Final Project Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2OeeUfgLrI&feature=youtu.be

Woody's Being a Bo-Peeping Tom (Hanks)

October 26th, 1995

Dear Diary,

Today was a pretty good day. Sheeps 1 through 5 were acting up a little bit and I had to smack them into place. It's never fun having to discipline your sweet animals but it's part of the unglamorous side of being a shepherd that no one really talks about. Plus all of their plastic poop all over the floor, its incredible Andy doesn't wonder about it, he's always stepping in it. Hmm what else happened today... don't think anything really eventful went on except - oh yeah - OH MY GOD I TALKED TO WOODY TODAY. Andy came to play with us like normal and he did this whole thing about the evil Dr. Porkchop and his bank robberies and Woody was the Sheriff and he saved me and my flock! My tiny plastic heart about near melted out of my chest. He looks so cute in his hat and boots. But then the best part happened when I offered him to come over tonight after the toy meeting... I said "What do you say I get someone else to watch my sheep tonight?" and he SAID YES! Swoon. I'll update you tomorrow diary!

Love, Bo.



October 29th, 1995

Dear Diary,

AH new toys! We brought in some new friends today I was so excited! There's this strapping new space warrior named Buzz. He's cool but kind of a doosh. I'm worried about Woody he's been acting strange lately I can't tell how he feels about me anymore... It makes me kind of sad I think I'm gonna turn in early. Good night diary...

Bo.



November 1st, 1995

Woody's been really weirding me out. Ever since Buzz showed up he's been constantly comparing himself to him and trying to show me he's bigger and better. The worst is that he keeps trying to spend more time with me. It's exhausting honestly. Today, we heard Andy coming up the stairs and we pretended to be fake again and he sprinted all the way across the room just to "accidentally" be a fake toy on my lap. It was so uncomfortable. I think I'm gonna talk to him tomorrow and break off this whole thing. Good night diary.

Bo.



November 2nd, 1995

Diary I'm so scared.... I tried to talk to Woody yesterday and he wouldn't hear it. I think he got drunk off the liquor he's been stealing from the kitchen out of the thimble piece in the monopoly game. I said "Woody, I don't think this gonna work out." and he said "You can work out my woody anytime." When I started crying, he just started cackling and rambling about killing Buzz and taking over the world with a bellybag. I'm terrified, diary.

Bo.



November 6th, 1995.

Buzz is missing.... I think I might be next. Woody keeps saying things about me, saying that if I'm not careful, I'm not gonna make it to the third movie. What? What movie? He's crazy....right?

Bo.







June 7th, 2010

Oh, hello Bo's diary... It's been along time since anyone's written in you it seems... I came across you when I was going through Bo's things. Well here's what that bitch has been up to the last 15 years. After she rejected me for no reason back when Buzz first got here, she started icing me out. She made it painfully clear that she wants nothing to do with me. Well after a while I wanted nothing to do with her and after the rush of defeating that creep-o toy collector from the second adventure we all went out, I felt invincible. I was younger then. I was new to the disposal game then. It was messy. I took her and her pathetic sheep over to Andy's baking soda volcano he was doing for school and well... you get the idea. But if you don't get the idea, I pushed her in and her dumbs sheep jumped in after her and she was swallowed by the baking soda. It overcame her and burned her and started melting her plastic skin. I'm not sure what was sweeter, the sound of her screams or the pinkish white color she stained the lava as it oozed down the mountain. That should teach her not to love me. I got a taste for this and since then I've disposed of that annoying penguin that won't stop squeaking (garbage disposal) and those damn snooping wind up binoculars (fire place). So as you can see diary, I've moved on. I have a new thing going with Jessie. She could be my future. We're plotting Buzz's "accident" together. Stick around diary.

Woody.

