARY MEETING
\n“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” This question
\n(and many others) were deliberated by four industry panelists at the first
\nanniversary Women in Animation meeting held last month. The discussion,
\nlead by Sari Gennis, focused on the portrayal of women and girls in
\nanimation. Sari was joined by Lily Tomlin, co-creator of the animated Edith
\nAnn specials; Linda Miller, Director of Animation at Hanna-Barbera; Spumco
\nBig-Shot John Kricfalusi; and Thomas Schumacher, Senior Vice-President at
\nWalt Disney Feature Animation. The theater was full to capacity with an
\nenthusiastic audience of over 250, and guests were welcomed by the
\nevening’s hosts, Warner Bros. Feature Animation Senior VP, Michael Laney
\nand Rita Street, founder of WIA.<\/p>\n

The panel discussion commenced with a video compilation examining how
\nfemale characters have been portrayed in animation for the past seventy
\nyears, and after the parade of evil queens, witches and princesses, Sari
\nlaunched into the subject at hand. Lily Tomlin pointed out that when she
\nwas growing up, she would try to emulate role models like Kim Novac and
\nCinderella, but today’s animation offers no really valid role models for
\nyoung girls. Tom Schumacher replied that the current blandness in female
\ncharacters is the result of the tendency to stick to personality traits
\nthat are safe and comfortable. Sari pointed out that women characters are
\ngenerally a reflection of the times, citing Tex Avery’s “Swingshift
\nCinderella” and Wilma Flintstone as examples form the 40’s and 60’s. The
\nproblem in the 90’s, is that the studios are afraid to stray too far from
\n“politically correct” stereotypes, according to John Kricfalusi. He
\nstressed that truly rich character portrayals are the result of animators
\nand designers who draw upon their life experiences, rather than falling
\nback on the tried-and true. Everyone agreed that the studios should work
\nharder toward providing meaningful role models for young girls who enjoy
\nanimated cartoons.<\/p>\n

In addition to the panel discussion, Libby Simon, WIA’s Historical
\nCommittee chair, presented a tribute to color stylist and designer, Mary
\nBlair with slides from Dr. Robin Allan’s vast collection. Mary Blair
\ninfluenced the mood and design of all the Disney features from 1943 to
\n1953, including “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Peter Pan,” and
\nwas instrumental in the design of the “Small World” attraction at
\nDisneyland. Marc & Alice Davis, who were also on hand, noted that working
\nwith Mary was a joy. “She was quite a jewel and Disney really believed in
\nher unique use of color. Mary was shy by nature and never realized how
\ngreat she really was.” Marc Davis commented. Mary Blair’s son, Kevin Blair,
\ngraciously accepted WIA’s honor and recognition. Everyone seemed pleased
\nwith the program, and we all look forward to the next WIA event. If you
\nwould like more information about Women in Animation, please call (818)
\n759-9596.<\/p>\n

TALKARTOON NIGHT AT ASIFA
\nLast month, ASIFA Board member, Gere Guldin screened a bakers dozen of
\nexceptional and sparkling clean 16mm prints of cartoons from Max
\nFleischer’s Talkartoon series at the Animation Center. The titles included:
\n“Barnacle Bill,” which featured a prototypical Betty Boop with dog ears,
\n“Grand Uproar,” which resembled a Silly Symphony, “Swing, You Sinners,” a
\nmorality play featuring scary cemetery ghosts and goblins, and two episodes
\nstarring our favorite Fleischer character, Bimbo. Bimbo played second
\nbananna to Betty in “Bimbo the Male Man,” a comic look at the postal
\nservice; “The Herring Murder Case,” a mystery story involving a gorilla who
\nshot a fish; “Bimbo’s Express,” where Bimbo plays a moving man; and last
\nbut not least, the wild and surreal “Crazy Town.” A good time was had by
\nall!<\/p>\n

ANIMATED NEWS
\nBy the staff of the Inbetweener
\n___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

JOHN HALAS (1912-1995)
\nJohn Halas, who died in London on Friday January 20th, was without a doubt,
\nthe founding father of British animation, and of ASIFA as well. Halas was
\nborn in Hungary, and his earliest work there was with the famous puppet
\nanimator, George Pal. He came to London in 1936 where he met Joy Batchelor,
\nto whom he was married in 1940. They set up their own studio in that same
\nyear under the auspices of the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. Much
\nof their early work during WWII was sponsored by the government, and much
\nof their subsequent work also involved applying animation to educational
\nand instructional applications. By 1945, Halas & Batchelor was the largest
\nstudio in Europe. It flourished for more than forty years producing over
\n2,000 films, and being awarded more than 200 international prizes. John
\nHalas’ greatest achievement was the first animated feature film to be
\nproduced in Britain, “Animal Farm.”<\/p>\n

Halas was the first to set up an animation “school” at his studio at
\nStroud, and gave opportunities to many young animators and artists to
\nproduce experimental and personal films. In 1960 he was influential in
\nforming a small group of animation enthusiasts that was later to become
\nASIFA and he was on the first Board of Directors of the Association. He
\nserved as ASIFA’s president for many years and succeded in uniting factions
\nin Eastern Europe and America at the height of the cold war. He also
\nadvised UNESCO on the use of animation as a way of teaching in Third World
\ncountries, and formed Educational Film Centre to produce educational films
\nfor schools and universities. He had boundless energy and was involved in
\nfilm projects almost up to the time of his death, but his greatest talent
\nwas his ability to make things happen. The world of animation has lost one
\nof its elder statesman, but his work and influence, both in his adopted
\ncountry and around the world, will live forever.<\/p>\n

ACADEMY ANIMATION TRIBUTE
\nAnimators took center stage at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
\nSciences Winter tribute, with a special evening of film clips and personal
\nappearances that honored the 25th anniversary of the International Tournee
\nof Animaton. Over 1,000 people attended the sold-out event, and hundreds
\nmore were turned away at the door, proving that audiences for animated
\nfilms in Los Angeles are truly passionate about the medium. Hosted by
\nanimation lover and renowned film expert Leonard Maltin, the program
\nfeatured a history of, and highlights from, an international array of
\nAcademy Award winning films that have been featured in the Tournee over the
\nyears. The first section of the program featured excerpts from the early
\nyears of the Tournee, including “Pulcinella,” “The Further Adventures of
\nUncle Sam: Part 2,” “The Legend of John Henry,” “It’s So Nice to Have a
\nWolf Around the House” and “Oh, My Darling.” Bill Littlejohn and Prescott
\nWright joined Maltin on stage to briefly discuss the early years of the
\nTournee, then it was on to our neighbors from the North, the National Film
\nBoard of Canada. Co Hoedeman (“The Sand Castle”) and Ishu Patel (“The Bead
\nGame”) were on hand to discuss their unique system of funding and producing
\nanimated films. Other NFB films screened at the event were “The Street,”
\n“Special Delivery,” “The Big Snit” and “The Cat Came Back.” Bill Kroyer
\n(“Technological Threat”) shared a number of amusing anecdotes from the
\nTournee’s recent history, along with Terry Thoren, the Tournee’s current
\nprogrammer. Clips were shown from a number of recent classics, including
\n“The Great Cognito,” “A Greek Tragedy,” “Balance,” “The Cow” and “Words,
\nWords, Words.” This very special evening concluded with a true highlight-
\nCanadian animation legend Frederic Back took the stage to share a clip from
\nhis Academy Award winning film, “The Man Who Planted Trees.” Leonard Maltin
\nwrapped up the evening with an invitation to the audience to view the
\nexhibition, “The Best of Soviet Animation Art,” drawn from the collection
\nof Mike and Jeanne Glad. Currently on display through April 12th in the
\nAcademy’s main lobby, the show features over 100 animation drawings,
\npaintings, cels and puppets from the former Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

TAKE A HIKE FAT CAT, FELIX IS BACK!
\n“Out with the old and in with the new,” seems to be the motto at CBS these
\ndays, at least when it comes to the upcoming Saturday morning schedule. Six
\nnew shows will enter the lineup next season: “The Adventures of Hyperman,”
\nproduced by Big Blue with Illumination Studios; Klasky-Csupo’s “Santo
\nBugito;” The Lion King’s “Timon and Pumbaa,” from Disney TV; “Ace Ventura:
\nPet Detective,” from Nelvana and Morgan Creek; and Film Roman’s “The Mask,”
\nand “Felix the Cat.” Bumped into TV limbo (or in some cases syndication)
\nare: “Little Mermaid,” “Beethoven,” “W.I.L.D.Cats,” “Skeleton Warriors,”
\nand the long-running “Storybreak” and “Garfield and Friends.”<\/p>\n

THE ABC’s OF SatAM
\nYes, Jim Carrey is probably the closest you can get to being a human
\ncartoon. (…with the possible exception of Jerry Lewis!) It has now been
\nannounced that all three of Carrey’s starring vehicles from the last year
\nwill become animated series! Following in the footsteps of “The Mask” and
\n“Ace Ventura,” ABC will add an animated version of “Dumb and Dumber” to
\nit’s Saturday morning lineup next season. “Dumber” will join two other new
\ncartoons, both from DIC: “Madeline,” based on Ludwig Bemelmans children’s
\nbooks and “What-a-Mess,” from the books by British TV personality Frank
\nMuir.<\/p>\n

WB ENTERS THE FRAY
\nWarner Bros. Animation, Universal Cartoon Studios and Steven Spielberg will
\nprovide the bulk of the animated children’s programming for the new Warner
\nBrothers Network. “Adventure Man,” an animated\/live-action adventure series
\nfeaturing a toy inventor who transfers his consciousness into a five-inch
\nsuperhero action figure, will join “The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries,”
\n“Earthworm Jim” (based on the Sega video game,) “Animaniacs,” “Pinky & the
\nBrain,” and “Feakazoid!” to round out the cartoon lineup.<\/p>\n

VIRTUE IS ITS OWN REWARD
\nWho says animated cartoons are devoid of any worthwhile moral content?
\nFormer drug czar and Secretary of Education William Bennett and recently
\ncreated PorchLight Entertainment that’s who! PorchLight has obtained the
\nTV, home-video and interactive rights to Bennett’s bestselling “The Book of
\nVirtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories,” and although they were
\nreportedly not the highest bidder, Bennett chose PorchLight because
\npresident Bruce Johnson envisioned the adaptation as an animated series for
\nnetwork broadcast in prime time. The plan is to turn the 800-plus page
\ncollection of stories, fables, poems and essays into a 30-minute animated
\nseries, while concurrently developing a multimedia version.<\/p>\n

MUSICAL CHAIRS
\nChris Montan, senior VP of music for Walt Disney Studios, has signed a pact
\nwith the studio to develop and produce live action feature films on a first
\nrefusal basis. He will also serve as executive producer on all animated
\nfilms, while consulting on stage productions, live-action musicals and
\ntheme park attractions, as well as the studio’s record labels. Under
\nMontan, Disney has won 4 out of the last 5 best-song Oscars.
\nMeanwhile, Hanna-Barbera Cartoons recently announced that Sherry Gunther
\nwill fill the newly created post of Senior Vice-President of Production .
\nGunther, who formerly served in a similar position at Klasky-Csupo, worked
\non such series as “The Simpsons,” “Rugrats” and “Duckman.” At H-B she will
\nwork on the new incarnation of “Jonny Quest,” and the “World Premiere
\nToons.”<\/p>\n

DONKEY KONG CREATES AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT!
\nNintendo of America Inc. and more than 125 other companies have filed a
\nlawsuit with the US trade representative against several foreign countries
\nover their alleged failure to crack down on counterfeiting. Nintendo stated
\nin a news release that it believes the government of China has directly
\nparticipated in “rampant counterfeiting” by operating state-owned
\nmanufacturing plants, and that Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Venezuela,
\nArgentina and Paraguay have all turned a blind eye to major producers of
\ngame and component fakes operating within their borders.<\/p>\n

NON-NEWS
\nThe Hollywood Reporter recently reported that Time Warner’s children’s
\nmusic label is close to “inking a deal” with Warner Bros. Consumer Products
\nto produce song albums and other merchandise based on the company’s
\nanimated characters. This is probably the most surprising announcement of a
\nnew business alliance since Disney TV negotiated the rights to the
\n“Aladdin” series!<\/p>\n

$2 MILLION, AND WE AIN’T LION!
\nDisney’s latest animated feature set another money-making record recently,
\nwhen an auction of artwork based on “The Lion King” raised almost $2
\nmillion . Of the 256 lots, an image of baby cub Simba with sidekicks Pumbaa
\nand Timon proved to be the most sought-after, yielding $39,100 (nearly 8
\ntimes its presale estimate!) from a private European sucker… Oops! We
\nmeant to say, “collector.”<\/p>\n

A GREAT BIG “POKE” IN THE PARK
\nThe premiere of Disney’s upcoming “Pocahontas” will take place on four
\n8-story-tall screens erected in New York’s Central Park on June 10, two
\nweeks before its official theatrical opening. Not only will this be the
\nfirst film event at the park, home to frequent concerts and rallies, but it
\nwill also be the first limited-access event at the venue, with attendance
\nconfined to a scant 100,000. (This may irk New Yorkers who are used to open
\naccess to virtually all park events…) Tickets will be distributed through
\na random mail-in program, with request forms available in local newspapers.
\nNew York City will provide security and maintenance for the event in
\nexchange for a “sizable donation” by Disney to the city. Employing Disney’s
\nCircleVision technology, eight projectors will be used to cover the 13-acre
\nviewing area using 70mm prints made especially for the park screening. Over
\n150 sound speakers will be used for the PA system, which is billed as
\nlarger than five ampitheater concert audio systems.<\/p>\n

FELIX’S BUDDY, MILTON
\nThe Inbetweener’s Art Director, Milton Knight was recently tapped along
\nwith Lynne Naylor to direct episodes of Film Roman’s new series of “Felix
\nthe Cat” cartoons for CBS’s Saturday morning schedule next Fall. He says
\nthat the folks at Film Roman saw his work in the Inbetweener and thought
\nhe’d be perfect for the project. We couldn’t agree more! Congrats, Milton!
\nIt’s comforting to know that Felix is in such good hands.<\/p>\n

DON’T HAVE A COW, MATT!
\nMatt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons” demanded that his name be removed
\nfrom a recent episode which cross-promoted Film Roman’s other prime-time,
\nadult animated series, “The Critic.” Appearantly, Groening approved of the
\nidea initially, but changed his mind when he saw himself incorrectly
\ncredited as “the creator of The Critic” in the press. Executive producer,
\nJames L. Brooks was quoted in the L.A. Times as saying, “I am furious with
\nMatt… He is a gifted, adorable, cuddly ingrate. But his behavior right
\nnow is rotten. And it’s not pretty when a rich man acts like this.” In one
\nscene of the episode in question, Bart Simpson meets the Critic, Jay
\nSherman, and says, “Hey man, I really love your show. All the kids should
\nwatch it.” Then he cringes, turns away and mutters, “Suddenly I feel so
\ndirty…” Obviously, Groening feels the same way.<\/p>\n

FANTASIA (AND THEN SOME!)
\nWalt Disney’s classic animated feature, “Fantasia,” is scheduled for a 1998
\ntheatrical release. But don’t plan on seeing those cool dinosaurs or cute
\ncentaurettes this time around. Harking back to Walt’s original plan for the
\nfilm, Disney animators will insert several new segments, retain some, and
\ndelete others. Four of the segments from the original will remain in the
\n1998 cut: “Night on Bald Mountain,” “The Dance of the Hours,” “The
\nNutcracker Suite” and “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Five new musical
\nsegments will be added, some incorporating state-of-the-art computer
\nanimation: The first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony will be
\naccompanied by abstract animation; Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Steadfast
\nTin Soldier” will sport a snappy score by Dimitri Shostakovich; and Donald
\nDuck will appear as Noah’s assistant on the Ark, to the tune of Elgar’s
\neternally irritating “Pomp and Circumstance.” (Well, two out of three ain’t
\nbad… “Pomp” will definitely be my cue to go get popcorn!)<\/p>\n

NELVANA PUSHES THE ENVELOPE
\nOK. Here’s a quiz… which of these statements is NOT true: 1) Nelvana
\nplans to turn campy, sci-fi sex kitten Barberella into a cartoon series for
\nkids. 2) Nelvana plans to turn the campy, horror-flick,
\ntransvestite\/dominatrix Frank N. Ferter from “The Rocky Horror Picture
\nShow” into a cartoon series for kids. and… 3) Nelvana plans to turn the
\nstage musical based on the music of Lois Jordan , composer of “What’s The
\nUse Of Getting Sober, When You’re Just Going To Get Drunk Again” and
\n“Woman, You Need A Whipping” into a cartoon series for kids. Give up? They
\nall sound unlikely, don’t they? Well, believe it or not, all three
\nstatements are true! The sexual, and gender-bending aspects of the former
\ntwo will be dropped, and the Jordan series will focus on “Five (cute li’l)
\nGuys Named Moe.” The characters will all be youngsters who are
\nnon-conformists in programs that “will teach kids to be different.” Just
\nhow different depends on the network censors…<\/p>\n

CD-ROM SPINS OFF AN ANIMATED SPECIAL
\nIf that headline sounds like “Man Bites Dog,” it should… usually the
\ninteractive version follows the animated one, but not in this case. IF\/X
\nProds’ CD-ROM version of “Peter and the Wolf,” featuring animated
\ncharacters created by Chuck Jones, will be turned into an hour-long ABC
\nspecial scheduled to air during the Christmas season. It will star Kirstie
\nAlley, Lloyd Bridges and Ross Malinger in 16 minutes of live-action footage
\nto be built around the core 28-minute animated story. All new animation
\n(and some new voice recording) will be done for the TV version, with an
\noriginal score by the 70-piece Time-Warner Symphony Orchestra. Animation
\nhas already begun at Cosgrove in Manchester, England.<\/p>\n

THE MILLION DOLLAR MOUSE
\nThe earliest known sketches of Mickey Mouse have been donated to the
\nInternational Museum of Cartoon Art in Boca Raton, Florida. Stephen Geppi,
\nowner of Diamond Comics Distributors, donated the complete six-page,
\n36-panel storyboard for “Plane Crazy” to the museum at the end of January.
\nThe pencil sketches, drawn by Ub Iwerks, tell the story of Mickey’s first
\nmovie, a 1928 silent cartoon which spoofed the flying craze spawned by
\nCharles Lindbergh’s trans-Atlantic flight. The donation is (erroneously)
\nestimated to be worth between $3 and $5 million dollars. (Attn: IRS agents:
\nTop dollar for an animation drawing at auction is generally between $7,000
\nand $10,000- much less than the estimated $500,000 to $833,000 a page
\nquoted here!) Mort Walker (creator of Beetle Bailey and founder of the
\nmuseum) proudly calls the sketches the “Mona Lisa” of cartoon art. (Does
\nthat make my Yogi Bear cel the “Nude Descending A Staircase” of cartoon
\nart?)<\/p>\n

ANNOUNCEMENTS
\n___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Animator\/Trainer skilled in Disney-style animation wanted for Vietnamese
\nanimation studio. Contact: Thomas Wiegand, Animation Talent Agency (415)
\n776-7983 fax:(415) 673-1099.<\/p>\n

Pacific Data Images is seeking traditional and computer animators to
\nproduce a 3D stereoscopic, 70mm film for Warner Brothers, animating some of
\ntheir traditional characters. Please send your resume and reel to: Marilyn
\nFriedman, Pacific Data Images, 1111 Karlstad Dr., Sunnyvale, CA 94089. No
\nphone calls please.<\/p>\n

____________________________________________________________________________
\n__Stephen W. Worth Vintage Ink & Paint
\nvintage@lightside.com Animation Art Restoration,
\n Authentication, Appraisal
\n and Sales<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #177, from switch, 13533 chars, Sun Oct 8 22:15:32 1995
\n————————–
\nThe following is an article slated for the seventh issue of FPS,
\nwhich focuses on computers and animation. Consider it a teaser, if
\nyou will. Feedback is definitely welcome.<\/p>\n

MOTION MACHINES
\n How Computers Are Changing Traditional Animation
\n by Emru Townsend<\/p>\n

In 1990, Disney released The Rescuers Down Under, the world’s first
\nanimated feature which, while it looked like any other cel-animated
\nproduction, never had a single cel slide under a camera during
\nproduction. Rescuers Down Under was Disney’s first film to use their
\nComputer Animation and Production System (CAPS) from beginning to
\nend, eliminating the need for cels entirely. In the five years
\nsince, other companies with similar products have joined the fray:
\nSoftimage’s Toonz, Cambridge’s Animo, and Toon Boom’s Tic Tac Toon
\nare but a few.
\n\tThe advantages to digital production systems are many, and
\ncan make it more cost-effective for studios to switch. They can also
\nallow for animators to spend more time animating, as the computer
\nhelps shorten the time required for certain stages of the animation
\nprocess. In theory, this means that either the same tasks get done
\nfaster, or that better animation gets done in the same amount of
\ntime.
\n\tThe systems are widely misunderstood, however. One of the
\npopular misconceptions of 2D animation systems is that they are
\neither used to entirely supplant the animation process (ousting
\ntraditional animators), or are used only for ink and paint (replacing
\nonly a small part of the process). While they certainly don’t
\nreplace animators, they do significantly more than just ink and
\npaint. The following is an overview of how these systems fit into
\nthe animation process. Bear in mind that the features mentioned here
\nare a summation of the traits of all the 2D animation systems out
\nthere, and that it’s unlikely that any one system does everything
\nlisted below.<\/p>\n