Anime: The Only Thing to Come From Japan Since Tokyo Drifting

     Anime is booming. It's becoming the preeminent form of animation and entertainment in general in Japan and now it's swimming across the Pacific and taking residence in our TVs here in America. With phenomenons like Pokemon, Dragonball-Z, and Avatar: The Last Airbender (I'm sure true anime fans will crucify me for claiming that those are good animes), the U.S. has a adopted a sub-culture of appreciating this art form. The question still remains of Why Anime? and Susan Napier attempts to tackle that question in her opening chapter.
     A key subject of discussion she addresses is the anime's place in culture. She looks at uniquely Japanese art forms like Haiku and woodblock carvings and wonders if this will be a passing genre limited to the shores of the Japanese islands. She believes that is not the case and that it's gaining steam internationally.
     Additionally, Napier acknowledges the difficulty of defining exactly what animation is. She clarifies that calling animation a "Japanese cartoon" is over-simplifying the art and that the genre ranges from cute children's cartoons to post-apocalyptic dystopias in which complex and in-depth stories are able to be told in ways most cartoons can not.
     Finally, Napier brings up the adaptable and relevant nature of anime to today's society. In a world where identity and purpose is being shifted daily, instability gives anime the ability to keep up with society's inability to make up its mind. Where other forms of animation will be outdated soon, anime defines and symbolizes the world's lack of satisfaction with itself.
     Anime is something worth considering. Although I've never personally delved too deeply into anime, I can now appreciate its place in this world as more than a product of Japan's strangely cartoony outlooks. I'm not necessarily sold on anime as being the best or most complete form of animation or art but reflection on this article has shed light on it's cultural importance.

We Love Him to Death (Note)

Death Note is a pretty terrifying concept about a guy who finds a notebook that murders whoever's name is scribed in its pages. This idea has some pretty glaring differences with its animated counterparts Looney Tunes and Uncle Grandpa, but coming from the same general creative form of putting pen to paper to animate a story, there are bound to be some similarities.

Similarities:

- Both Death Note and the traditional cartoons we've been watching follow a distinguishable narrative that can be followed throughout the episode.

- Death Note, like many other animations, asks us to forget what we believe about the world and assume new laws about what is real and what isn't for the sake of the story. In Uncle Grandpa, we're led to believe that the laws of physics are mere guidelines to be laughably avoided any chance you get and Death Note has the audience think accept the idea of the "World of the Death Gods."

- What separates Death Note from programs like Road Runner and other Looney Tunes experiments is actually what draws it closer to some of the more modern absurdist animations like Uncle Grandpa and Adventure Time and that is through the heavy use of dialogue to tell the story.

Differences

- Death Note begins to separate itself from these other shows in simply its aesthetic. The animators use dark and cool greys and blacks to create the world, a stark contrast to the overtly cartoony nature of Adventure Time and Uncle Grandpa.

- Disney's fairytale ending, magic, and sense of wonder has no place in a show like Death Note. Its dark premise and slower pace of story (and probable sad/scary conclusions) sets it apart from Disney's Princesses.

- The characters themselves in Death Note are more complex and thick than the simple one-dimensional perennial good guys or bad guys that we find in Disney shows, Looney Tunes, and Uncle Grandpa.

Adventure Time to Make Sure Our Kids Aren't Taking Hallucinogenic Drugs

    Episode 1 of season 2 of Adventure Time, "It Came From the Nightosphere," is- other than a pleasant blend of Satan-conjuring and daddy issues- ultimately a new way to encourage a child's wonder and facilitate his imagination. It's style combines an "Uncle Grandpa" level of absurdity with Warner Bros.' dry sense of humor when it comes to tackling normal storytelling. Warner Bros. has the highest level of influence here with it's ability to take a normal idea (the character of Marcilene is in a fight with her dad) and turns it into a completely insane adventure (she and her friend Fynn end up chasing her dad everywhere in an attempt to stop him from stealing everyone's souls).
     Embracing this new style of complete absurdity to tell simple stories is a form many shows now employ. "Regular Show," for example, has that same buddy comedy dynamic where the two main characters, a lot like Fynn and Jake, find themselves constantly getting into extreme situations. "Uncle Grandpa" of course is also a classic follower of this format. The intended audience for this show and the others like it is the same audience the majority of cartoons have always target: children. the evolutionary aspect of these current shows however is that it caters to a more grown-up demographic as well with its subtlety and originality.
     The gags for this particular episode used extremely weird situations and juxtaposed them with normal issues to create humor. The main girl of this episode is having trouble with her dad, which is an inherently not funny concept until we find out that the reason she is upset with him is trivial and silly (he stole her fries) intentionally contrasted to his insane and dark occupation (ruler of the underworld).