First, let’s look at the traditional animation process. Let’s assume
\nthat the model sheets, storyboard, scripts, and voice\/sound tracks
\nare done, and we’re ready to start production. Also, keep in mind
\nthat various individual steps within these stages can be shuffled
\naround or done concurrently, depending on the studio or the project.
\n\tPLAN EVERYTHING: EXPOSURE SHEETS. As composers and
\nmusicians have sheet music, animators have exposure sheets. Exposure
\nsheets break down the elements of a film frame by frame. This
\nincludes the various pieces of animation, the use of backgrounds, the
\nsoundtrack, and the camera directions. From the exposure sheet, the
\nvarious teams working on the film know what needs to be done and for
\nhow long.
\n\tROUGH DRAWINGS AND PENCIL TESTS. Naturally, the next step is
\nto get some drawings done. These are usually done in pencil, by a
\nkey animator and inbetweeners. The key animator will draw the
\nextremes of motion, with the inbetweeners filling in the frames that
\nget the character or object from point A to point B. After this is
\ncompleted, the animation is shot on video to be previewed. Many
\nstudios also use a Quick-Action Recorder (QAR), which is a
\nstand-along computerized system that offers many of the same
\npencil-test features as digital animation systems. (Before video and
\nQARs, these pencil tests used to be shot on cheap black and white
\nfilm.)
\n\tCLEANUP. After the roughs are approved (or appropriate
\nchanges are made), the work then goes to cleanup artists, who take
\nthe rough pencils and eliminate any extraneous lines or writing from
\nthe drawings.
\n\tINK & PAINT. The cleaned up pictures are now transferred to
\nacetate cels, usually by Xerography Before the Xerographic process,
\nthis was done by hand with ink. Hand-inked cels offered the option
\nof inking the outlines with different colours, for a softer blending
\nof foreground characters and objects to the background. Hand-inking
\nwas also more expensive and time-consuming. Xerography is
\nsignificantly faster, but the ability to use coloured outlines is
\nsacrificed.
\n\tAfter inking, the cels are then flipped over and painted in.
\nTraditionally, individual elements in a scene–say, Bugs Bunny, Daffy
\nDuck, and Elmer Fudd–are animated on different cels, which will then
\noverlaid one on top of the other under the camera, with the painted
\nbackground on the bottom. While this is a useful system–it allows
\nobjects and characters to pass in front of one another, and keeps
\nfrom having to redraw elements that don’t move–it also creates a
\nproblem for the painters. Cels are not perfectly translucent,
\nmeaning that they do not allow all of the light to pass through them.
\nThe end result is that the lower cels end up looking darker than the
\nones on top. This limits the amount of cels that can be stacked on
\none another, but more importantly to the painters is this: if Elmer
\nis on a layer lower than Bugs, his skin and clothing will be darker
\nthan Bugs’. To compensate for this, cel painters would have to make
\nsure that Elmer was painted a brighter colour than usual.
\n\tCAMERA. With the animation complete, it’s time to shoot onto
\nfilm. (For direct-to-video productions, the animation is often shot
\non film and then transferred to D1 or D2 digital video tape.) Armed
\nwith the exposure sheet, the camera crew knows how to layer the cels,
\nas well as the camera moves (tilts, pans, and zooms) and lighting and
\nexposure instructions (fade-ins, fade-outs, irises, dissolves,
\nbacklighting, etc.) Where things can get tricky (and, of course,
\nexpensive) is in the area of multiplane effects, which involve
\nparallax and depth of field.
\n\tThe best way to explain multiplane is with the example of a
\ncar driving past a farm. Looking out the window, you see three
\nelements: the fence, only a few feet from the car; some cows
\ngrazing, several yards away; and a stone wall farther away. Since
\nthe fence is closer, it appears to be rushing by quickly, while the
\ncows are moving more slowly. The stone wall is considerably slower,
\nsince it is considerably farther away. This phenomenon is known as
\nparallax.
\n\tParallax is easily simulated with cels; the fence would be on
\nthe topmost cel, the cows in the middle, and the stone wall on the
\nbottom. The topmost cel would be moved at a faster rate than the
\nmiddle cel, while would be moved at a faster rate than the bottom
\ncel.
\n\tFor added realism, however, we would also need the second
\nelement of multiplane: depth of field. Depth of field is the effect
\nof certain objects being out of focus while others are being focused
\nupon. For example, if we were focusing on the cows in the previous
\nexample, the fence and the stone wall would be out of focus.
\n\tThe traditional animation solution is the multiplane camera.
\nUsing this, the different cel levels are placed several inches or
\nfeet apart, which would give true depth of field. As we zoom in or
\nout, the different levels are brought closer together or farther
\napart. Unfortunately, multiplane cameras can be quite large and
\ncumbersome (imagine trying to shoot a scene with seven layers, each
\nat least a foot apart, and you’ll have an idea of how big a
\nmultiplane setup–excluding the camera–can be) and of course, the
\nprecision required for each shot makes the possibility for error
\nfairly high. But the final result can be spectacular and well worth
\nthe trouble.
\n\tSpecial effects are often taken care of here as well.
\n\tEDITING. Now we’ve got the raw footage, and our audio
\ntracks. It’s time to sit down and edit the film. This involves
\nrearranging sequences, throwing out mistakes made by the camera crew,
\nand cutting together a complete audio track by syncing appropriate
\nsounds with the appropriate frames. After the film has been spliced
\ntogether and the various audio tracks have been worked out, the film
\nand audio tracks are merged onto a final print, and we have an
\nanimated film.<\/p>\n

Now, let’s look at how the same procedures can be followed, using a network of computers with animation production soft
\nware.
\n\tPLAN EVERYTHING: EXPOSURE SHEETS. Exposure sheets can be
\nentered directly into the computer. Since we’re operating on a
\nnetwork, everyone will be able to refer back to the exposure sheets
\nfor timing, lighting information, etc., and any changes made at any
\npoint in production will be instantly available to everybody.
\n\tROUGH DRAWINGS AND PENCIL TESTS. Drawings can be done
\ndirectly on the computer with a graphics tablet. However, they can
\njust as easily be done with pencil and paper, and scanned in
\nafterwards with a regular desktop scanner. The pencil tests can be
\ndone on the computer, and images can be rearranged or held with a few
\ncommands.
\n\tCLEANUP. The cleanup process can be made easier by setting a
\nthreshold for the images. Everything darker than the threshold will
\nbe made black; everything lighter, white. If the threshold is set
\nproperly, the task of cleaning up can be reduced to minor touchups,
\nor eliminated altogether.
\n\tINK & PAINT. Now that we have the line drawings, we can
\nthrow colour at our images. The outlines of the images can easily be
\npainted in colours aside from black, for that softer look. Sure,
\nthis used to be expensive, but pixels are cheap. As for painting,
\ncartoon images are typically coloured with flat colours filling
\ndistinct areas. Anyone who has played with a computer paint program
\nknows that computers do this sort of thing without breathing hard.
\nAnd if the animator is looking for a gradual transition of one colour
\nto another–closer to an airbrush effect–well, that can be done as
\nwell. In fact, the computer can allow for fine control over the
\nairbrush, which can eliminate shimmering in airbrush effects (unless
\nthe shimmer is a desired effect, of course.) As if that weren’t
\nsimple enough, different programs also have options allowing the
\nanimator to say, for instance, “Colour Bugs Bunny’s ears gray for the
\nnext 250 frames,” and the computer makes it so. These methods are
\nnot foolproof, and require some human double-checking, but they
\nsignificantly reduce the animator’s workload. Still another feature:
\nsome programs take advantage of multithreading, where the program
\nallows the user to do work while it’s busy executing the previous set
\nof instructions. A multithreading program could be busily colouring
\n250 frames of Bugs’ ears in the background while the animator is
\nworking on something else. Colours can also be changed at the click
\nof a mouse.
\n\tCAMERA. Since there are no physical cels, real-world
\nlimitations like translucency and colour correction become
\nnon-issues. Standard camera moves and exposure instructions can be
\ndone programmed in, and previewed before they’re set in stone.
\n\tAs for multiplane effects, you can set up a virtual
\nmultiplane camera which is far more elaborate than any in real life,
\nsince all the layers and the camera itself are just bits and bytes.
\nThe computer can figure out how much each image needs to be blurred
\nto simulate depth of field.
\n\tSpecial effects can be added in at this phase–lighting
\neffects, smoke, liquid effects, blurring and the like can all be done
\nand redone digitally until the director is satisfied.
\n\tOnce everything is ready, the system can output the frames
\ndirectly to film using a digital film recorder–no further human
\nintervention required. Digital animation systems can also allow for
\ndifferent output media: rather than shooting on film and then making
\na transfer to video for direct-to-video projects, the images can be
\nsent directly to tape.
\n\tEDITING. Editing at this point can be done traditionally,
\nusing the film we got from the previous stage. The other alternative
\nis to use a digital editing system, where the editing is done before
\nthe frames go to film.<\/p>\n

What we’ve covered so far are the broad stages of animation
\nproduction. But computerized systems can also simplify more
\nspecialized functions in the process. Consider lip syncing, the
\nmatching of mouth movements to certain phonetic sounds. Some
\npackages employ phoneme recognition, which allows the computer to
\nfigure out which mouth position to use (of course, these mouth
\npositions must have been created by the animator) based on the
\nsyllables it recognizes from the voice track. Of course, speech
\nrecognition is still not an exact science, and there are occasions
\nwhen animators will want to exaggerate or otherwise modify the basic
\nmouth positions–but for the most part, a lot of time can be saved
\nusing this method.
\n\tThere is also the marrying of computer effects to 2D. For
\ninstance, 3D animation can be combined with 2D. Imagine a scene with
\ncomplex mechanical works–rather than draw everything frame by frame,
\nthe computer offers an alternative–creating the scene in using a 3D
\nmodeling\/animation system, and then having the computer render the
\nimage with solid lines and colours. Used wisely, this can leave the
\ncomputer to do what computers do best–animating rigid bodies
\nfollowing programmed instructions–while leaving the animator to
\nconcentrate on doing more expressive character animation.
\n\tHowever, the best feature of these systems by far is the new
\nflexibility they allow in production. Changes can be made right up
\nto the last minute, if necessary; scenes can be previewed in a
\nvariety of ways, making it easier to spot mistakes and correct them;
\nseveral people can work on different parts of the same scene
\nsimultaneously without interfering with each other. As with anything
\nelse, the computer is a tool: in this case, a tool which, if used
\nproperly, could lead to better animation for all of us.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #178, from hmccracken, 22918 chars, Sun Jul 21 22:38:34 1996
\n————————–
\nLUXO SR.
\nAn Interview with John Lasseter
\n(From Animato #19, Winter 1990)<\/p>\n

SIGGRAPH, the annual convention of’ the Association for
\nComputing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Graphics,
\nis a mammoth convergence of the computer graphics industry
\nthat lasts a week but would take years to explore fully.
\nSeminars and panels discuss the science and art of computer
\nanimation; acres of exhibition space display products that push
\ngraphics technology to remarkable limits.<\/p>\n

But in many ways the heart of the show is the Computer
\nAnimation Theater, a show of the most outstanding new works
\nof computer animation, ranging from sophisticated technical
\nexercises to increasingly films with characters as real as
\nthose in more traditionally-animated films. And for the past few
\nyears, a new film by John Lasseter and his collaborators at the
\ncomputer hardware and software company Pixar has been
\namong the most eagerly-waited works in the show. In 1986, it
\nwas the ground-breaking Luxo Jr.; last year, it was Tin Toy,
\nthe first computer-animated film to win an Academy Award
\nThis year, the Lasseter film that premiered to a wildly
\nenthusiastic reception was Knickknack, an ingenious, very
\nfunny cartoon which gives us some idea of what Chuck Jones
\nor Tex Avery might have done-with computer animation. Luxo
\nJr. established standards for computer character animation
\nthat have inspired many of the best computer-animated films
\nmade since then; Lasseter’s own subsequent films are among
\nthe finest of those films, and each one has shown us more
\nclearly what tremendous potential this new art form has.<\/p>\n

I interviewed Lasseter at SIGGRAPH in Boston in August,
\n1989<\/p>\n

Harry McCracken<\/p>\n

HARRY McCRACKEN: \/ should start by asking how you got
\ninterested in animation in the first place<\/p>\n

JOHN LASSETER: I got interested in it when I was really quite
\nyoung, as I guess most animators do. I used to get up very early
\non Saturday mornings and watch all the cartoons until the golf
\nmatches came on, or the football. And I used to go out and see
\nall the Disney films.<\/p>\n

When I was a freshman in high school, our library had a copy
\nof the Bob Thomas book The Art of Animation, the one all
\nabout Sleeping Beauty. I got that, and I read it. And it was sort
\nof funny, I realized that people actually did the job of making
\ncartoons. And I thought, “That’s what I want to do.”<\/p>\n

I can tell you exactly when I realized that I wanted to be an
\nanimator. It was at a screening of The Sword and the Stone at
\nthe local theater. I don’t know if in your town there’s a theater
\nthat, if a movie is playing there, you know that’s it; after there,
\nthe movie’s gone. It was the end of the release. Forty-nine cents.
\nIt was the Wardman Theater in Whittier. <\/p>\n

So I saw Sword in the Stone, got out, my mom picked me up,
\nand I said, “I want to work for Disney. I want to be an
\nanimator.” And luckily, my mother was an art teacher at a high
\nschool for thirty-eight years, and she was always supportive of
\nbeing an artist as a profession.<\/p>\n

I wrote to Disney and all those things through high school, and
\ntook figure drawing courses. And when I was graduating from
\nhigh school, Cal Arts was forming their character animation
\nprogram as a separate program from the film graphics program.
\nThe next year I went there; it was the first year of the program. I
\nwent there for four years, then went to work for Disney.<\/p>\n

What did you work on at Disney?<\/p>\n

When I first started working there, I did a little bit of animation
\non The Fox and the Hound. Then I worked in the story
\ndepartment for a while, on a number of projects that didn’t get
\noff the ground. Then I worked as an animator again, on
\nMickey’s Christmas Carol.<\/p>\n

About that tune, Tron was being made, and that’s when I got
\ninterested in computer animation. Bill Kroyer and Jerry Rees
\nwere doing it, and I saw some of the early work on that and got
\nreal excited about computer graphics. I was able to get Tom
\nWilhite, who at that time was head of production at the studio,
\ninterested in combining character animation with
\ncomputer-generated animation. I worked with Glen Keane,
\nwho’s a brilliant animator, and we did a thirty-second test called
\nthe Wild Things test, which combined hand-drawn animation
\nwith computer-generated backgrounds.<\/p>\n

After that, I went up to Lucasfilm, and started working with
\ntheir computer animation group. The first thing I worked on
\nthere was The Adventures of Andre and Wally B. which was a
\nshort animated film we did for SIGGRAPH in 1984 when it
\nwas in Minneapolis. Then I worked on Young Sherlock Homes.
\nI’ve sort of done a project a year while I’ve been up there. In
\nFebruary of ’86 we spun off and became Pixar and that year did
\nLuxo Jr, and then the year after that did Red’s Dream, and then
\nTin Toy, and this year Knickknack.<\/p>\n

Did you leave Disney because you wanted them to get more
\ninvolved in computer animation then they were at the time?<\/p>\n

Yes, sort of. At the time, the expense was so much, and there
\nwas very little that had been developed. It required a lot of
\ndevelopment in order for it to be usable. The Wild Things test
\nproved to be really successful, I think in proving that it could
\nwork, but also it was quite expensive at the time. They were
\nconcerned that it was just too expensive.<\/p>\n

There were still some people who stayed dedicated to
\ncomputer animation, and since they’ve done some great work
\nwith it, of course.<\/p>\n

Was there a point when you felt you reached a breakthrough
\nwith your work in computer animation? There’s a much bigger
\ndifference between Andre and Wally B. and Luxo Jr. in style
\nand approach then between Luxo and the films that have
\nfollowed.<\/p>\n

Right. It’s pretty obvious that Luxo Jr. was a real breakthrough,
\nnot only for me and Pixar but for the industry as well. When we
\nwere spun off and became Pixar, they said, “For the first year of
\nPixar, we want to have a film in the film show at SIGGRAPH.
\nYou guys do it.”<\/p>\n

Bill Reeves, Eben Ostby and myself didn’t have a film we
\nwanted to do. So we all sort of did a little something we wanted
\nto. Bill was working on some interesting research on waves, so
\nhe did a little piece with waves. Eben was doing some
\nprocedural animation; he did something with a beach chair. And
\nI was interested in doing things with lamps. I had done some
\nstudent films with them, and they were kind of fun.<\/p>\n

I started working on doing lamps. I modeled one Luxo lamp,
\nand then a friend of mine came over with his baby. And then I
\nwent back to working on the lamp, and wondered what the lamp
\nwould look like as a baby. I scaled different parts of it down:
\nthe springs are the same diameter, but they’re much shorter. The
\nsame with the rods. The shade is small but the bulb is the same
\nsize. The reason the bulb is the same size is because that’s
\nsomething you buy at the hardware store; it doesn’t grow.<\/p>\n

\tSo I animated it, and the story developed as I went, and we
\npremiered it at SIGGRAPH. I love showing the films at
\nSIGGRAPH because you get such a great reaction. The reaction
\nto Luxo Jr. was phenomenal; people had never seen anything
\nquite like that before, and it got a really wonderful ovation. <\/p>\n

\tThe thing I wanted to do in Luxo Jr. was make the characters
\nand story the most important thing, not the fact that it was done
\nwith computer graphics. As you see in the film show at
\nSIGGRAPH, a lot of times it’s computer graphics for computer
\ngraphics nerds. People get excited about it purely because it was
\ngenerated with a computer.<\/p>\n

I wanted people who had never even seen a computer before to
\nlook at it and enjoy it as a film. I did a couple of things: I locked
\nthe camera down, didn’t move it.<\/p>\n

There’s so much stuff flying around in computer films.<\/p>\n

Oh God, yeah; you get sick. They do it because you can do it.
\nAnd people tend to have real bright colors, without thinking
\nabout the way things look.<\/p>\n

After the film show, Jim Blinn, who’s one of the pioneers in
\nthis field, came running up to me and said, “John, I have to ask
\nyou a question.” And I thought, “God, I don’t know anything
\nabout these algorithms; I know he’s going to ask me about the
\nshadow algorithms or something like that. And he asked me,
\n“John, was the parent lamp a mother or a father?”<\/p>\n

You figured you had succeeded then. <\/p>\n

Yes, exactly. Here, one of the real brains in computer graphics
\nwas concerned more about whether the parent lamp was a
\nmother or a father.<\/p>\n

It’s interesting; that question keeps coming up. A lot of people
\nsay it’s a mother; a lot of people say it’s a father. I always
\nenvisioned it as a father, but it’s based greatly on my mother. To
\nme, if it was a mother lamp, she would never let the baby jump
\nup on that ball But the dad is like, “Go ahead, jump up on it, fall
\noff and break your bulb. Youll learn a lesson.”<\/p>\n

What role do you play in making your. computer-animated
\nfilms in comparison to the role the director or animator plays
\nin the creation of a..traditional animated film?<\/p>\n

I come up with the initial concepts. We bounce the idea around
\nwith the crew we have. Most of them have computer
\nbackgrounds, but over the years they’ve become quite savvy
\nwith animation and stories.<\/p>\n

So we usually develop the stories together, and I’ll do the
\nstoryboard. From the storyboard we define what needs to be
\nmodeled. We generally divide up the modeling task between the
\ncrew. I’ll do some modeling, and then I’ll do all the animation,
\ngenerally. Some of the other people have started doing a little bit
\nof the animation.<\/p>\n

I also direct it as far as what it looks like, color decisions,
\nstaging it, doing the angles. It’s sort of up to me to keep the
\nstoryline together in my head. And then Bill and Eben usually
\nare the ones who render it, after I’m finished doing the
\nanimation.<\/p>\n

Have you been particularly influenced by any artists in your
\nwork?<\/p>\n

Yes. There’s Walt Disney; his films are just brilliant in their
\nstaging and characters, of course. Chuck Jones is probably my
\nnext biggest influence. As a director, he has the greatest timing
\nthere is; I think you’ll agree with that.<\/p>\n

But also there’s Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston as
\nanimators. The reason I like their work so much is that they do
\nsuch great characters. I love the work of Ward Kimball as well;
\nhe’s a big influence. But his work, and Milt Kahl’s work, are
\nmuch more identifiable. You’ll look at Milt Kahl’s work and say,
\n“Oh, there’s a Milt Kahl scene.” His stuff is brilliant, but I think
\nFrank Thomas and Ollie Johnston do work where the character
\nis it, is everything, and their stuff just comes alive.<\/p>\n

Also Norman McLaren and the Canadian Film Board…<\/p>\n

How has he influenced you – his use of color?<\/p>\n

Yes, and also- his series of films called “Animated Motion.”
\nThey’re such wonderful teaching tools.<\/p>\n

You know, in going to Cal Arts, and being born and raised in
\nLos Angeles, Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons were basically
\nmy sole influence. But since I left Disney and started doing
\nshort films, I’ve been going to animation festivals around the
\nworld. And that’s like a whole new world that’s opened up to me
\nof short films: the Film Board, all the European films, and even
\nthings from the United States. Stuff that you never, ever see,
\nand it’s such great work. The work of Paul Driessen, the work
\nof Bill Condie. Cordell Barker’s The Cat Came Back is just
\nfabulous. I keep getting influenced by these people.<\/p>\n

And I loved Roger Rabbit. It’s almost like an animated film for
\nanimators. All the gags they pulled from history. They just went
\nnuts, and it’s really fun.<\/p>\n

What are some of the stumbling blocks in using computer
\nanimation- things you’d like to do but can’t? Is that in your
\nmind much?<\/p>\n

In computer animation there are a lot of limitations that
\ntraditional animation doesn’t have. And vice versa, actually. As
\nsoon as I started working with computer animation, I realized
\nthat the easiest thing to do in hand-drawn animation are the
\nmost difficult to do in computer animation. An example of that
\nis organic shapes, like Dopey and all the great animation of the
\nDwarfs. You see that and it’s just so fluid, and yet it seems
\nconnected. That’s so hard to do with computer animation; it’s
\nvirtually impossible. It’s easy to make a sphere or any object
\nscale in X, Y. or Z, but to make something move around and
\nkeep the same volume is so hard. We keep doing research in
\nthat area.<\/p>\n

But then trying to animate a room with a moving camera shot
\nin hand animation, is also virtually impossible. And also, the
\nshadowing, and shading, and lighting, and reflection,
\nrefraction…all that stuff you get in computer animation is
\nvirtually impossible to do in hand animation. To me, it’s really
\nimportant for animators to understand the medium they’re
\nworking in, whether it’s sand animation, clay animation, cel
\nanimation, or computer animation.<\/p>\n

Traditional animation is one cheat after another. It’s always an
\nillusion of depth, or illusion of this or that. When I work with
\nthe computer graphics guys, they seen much more to be purists.
\nThey really want it to be truly refractive, truly this or that. So
\nI’ve introduced a lot of traditional animation-like cheats into the
\ncomputer animation we do, and it’s really broadened their
\nperspective a little bit.<\/p>\n

We keep pushing the boundaries out, and now I know exactly
\nwhat areas are very important to me but difficult to do, and
\nthose are the areas are the kinds of places we focus in on. If
\nyou’ve seen procedural animation, like Chris Wedge’s Balloon
\nGuy, where things are just kind of blublublublubluba. (Flops
\naround loosely in imitation of Balloon Guy) – I love that kind of
\nthing. The way Chris did it with Balloon Guy is great, because
\nhe as an animator defined the initial stuff, and then let the
\ncomputer do it.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of people who are just letting the computer do
\nthe animation. You can just type in “Character Walk,” and it’ll
\nwalk someplace. That takes the fun out of it for the animator.
\nSo what we’ve done is always keep the animator in initial
\ncontrol, and then let the computer do some of the more
\nmundane stuff. The first use of procedural animation was in
\nLuxo Jr., with the the ball rolling. Making a ball roll on the
\nground is actually quite difficult, because you have to match the
\ntranslation with the rotation, and the size of the ball and so on.
\nAnd I sat there with a calculator figuring all this out, and I
\nrealized, “What am I doing? Computers should be able to do
\nthis.”<\/p>\n

So Eben wrote this whole procedural animation system we
\nhave that does that. In Red’s Dream we did it with the unicycle:
\nthe wheels turning, and keeping the pedals flat, and all that. All
\nI did was to do a pass, with the timing of it and the character
\nmoving around. The snow (in Knickknack) is another good
\nexample. I just animated the character, and played with a few
\nparameters, and the computer did all of the snow floating
\naround. So as we go on, more and more tools are being
\ndeveloped. It’s getting more and more power, but the animator
\nstill has the initial control, and we can still tweak it after the
\ncomputer is done.<\/p>\n

Which of your films or characters do you think has been most
\nsuccessful so far in achieving what you want to do?<\/p>\n

Luxo Jr., without question. Tin Toy won the Oscar, but I wish
\nthe baby had been a little more cute. But the story was to the
\npoint where it was a baby monster, so it worked. It worked
\nreally well, in fact; it may have been better, since the baby
\nlooked kind of bizarre, than it might have if the baby was really,
\nreally cute.<\/p>\n

I like the sad ending in Red’s Dream. Knickknack I think
\nworks really quite well. It’s surprising the reaction that it’s
\ngetting. But generally, most peoples’ favorite is Luxo Jr.,
\nbecause it’s just this little simple thing, and it’s complete on its
\nown.<\/p>\n

Knickknack seems more cartoony than your other films.<\/p>\n

Right, it was a very conscious decision.<\/p>\n

It’s more of a gag cartoon.<\/p>\n

Right. After Tin Toy, we really wanted to do a cartoon. I went
\nback and looked at my collection of Chuck Jones and things.<\/p>\n

Another thing I wanted to ask you about was the sound effects
\nin your films. They seem more important than in most animated
\nfilms, and I was wondering if that was something related to the
\nfact that you’re working in computer animation, or if you’d do
\nthat no matter what.<\/p>\n

I’d do that no matter what. It’s the work of Gary Rydstrom, who
\nworks at Sprocket Systems, which is the post production facility
\nat Lucasfilm. He’s brilliant; we’ve become really close friends.<\/p>\n

Sound has been very important to me. Actually back when I
\nwas a student and first began cutting sound effects to go with
\nmy animation, I had this scene where a lamp was falling from a
\nshelf and breaking its lightbulb. I was trying all these big
\ncrashes, and nothing was working. And I accidentally synched
\nup the wrong sound to it, which was this little tiny minute little
\n“tink,” with this big camera jar and everything. I just cracked up
\nbecause it gave it a completely different feeling. And in a way,
\nit was that moment that I realized how important good sound
\neffects were.<\/p>\n

On Andre and Wally B. the sound was done by Ben Burtt,
\nwho’s won numerous Oscars for Star Wars and Raiders and all
\nthose things, and he had so much fun doing it. And Gary’s done
\nall the sound effects from Luxo on. I bring Gary in even-. before
\ndie story-board is complete;: I’ll show him the initial ideas, and I
\nalways leave lots of openings in my animation for Gary to do
\nstuff. Tin Toy was probably the peak, because he did all that:
\nwonderful stuff. Just the fact that it was a one-man band was
\nfor Gary, because I knew he would have a lot of fun doing it.<\/p>\n

On Tin Toy, he was cutting the sound effects for Cocoon II at
\nthe same time. Cocoon II took him about a day, day and a half
\nto-do the sound.effects for one reel. Eight or nine reels make up
\na complete film. Gary took six weeks to do the sound effects for
\nTin Toy, because he was so into it. He was so into it because he
\nloved it. He was doing it on his own time, and he kept layering
\nand layering sound after sound. There must have been twenty
\ndifferent tracks for Tin Toy, and it really shows, be cause it’s so
\nrich.<\/p>\n

Also, I’ve found that when I do animation, it’s very important
\nfor me that you get a sense that the character is made out of a
\nparticular something. I wanted the feeling with the lamps (in
\nLuxo Jr.) that their bases were very heavy, so when they land
\nit’s with a thud, and so on. In Tin Toy it was very important to
\nget a sense that the character was made out of tin, and that the
\nbaby was flesh-and-blood and much more massive. Sound
\nreally helps.<\/p>\n

Is there a reason why all your films are basically in
\npantomime?<\/p>\n

You noticed that. I’ve done two student films one called Lady
\nand the Lamp, and the other called Nightmare. Lady and the
\nLamp won a student Academy Award in 1979 for animation,
\nand then Nightmare won the same award the next year. Lady
\nand the Lamp, my very first film, is the only one that has any
\ndialogue.<\/p>\n

Each film, I want to give myself a challenge, to make it
\ninteresting. If you keep doing the same old thing, it’s “Ho,
\nhum.” With Lady and the Lamp, it’s the story of a lamp shop
\nwhere all the lamps are alive, and this one little lamp breaks its
\nlight bulb and goes blind. It feels around trying to find another
\nlight bulb and ends up screwing in a gin bottle and getting
\ndrunk, and destroying the lamp shop. And it was very important
\nthat that I wanted to do this character that didn’t talk. The lamp
\ndoesn’t talk; it’s the shopkeeper that talks. I wanted to get the
\nsense that he was a character without doing the typical thing of
\nsticking a face on an inanimate object. And I think I succeeded.<\/p>\n

The next year, everyone at Cal Arts was doing things with
\ndialogue. I wanted to do Nightmare without any dialogue, to
\njust let the film play by itself. It was a challenge at the time to
\ndo it without dialogue. And then when I went back and did
\nLuxo Jr., I just went on from there.<\/p>\n

So you were thinking that way before you got involved with
\ncomputer animation.<\/p>\n

Oh yes. One thing that Chuck -Jones said that always has been
\nin my mind – I guess it was a comment towards Saturday
\nmorning cartoons – is that with really good animation you
\nshould be able to turn the sound off and still know what’s going
\non. That’s something I’ve always taken to heart, and it’s been the
\nfoundation of my stories in a lot of ways.<\/p>\n

I think maybe soon Ill start experimenting with doing
\ndialogue with computer animation. Generally, the dialogue I’ve
\nseen with computer animation has been pretty weak. There are
\nall these principles and things that over the years people have
\ndeveloped with animating dialogue. At Disney, they teach you
\ncertain things, and I’m real interested in applying those to
\ncomputer animation as well, like I’ve applied the other
\nprinciples of animation, like stretch and squash, and
\nanticipation, and timing and so on.<\/p>\n

Are you interested, when it becomes economically feasible, in
\ndoing longer computer-animated films, like features?<\/p>\n

Yes, that’s what we’re working towards. The goal of our group
\nis to eventually do a feature film. Ever since I’ve been with the
\ngroup, we’ve been researching and developing computer
\nanimation systems, and with my influence it’s very important to
\nhave computer animation systems that are developed for
\ntraditional animators to use. It takes quite a lot of training, but
\nthe tools are there that people are used to. And we want to get
\ninto longer forms of animation<\/p>\n

When will that become feasible?<\/p>\n

It’s hard to say, but not long. We’re starting to develop some
\nlonger-format stuff.<\/p>\n

Where do you see computer animation and yourself being in
\nten years or so’ Do you see an end to hand-drawn animation? <\/p>\n

Never. Never, never, never, never. Computer animation is
\ndifferent than hand-drawn animation. One of the misnomers
\nthat a lot of people think about is that computers go into other
\nindustries and replace hand workers. It’s not that way at all with
\ncomputer animation; it’s a very different look.<\/p>\n

Where I see the future, to be honest, is something I want to do
\nmore of: a combination of character animation done by hand,
\nand character animation done by computers, and backgrounds
\ndone by painting and computer combined together. The
\ntechnology we’re developing is going to make it a lot more
\nfeasible to do that sort of thing, so it blends together better than
\nin the past. Cel animation looks so different than computer
\nanimation, but I think with developments like what we did in
\nthe Wild Things test , and like in Roger Rabbit – the
\n-shading-that they achieved – you’ll be able to make cel
\nanimation look a little rounder, more like you can do with
\ncomputer animation. <\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #179, from hmccracken, 21198 chars, Mon Jul 22 01:09:44 1996
\n————————–
\nWelcome to Burbank Florida
\nA Visit to Disney Animation Florida
\n(From Animato #19, Winter 1990.)<\/p>\n

By Harry McCracken<\/p>\n

The Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park, which joined
\nthe Magic Kingdom and EPCOT Center at Walt
\nDisney World last May, is a place where pieces of
\nmovie legend – from Dorothy’s ruby slippers to the
\npiano on which Sam played it again to Hollywood
\nBoulevard itself – have somehow magically landed in
\ncentral Florida. Tucked in one corner of the place is
\none of the most significant Hollywood icons that has
\nmade the trip: an animation studio making Disney
\ncartoons with classic characters like Mickey Mouse
\nand new stars like Roger Rabbit.<\/p>\n

While the attraction opened its doors to Disney
\nWorld visitors only this year, in one sense its roots
\nstretch back to the 1930s, when Disney first began
\nhaving to explain that it did not offer tours of its
\nanimation studio. (An earlier stab at addressing this
\nproblem grew from a proposed playground on the
\nBurbank studio property into Disneyland.) Planning
\nfor the Disney-MGM Studios project began not long
\nafter the present Disney studio management led by
\nMichael Eisner assumed power, and the resulting park
\ncombines facets of the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT
\nCenter into a theme park which complements its two
\nneighbors on the Disney property (If the Magic
\nKingdom’s greatest appeal is to children, and EPCOT
\nis of particular interest to grownups, Disney-MGM
\nseems to be aimed most squarely at teenagers and
\nyoung adults. Of course, all three parks are perfectly
\ncapable of captivating visitors of any age.)<\/p>\n

The park’s attractions range from the purely fanciful
\n– a Hollywood Boulevard inspired more by every
\nmovie fan’s dreams than the actual street, an elaborate
\nride through great moments in film history – to a
\nworking film production center where visitors can
\ndiscover how movies are made. It is here that the
\nanimation studio tour is located, along with a
\n“Backstage Movie Tour” built around soundstages
\nand sets where live action television programs,
\nmovies, and commercials are filmed.<\/p>\n

The animation building really holds two intertwined
\noperations: a Disney-MGM Theme Park attraction –
\n“The Magic of Disney Animation” – and an animation
\nstudio – Walt Disney Animation Florida – that will be
\nproducing animated shorts and featurettes as well as
\nother-special projects. The attraction, which makes
\nthe actual animation studio the centerpiece of an
\nexperience that includes films and an art exhibit, does
\na fine job of taking visitors behind the scenes of
\nDisney animation. While there is humor, in the form
\nof a film and several short video presentations
\nfeaturing Robin Williams, the overall tone is
\nscholarly, almost reverent; the mood is reminiscent of
\nFrank Thomas and Oliver Johnston’s Disney
\nAnimation: the Illusion of Life or one of the other big
\nart books on the studio’s work. (Interestingly, the
\nanimation studio tour is much more serious and less
\nglitzy than the live-action studio tour that sits next
\ndoor on the Disney-MGM lot.)<\/p>\n

Walt Disney Animation Florida’s staff had to be
\nbuilt from scratch, a not-inconsiderable task given
\nthat the state does not have a natural abundance of
\nprofessional animators. (Although once upon a time
\nthere was another major animation studio in the state;
\nsee this issue’s “Koko Komments” for more
\ninformation on the Fleischer studio’s period there.)<\/p>\n

The staff includes eight animators from a variety of
\nbackgrounds: Mark Henn came to the studio after
\ncontributing to every Disney animated feature from
\nThe Fox and the Hound to The Little Mermaid (for
\nwhich he animated many of the title character’s
\nscenes). Bngitte Hartley arrived a veteran of the
\nLondon TV-commercial industry and an animator on
\nWho Framed Roger Rabbit. And Alex Kuperschmidt
\nhas been working as an artist at Walt Disney World
\nfor several years, including as an animator for a small
\nanimation group which has since been disbanded. The
\nstaff also includes artists “on loan” from the
\nCalifornia studio for special projects, like Mark
\nKausler, whose past credits range from Yellow
\nSubmarine to early Ralph Bakshi features to Daffy
\nDuck’s Quackbusters; he put his experience from
\nWho Framed Roger Rabbit and Tummy Trouble to
\nuse during several months at the studio spent working
\nas an animator and storyman on the studio’s first
\ntheatrical cartoon, Roller Coaster Rabbit.<\/p>\n

Much of the staff is made up of young artists new to
\nthe animation business, many of them graduates of
\nDisney’s California studio’s internship program.
\nDisney Animation Florida has also begun its own
\napprenticeship system, drawing on students from five
\nart schools across the country, including CalArts and
\nSarasota, Florida’s Ringling School of Art and
\nDesign. Ten to fifteen seniors and juniors participate
\nin each training session, working independently at
\nfirst, and eventually graduating to inbetweening and
\nother production work on the studio’s films. Some of
\nthe best artists who have completed the program are
\noffered positions as assistants; some of the most
\npromising assistants are being groomed to become
\nanimators on future projects. “They’re all wildly
\ntalented as artists,” says Brigitte Hartley of the
\nstudents in the program, “It’s great to have that
\naround.”<\/p>\n

The facilities these artists work in are new,
\nnicely-equipped and organized, and attractive. “Well,
\nit’s such a beautiful studio,” Mark Kausler says “It’s
\njust a great place to work, a beautiful environment.”
\nThe studio, with a staff of about eighty, is small in
\ncomparison to the California Disney facilities, and
\ncompact enough that visitors can peer into each
\ndepartment from story to editing without tiring their
\nfeet. Mark Henn comments that “It’s nice being in a
\nsmaller group like this, where everything is at your
\nfingertips: Camera, editorial…everything is close at
\nhand. Being a tight group like this, hopefully you’ll
\nhave better communication, which is a major problem
\nnot just in animation, but in any business of this size.”<\/p>\n

There is also the odd fact that, unlike any other
\nanimation artists in history, these ones work under the
\nclose inspection of hundreds of Florida tourists. (Not
\nevery nook and cranny of the studio is visible to
\nguests, but neither are there great amounts of space
\nthat aren’t apparent to them.) The studio is
\nsoundproofed off from the visitor area, so sound isn’t
\nmuch of a problem, except for video monitors that
\ncontinuously play the Walter Cronkite-Robin
\nWilliams loops. Some of the employees have taken to
\nshielding these out with the help of Walkman-type
\ntape players. Most artists adjust quickly to the faces
\nwatching them; their communications with visitors
\nare mostly limited to a few funny signs taped to the
\nwindow and the occasional suction cup-tipped dart
\nshot at the glass.<\/p>\n

Having decided to operate a cartoon studio as part of
\nthe Disney-MGM Theme Park, Disney was faced
\nwith the question of what to do with the animation it
\nproduced. At first, the plans were for the studio to
\nmake theatrical featurettes starring Mickey Mouse
\nand other classic Disney characters, something the
\nstudio had intended to do ever since the success of
\nMickey’s Christmas Carol in 1983. Using Mickey and
\nhis crowd would serve another purpose: audiences are
\nprobably more interested in seeing artists at work on
\ncartoons with famous characters than new ones they
\naren’t familiar with.<\/p>\n

The studio will be doing this: its second major
\nproject is a retelling of The Prince and the Pauper
\nwith Mickey in both title roles and many of his
\nfriends in the supporting cast. During the Summer of
\n1988, however, Who Framed Roger Rabbit opened
\nand caused a sensation, and suddenly Disney had its
\nnew star in decades who was perfectly suited to
\nshort-subject parts. And so Disney Animation
\nFlorida’s first project for theatrical release became
\nRoller Coaster Rabbit, a seven-minute Roger Rabbit
\ncartoon which will reportedly open with Touchstone’s
\nDick Tracy next Summer. One Roger short, Tummy
\nTrouble, had already been produced in California,
\nwith some ink-and-paint work done in the Florida
\nstudio; both it and Roller Coaster Rabbit were
\ndirected by Rob Minkoff.<\/p>\n

Roller Coaster Rabbit’s story was conceived and
\nstoryboarded in California, along with Tummy
\nTrouble and three other Roger stories which may be
\nanimated in the future: Hare in My Soup, Pressed
\nand Impressed, and Beach Blanket Bunny. (The
\nanimation tour’s story room, incidentally, is the one
\narea that is at this time a mock-up rather than a real,
\noperating facility; The Prince and the Pauper was
\nalso storyboarded in Burbank.)<\/p>\n

The cartoon takes Roger, along with Baby Herman
\nand his mother, to a county fair, the atmosphere of
\nwhich Mark Kausler compares to the animated
\nsequences of Disney’s So Dear to My Heart. As in
\nSomethin’s Cookin’ (the Roger short that opened Who
\nFramed Roger Rabbit) and Tummy Trouble, the
\nstoryline concerns Roger’s hapless attempts to save
\nHerman and himself from perilous situations, of
\nwhich the fair proves an extremely rich source. Roger
\npursues the baby through a dart game and shooting
\ngallery, around a ferris wheel (in a scene that may not
\nmake it into the final film), and into the bullpen home
\nof a bull who resembles a more belligerent cousin of
\nDisney’s version of Ferdinand. The climactic scene
\ncomes when Roger and Herman find their way onto
\nthe title’s roller coaster, which is computer animated a
\nla the clockwork scene in The Great Mouse
\nDetective; and as in Tummy Trouble, there is a
\nsurprise ending incorporating live-action footage.
\n(During the cartoon, Jessica Rabbit makes a cameo as
\nthe operator of an understandably-popular kissing
\nbooth.)<\/p>\n

Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit’s animation and
\nTummy Trouble, Roller Coaster Rabbit is done in the
\nstyle of the mythical Maroon Cartoons studio, which
\nAlex Kuperschmidt describes as “taking the best of
\nAmerican cartoon forms and combining them all in
\none…a hybrid of of Tex Avery’s sensibility with a
\nDisney quality.” Avery’s influence is felt in the visual
\nstyle – the look somewhat resembles that of his early
\nfilms for MGM – but most importantly in the; films’
\ngags. Every time Roger Rabbit does a take, it’s a
\nloving tribute to Tex Avery and his importance in the
\nhistory of American animation.<\/p>\n

But Kausler says that the exaggerated gags are “the
\nonly thing that’s survived from the forties. Everything
\nelse is like a feature; Roger is really a feature
\ncharacter. Not just a crazy little character like Droopy
\nor the buzzards in What’s Buzzin’ Buzzard [Tex
\nAvery, 1943], which he somewhat resembles. He’s
\ngot a little more depth to him than that.” (Although
\nBrigitte Hartley, whose work on Roller Coaster
\nRabbit focused on Baby Herman, laughs that she
\n“worked on Roger in the film [Who Framed Roger
\nRabbit], but he’s become too wacky. I can’t keep up
\nwith him.”<\/p>\n

The production process on the short, too, bears little
\nresemblance to the traditiona1 cartoon-making
\nsystem, in which budgets were tight and the story was
\nplanned down to the last detail before animation
\nbegan. Mark Kausler estimates that only one out of
\nevery four animation drawings done for Tummy
\nTrouble ended up on the screen, and suspects the ratio
\non Roller Coaster Rabbit to be similar. “It’s much
\nmore of a live-action approach,” he says. “They think
\nin terms of shooting ratios, how much stuff can be
\ndone over, rewrites at the last minute, just like in
\nlive-action filmmaking.”<\/p>\n

Mark Henn agrees, and notes Walt Disney Studios’
\nChairman Jeffrey Katzenberg’s influence on how
\nDisney animation is produced in both California and
\nFlorida. “It’s a kind of a hybrid of live-action and the
\nway Disney used to make films. Knowing that in one
\nsense nothing is ever locked, and there’s always room
\nfor improvement, but with this hurry-up,
\nwe’ve-got-to-get-it-done-yesterday kind of pace. In a
\nlot of ways, it’s good, because you don’t have to wait
\nfour or five years to see your finished work. You
\ndon’t spend so much time on it that you lose your
\nobjectivity.”<\/p>\n

The work pace is much brisker on the Roger
\ncartoons and new features than the leisurely gait that
\nDisney animation had settled into in the 1960s and
\n1970s, but in many ways the attention to detail on
\nRoller Coaster Rabbit is exceptionally high. (The
\nRoger shorts are by far the most expensive short
\ncartoons ever produced.) Mark Kausler: “Everything
\nis on a higher level. The cleanup is a lot more refined;
\nthey don’t just take the animators’ drawings and
\nXerox them. It goes through a whole different stage:
\nthe cleanup people have to make it very, very precise,
\nand add all the little things – like his pants cuffs
\nfalling through, what happens to his ears and hair, the
\namount of delay on every part of his body.
\nEssentially, you’re using two sets of animators for
\nevery scene.”<\/p>\n

This painstaking work pays off: while the
\nanimation is filmed using the Xerox camera, which
\nusually results in a rougher line quality, Roller
\nCoaster Rabbit has a slick, hand-inked look straight
\nout of the 1940s.<\/p>\n

While much of what’s new about the approach to
\nproduction taken on the cartoon is also taking place
\non the Disney animation features, there are some
\nnotable differences. On the features, animators are
\ntypically “cast,” with each animator spending most of
\nhis or her time on a particular character’s or
\ncharacters’ appearances throughout the movie.
\nAnimation on the Roger Rabbit cartoons however, is
\nassigned primarily by scene, with each animator being
\nresponsible for a scene and all the characters in it.<\/p>\n

Mark Henn draws some further contrasts between
\nanimating on a Roger short and his work on the
\nfeatures: “It’s a very different style of animation. It’s
\nvery broad; it’s very action-oriented, very fast-paced.
\nIt’s kind of as if you were taking a very well-known
\ndramatic actor and putting him in a comedy role, or
\nvice-versa. It’s putting on a slightly different hat for
\nme, which is good; I like the challenge of doing
\nsomething different.”<\/p>\n

“It differs from the other studio in that our
\norganization is a little primitive, compared with
\nCalifornia,” notes Kausler. “We’re still developing,
\nand we don’t really have a smooth, efficient way to
\nwork, because we haven’t done enough pictures yet. I
\nthink when we get more production in, we’ll finally
\nget it up to speed where everybody’s comfortable.
\nRight now we’re going in fits and starts.” (At this
\ntime, the Orlando studio’s work must be approved in
\nBurbank, necessitating plane trips back and forth for
\nthe directors and a certain amount of further delay.)<\/p>\n

\tChances are that the studio will get the opportunity
\nto achieve the development Kausler refers to:
\nattendance figures at Disney-MGM Studios Theme
\nPark are said to have surpassed even the company’s
\nimmodest expectations, and that The Magic of Disney
\nAnimation attraction and Disney Animation Florida
\nwill be around for many years to come seems assured.
\nExactly what the studio will be doing is harder to say.
\nThere are as of yet no long-term plans (no public
\nones, anyway), and what projects the studio gets is
\nlikely to depend on what needs doing at any given
\ntime.<\/p>\n

The immediate future, after Roller Coaster Rabbit
\nand The Prince and the Pauper, will probably include
\nmore featurettes starring Mickey and the gang, and
\nperhaps more Roger Rabbit cartoons, if Disney and
\nSpielberg choose to continue their collaboration on
\nthe character. As the need arises for commercials and
\nother special projects involving Disney characters,
\nthey may be done there as well; a McDonald’s ad
\nfeaturing characters from The Little Mermaid was the
\nfirst job completed at the studio.<\/p>\n

There may also be some work on feature films: the
\nstudio has already helped out on the the ink-and-paint
\nfor The Little Mermaid (and received its own set of
\ncredits in the film for doing so). Mark Henn will be
\ndoing some animation from Florida on The Rescuers
\nDown Under, in addition to his work on The Prince
\nand the Pauper, and studio officials have reportedly
\nconsidered using the Florida studio as a unit on
\nupcoming features.<\/p>\n

The ultimate project for the studio, of course, would
\nbe a feature film of its very own. Such a task would
\nrequire major expansions of both the staff and the
\nstudio facilities, neither of which is currently planned.
\nMark Henn for one, would like to see it happen, and
\ncalls it his long-term goal.<\/p>\n

A Disney animated feature produced entirely in a
\nstate other than California is an odd thought, but no
\nodder than the mere idea of a Disney studio outside of
\nthat state would have been a few years ago. Florida
\nwon’t even be the only home of a satellite Disney
\ncartoon studio: the company recently announced plans
\nfor a second Disney-MGM park at Euro Disneyland
\noutside of Paris, which will also have its own
\nanimation facility<\/p>\n

Whatever the future holds, there will be a lot of
\ncartoon fans watching with interest what goes on at
\nWalt Disney Animation Florida. And possibly
\nducking a well-aimed plastic dart shot in their
\ndirection.\t<\/p>\n

Sidebar: The Magic of Disney Animation: A Guided
\nTour<\/p>\n

The first thing visitors to The Magic of Disney
\nAnimation lay their eyes upon when entering the
\nattraction is an imposing case filled with thirteen of
\nthe Academy Awards the Disney studio has won for
\nanimated films over the decades. The case is the
\ncenterpiece of a small but impressive museum of
\nDisney animation art and other memorabilia from the
\nstudio’s origins to The Little Mermaid, the contents of
\nwhich will change every six months.<\/p>\n

The gallery also serves as a waiting area for Back to
\nNever Land, a film starring Walter Cronkite and
\nRobin Williams that introduces visitors to the basics
\nof animated-film production. This film is a delight
\nwhich, like the attraction as a whole, entertains and
\neducates in equal parts. Williams gets changed into an
\nanimated character – one of the Lost Boys from Peter
\nPan, to be exact – as Cronkite briefly explains each
\nstep of the animation process. The film’s animation,
\ndirected by Jerry Rees, is a nicely-done pastiche of
\nthe Peter Pan style. Williams is hilarious, and
\nCronkite is an agreeably avuncular host whose
\ndemeanor and voice bear a startling resemblance to
\nthose of another Walt who used to give similar
\npresentations about Disney animation on TV. (Back
\nto Never Land was, incidentally, produced outside the
\nDisney studio by Bob Rogers.)<\/p>\n

After the film is over, visitors enter the animation
\nstudio tour itself, which is conducted along a raised,
\nglassed-in area from which each studio department
\ncan be viewed in sequence. The tour, accompanied by
\nvideo monitors playing further Cronkite\/Williams
\nexplanatory material, is almost unique among Disney
\ntheme park attractions in that it is self-guided; visitors
\nare invited to stay as long as they wish and watch
\nartists and other employees at work. Stops on the tour
\ninclude story, animation, clean up, effects,
\nbackgrounds, photocopying process (aka Xerox),
\npaint lab, ink and paint, camera, and editing. The
\nstudio is on a staggered work schedule, so that
\nvisitors will find employees at work during most of
\nthe park’s open hours, including nights and-
\nweekends, although animation and ink and paint are
\nthe only two departments in which workers are almost
\nalways visible. These are also the departments in
\nwhich park guests are most likely to want to take their
\ntime: watching the artists laboring over animation and
\neels for films which won’t be released for many
\nmonths is fascinating, and like most animation
\nstudios, the place is filled with gag drawings,
\nmemorabilia, and other interesting clutter that’s fun to
\ntake note of. (Animation fans are especially likely to
\nwant to linger in the place and take in the little details
\nto be seen, like model sheets, copies of books on the
\nwork of Disney and other studios, and even, on one
\nartist’s desk, an inscribed sketch of Bugs Bunny by
\nChuck Jones.)<\/p>\n

At the end of the touring area is a small theater area
\nin which a video program featuring film clips and
\ninterviews with Disney animators is shown; like the
\nart display, it also serves as a painless waiting area,
\nthis time for a concluding film show of classic Disney
\nanimation clips in an adjacent theater. (As is common
\nwith such compilations, the film – which oddly
\nignores the short subjects almost entirely in favor of
\nbrief snippets of the animated features -is not terribly
\nsatisfying. It would be nice to see it replaced with a
\ncomplete Disney short, which might change on a
\nrotating basis.)<\/p>\n

From there, visitors exit back into the Disney-MGM
\npark, by way, if they choose, of an elegant shop
\nwhich sells mementos including books, posters, and
\ngreeting cards, authentic animation paper and pencils,
\nand production art and limited-edition eels costing
\nthousands of dollars. (Animation fans with long
\nmemories may grow nostalgic for the long-gone days
\nwhen Disneyland’s Art Corner sold choice cels from
\nthe l950s features for a few dollars apiece.)<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #180, from hmccracken, 6383 chars, Wed Jul 31 22:05:54 1996
\n————————–
\nCuriosity Shop<\/p>\n

In Praise of 8mm<\/p>\n

By Harry McCracken<\/p>\n

Call me a technological renegade, a throwback. All my cartoon-loving
\nfriends seem to be investing in laserdisc players, 27-inch TVs, and
\nsatellite dishes, the better to watch classic American animation in all its
\nglory.<\/p>\n

So why am I sitting in my darkened living room, using an 8mm
\nprojector to cast an Inspector Willoughby cartoon against the wall? A
\nsilent, heavily-edited, black-and-white Inspector Willoughby cartoon?<\/p>\n

It wasn’t nostalgia that attracted me to 8mm cartoons; my family had no
\nhome-movie setup when I was a kid. None of my friends seemed to,
\neither. Indeed, the only times I was reminded that anyone did was on
\nrare ocassions when my father dragged me on a trip to the local camera
\nshop: I’d entertain myself by browsing through the spinning racks of
\nDisney films. <\/p>\n

My only memories of actually *watching* 8mm animation come from
\noccasional family dinners at the Ground Round. Walter Lantz cartoons
\nflickered silently in one corner of the room, a sideshow to the main
\nattractions: greasy steaks, pitchers of root beer, and free popcorn; for all
\nI know, those cartoons flicker still today.<\/p>\n

For whatever reason, though, I’m finally becoming addicted to 8mm
\nhome movies — at least twenty years after the rest of the country forgot
\nall about them. Where do you find an 8mm projector to buy these days?
\nThey aren’t exactly plentiful. I got mine, a plasticky little GAF model
\nfrom the 1970s, for $10 from a wizened old man who had a cellarful of
\nthem. It’s decrepid and it’s flimsy, but it works just fine and can play
\neither ordinary 8mm or Super 8 reels.<\/p>\n

The movies themselves are a bit simpler to locate; take a look around
\nthe nooks and crannies of your local flea market or antique store and
\nyou’re likely to spot some, usually at giveaway prices. (To get to the
\ncartoons, you’ll need to sift through other 8mm fare, such as extracts
\nfrom Abbott and Costello flicks and highlights from fifty year-old
\nboxing matches.) I suspect that it’s the colorful boxes that keep home
\nmovies in circulation, not the thought that anyone is going to want to
\nwatch the films inside.<\/p>\n

But I do. And I’m discovering that 8mm home animation is — or should
\nI say was? — a fascinating world.<\/p>\n

For one thing, it’s a distinctly *different* world than that of big-time
\ntheatrical animation. In a theater or on TV, Chilly Willy is a distinctly
\nminor cartoon character; in the world of 8mm, he’s a bonafide star,
\nwhose films were among the most widely circulated of any character.
\nWalter Lantz characters in general had high profiles in the home-movie
\nbusiness, being, as they were, the top attractions of Castle Films, one of
\nthe leading home-movie companies.<\/p>\n

Official Films was another home-movie powerhouse. I have one of its
\ncatalogs from the late 1940s that’s a veritable museum of obscure
\ncartoon shorts. Van Beuren, Columbia, Ted Eshbaugh — the company
\ndealt in the work of the most hapless of all cartoon studios. Most of the
\nfilms it sold were one-shots with generic cartoon characters; about the
\nclosest it got to a star was Van Beuren’s enormously forgettable Cubby
\nBear, whom Official inexplicably redubbed Brownie. <\/p>\n

Whatever the studio, 8mm home-movie cartoons are generally edited
\ndown, ofen drastically so; they’re in black-and-white; and they feature
\nsubtitles instead of sound. (I realize that color home movies with audio
\ntracks exist, but I’m not interested in them; color and sound would spoil
\nthe purity of the experience, somehow.)<\/p>\n

Chuck Jones has rightly said that you judge if a cartoon’s any good by
\nseeing whether you can tell what’s going on with the sound turned
\ndown. But even when a silent 8mm cartoon passes this basic test, it
\nusually isn’t very funny. Viewing a silent Warner Bros. cartoon, for
\nexample, impresses upon you very quickly just how important Mel
\nBlanc’s voice, Carl Stalling’s music, and the dialogue of such writers as
\nMike Maltese were. (8mm cartoons usually had extremely perfunctory
\non-screen captions, presumably so they could be quickly taken in by
\ninexperienced young readers.) Even the most pedestrian of Woody
\nWoodpecker cartoons takes on new qualities when watched on 8mm;
\nseeing Woody laugh without *hearing* Woody laugh is an odd
\nexperience indeed.<\/p>\n

Okay, so 8mm cartoons are a laughably rinkydink form of amusement
\nby contemporary standards. It’s worth remembering, though, that in the
\nold days, home movies were by no means inexpensive fare. My Official
\nFilms catalog from the late 1940s lists 8mm cartoon prints at $5.50
\napiece — a considerable entertainment investment in an era when a
\ncomic book sold for a dime and a movie ticket cost a quarter.
\nProjectors, too, were luxury items: the 1972 Montgomery Ward catalog
\nlists several models, from between $60 and $160 apiece; more, in
\nconstant dollars, than a good VCR costs today. To put these prices into
\nperspective, the same catalog has car batteries for $10, men’s suits, for
\n$55, and a sofa for $130. (It also has a primitive reel-to-reel, black-and-
\nwhite video camera and player for $1200 — one of the priciest items in
\nthe whole book.)<\/p>\n

That we can now pay $200 or less for a high-quality video tape player is
\npretty impressive, but what’s downright remarkable is how cheap, and
\nwidely available, cartoons have become. I can walk into just about any
\nsupermarket or drugstore in my neighborhood and choose from a
\nselection of uncut, beautifully-restored Disney features — with sound
\nand color, even! — for fifteen dollars or so apiece. If you’d prophesied
\nthis utopian situation to me twenty years ago, as I rummaged through
\n8mm cartoons at the photo store while waiting for my dad, I would
\nnever have believed you. <\/p>\n

When pressed, I’ll admit that I’ve got those glorious video copies of
\nSnow White and Pinocchio on my shelf, and I’m grateful to have them.
\nStill, I wouldn’t trade all the Disney tapes in the world for my collection
\nof ancient home-movie cartoons. Anyone care to join me for a private
\nscreening of the Super 8 edition of Paul Terry’s The Happy Cobblers?<\/p>\n

Harry McCracken, who works at PC World magazine when he’s not
\ncovering weird and wonderful old animation in this column, wrote this
\ncolumn on a thirteen year-old laptop computer. Know of any obscure
\ncartoons he should know about? Write him c\/o Animato.<\/p>\n

==========================
\nanimation\/long.messages #181, from hmccracken, 8075 chars, Wed Jul 31 22:07:33 1996
\n————————–
\nCURIOSITY SHOP<\/p>\n

IN SEARCH OF SAM SINGER<\/p>\n

By Harry McCracken<\/p>\n

If the career of Ed Wood Jr. is any indication, being a truly terrible
\nfilmmaker is an accomplishment worth celebrating. Wood – creator
\nof Plan Nine From Outer Space, Glen or Glenda, and other
\nlegendarily awful live-action films – may have lived his life in
\nobscurity, but his perverse stature has led to posthumous books,
\ndocumentaries, and a Tim Burton film that must have cost many
\ntimes as much as all of Wood’s movies put together.<\/p>\n

As far as I’m concerned, there’s no doubt who has earned the
\npeculiar distinction of being the Ed Wood of animation: Sam
\nSinger. Who? The fact that you probably haven’t heard of him just
\nproves my point — Singer’s career is just as obscure as Wood’s was
\nuntil recently. His work is just as individualistic, and just as
\nconsistently rotten. Clearly, he’s an artist – a producer, actually —
\nwhose work cries out for rediscovery.<\/p>\n

Usually, I try to provide you with some background information
\non the animation I discuss in this column, but in this case that’s
\nsimply impossible. Except for a few inaccurate mentions in such
\nreference works as Jeff Lenburg’s Encyclopedia of Animated
\nCartoons, Singer and his cartoons go almost completely
\nundocumented in animation reference books. (For all I know, he’s
\nalive, well, and reading this column.) <\/p>\n

Not all Singer cartoons include credits, but those that do feature
\nthe names of a few recognizable animation veterans, including Ken
\nSouthworth and Reuben Timmins. Johnny Holiday was Singer’s
\nmusical director, and Dal McKennon — the voice of Archie,
\namong many other TV cartoon characters – provided voices.
\nSinger’s company seems to have gone under more than one name,
\nTrans-Artists Productions being the most common one.<\/p>\n

By normal standards, Singer’s Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse
\nis not a well-remembered cartoon series, but it’s the least forgotten
\nof his works, and the only one which occasionally comes up in
\ndiscussions of old cartoons. As I write this, it has also become the
\nonly one of Singer’s series to be revived in recent years:
\nNickelodeon’s Weinerville show has begun airing Courageous Cat
\ncartoons. <\/p>\n

The one fact that animation fans are likely to recall about the show
\nis that Bob Kane, Batman’s father, created it. Not that doing so
\nrequired much inspiration: The title characters are essentially
\nBatman and Robin as poorly-drawn funny animals, complete with
\na Catmobile, Catcave, and Commissioner Gordon-style bulldog
\nchief of police. Their arch-enemy is the Frog, an Edward G.
\nRobinson clone who is occasionally assisted by such lackluster
\ncrooks as the Fox and a weird, oversized mouse sporting a
\nmoustache, smock, and beret. Although its campy feel closely
\nresembles that of the Adam West\/Burt Ward version of Batman,
\nCourageous Cat actually preceded the live-action Batman show,
\ndating from 1960. <\/p>\n

One of my favorite Courageous Cat cartoons is The Case of the
\nVisiting Patient (a typical Singer title, at once prosaic and slightly
\nbizarre). Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse are visiting a
\npsychiatrist (as friends, not patients). The doc tells them that his
\nnext appointment is with “your friend the Frog,” whom he asks
\nthem to entertain while he leaves for some unspecified reason.
\nCourageous Cat promptly disguises himself as the shrink and
\nlistens to the Frog’s problems, in hopes of uncovering secrets that
\ncan be used against him; Minute Mouse hides behind a screen with
\na tape recorder to capture the conversation. If this particular
\nmethod of crimefighting isn’t illegal, it certainly should be. (Come
\nto think of it, what would Watergate have been without
\nsuspiciously similar antics involving secret tape recordings and
\nintrusions into a psychiatrist’s office?)<\/p>\n

Another Courageous Cat cartoon, The Case of the Masked
\nRaiders, involves a crime wave by gangsters sporting grotesque
\nmasks manufactured by the Frog. The short climaxes with a
\nsupremely odd scene in which Minute Mouse browbeats a criminal
\ninto squealing on the Frog by zestfully eating a pickle in front of
\nhim; the criminal breaks down and sobs that he can’t bear to watch
\nanyone eat a juicy pickle. A true Sam Singer moment.<\/p>\n

For me, though, Singer’s masterwork was Bucky and Pepito, a late
\n1950s series that’s the earliest Singer creation I know about, and
\nonly from a handful of scratchy, decomposing prints that formerly
\nbelonged to a rental library. From what I’ve seen, Bucky and
\nPepito is the worst animated cartoon series ever made – the
\nanimated equivalent of Wood’s Plan Nine from Outer Space.<\/p>\n

Bucky is a cowboy-hatted, red-headed kid, and Pepito is the most
\ninsulting sort of stereotype, a dimwitted Mexican fellow of
\nindeterminate age whom the show’s theme song describes as being
\n“oh so lazy, and so very, very slow.” The series is set somewhere
\nin an indeterminate part of the American Southwest, and the one
\ngenuine compliment you can pay it is that the rocky landscape
\npaintings that serve as backgrounds are fairly attractive. Actually,
\nthat theme song -“Bucky and Pepito: Such a funny, funny pair!” —
\ndeserves praise, too, for being remarkably catchy in its own
\noffbeat way.<\/p>\n

Like Courageous Cat, Bucky and Pepito features sloppy artwork,
\na minimum of movement, and plots and dialogue that are full of
\nnon-sequiturs. The pacing is leisurely in the extreme: Whenever
\none character asks another a question, it seems to take at least
\nthree or four seconds before there’s any sign of a response.<\/p>\n

The best example of Bucky and Pepito – it may have been the first
\none made – is a surrealistic little cartoon called Jumpin’ Frijoles.
\nPepito finds an old pair of boots and puts them on, then helplessly
\ngoes into a crazy dance which flings him high in the air through all
\nsorts of dangers, seemingly for several miles. Eventually, he’s
\nrescued by a winged palomino horse. It turns out that some
\nMexican jumping beans had been lodged in the boots; Bucky and
\nPepito appear to this riotously funny. Iris out to a refrain of the
\ntheme song. Such a funny, funny pair.<\/p>\n

In another adventure, The Ol’ Cannon, our youthful heroes have
\nfun using the titular weapon to shoot each other as human
\ncannonballs. (Kids, don’t try this at home). The cannon
\nmisbehaves, though, and a character named Cal Coyote shows up
\nand volunteers to repair it. Most of the rest of the film is
\npantomime slapstick of the coyote fumbling with the cannon,
\nshooting himself into a cloud and getting stuck there, and so on.
\nYet another cartoon is built around gags involving a road runner;
\nSinger’s artists certainly went out of their way to pay Chuck Jones
\nthe sincerest form of flattery.<\/p>\n

Aside from Courageous Cat and Bucky and Pepito, I know of only
\none other example of Singer’s work. In the mid-1960s, he
\nproduced at least one cartoon for American International Pictures
\nstarring Sinbad Jr., an adventure-seeking young sailor who is
\nbetter known – if he’s remembered at all — for appearing in shorts
\ndone by Hanna-Barbera for AIP. Singer’s version of Sinbad is
\nmore crudely-drawn than HB’s and has a different theme song, but
\nis just as forgettable. And sadly, not nearly as eccentric as Singer’s
\nother creations. Whether Singer’s attempt at Sinbad Jr. came
\nbefore or after the Hanna-Barbera’s work I’m not sure, but it’s easy
\nto imagine AIP being displeased with Singer’s work and bringing
\nin HB to finish off the series.<\/p>\n

Does Singer have any more animation credits? Like I say, I don’t
\nknow, but I hope so. His work may be bad, but it’s never boring.
\nAnd I hope that this column sparks the Singer revival that’s surely
\noverdue: I’m forward to the lavish coffee-table books, the big-
\nbudget remakes of Courageous Cat and Bucky and Pepito, and the
\nSinger biopic starring Johnny Depp. Let the renaissance begin.<\/p>\n

When not covering obscure animation for Animato, Harry
\nMcCracken is a senior associate editor for PC World magazine in
\nBoston. Know of any weird and wonderful animation he should be
\naware of? Write him c\/o Animato.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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