Michael Jordan Should Have Stuck to Baseball Instead of Acting

I found it hard to believe that movies like "Space Jam" had to be the nail in the coffin for movies that feature both live and animated characters when it is obviously such a classic '90s movie to most of us.

Drive Drunk, Go to Jail and Become Someone Else's "Play Thing"

Disney often uses fairy tales as magical and whimsical stories lacking any real lesson other than "be pretty and find true love." This reimagined Buzz cartoon is used as traditional fairy tales were; as cautionary tales. This warns people not to drive drunk (or "Buzzed") or you'll go to jail. It's purpose is mostly humor as it shows how absurd modern Disney would look as a cautionary tale.

Would You Like More "Tea" Mrs. Nessbit?

A Pam A. Day Keeps the Disney Away

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

-       C. S. Lewis

Pam A. Day believes that day is today and that today, like every day, Disney is in a daze about which ways we should show kids fairytales this day in age.  Her major argument with these case studies is that Walt Disney and company are watering down Grimm’s fairytales, making them palatable and easy for the sensitized Protestant white American family to consume. Her issue with this is that it strips away the message and moral of the fairy tale.

For example, in Grimm’s original “Snow White and The Seven Dwarves,” we are able to connect with Snow White through the love her mother gives to her and we are able to live with her harsh life because of the bond created by her mother, with the Prince and his love being nothing more than a subplot. In Disney’s version, as Day sees it, the Walt himself is represented by the Prince and in some narcissistic way, Disney has made himself the main character/hero of the story.

            From what I’ve read of her essay, I agree with Day and her belief that the fairytales should retain most of Grimm’s grim story, that Disney has more than just adapted the story for modern American audience, but stripped it of it’s message and delivered it in a way that would be profitable and popular.

So Was Leo DiCaprio Asleep at the End of Inception or Was He Just Watching Waking Life

Waking Life, a drama that follows a man who seems to be muddling the line separating the dream world and the real world attempts to philosophically address the question: Is there really a difference between those worlds? This trippy experience is unique to say the least, offering many points of view that suggest a lot of abstracts about the meaning of dreams and their presence on our “waking life.” While it is inherently different from most other animations and is an uninhabited frontier for both the director Richard Linklater and the production company Fox Searchlight (Searchlight had previously never made an animated film), it’s definition leans more to the influence of developmental animation than experimental. The generally recognizable story arch is evidence to an orthodox style while it’s unique animation style would have been at the time slightly experimental (later, Linklater would make A Scanner Darkly, done in the same animation style). The combination of these experimental and orthodox styles contributes to its innate developmental style.

Cloudy With a Chance of Genius

“Have you ever felt like you were a little bit different? Like you had something unique to offer the world, if you could just get people to see it. Then you know exactly how it felt to be me.”

                                                                                                -Flint Lockwood (2009)

Flint Lockwood, the main character in Sony Pictures’ Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, written and directed by Phi Lord and Chris Miller in 2009 and loosely based on the book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, written by Judi Barrett in 1978, is a characterized personification of the movie itself.  Like most animations today, it is a comedy, but its heart is what most effectively delivers its message. In this opening line of the movie, Flint is able to sum up both his life as an unsuccessful inventor on the tiny dreary island of Swallow Falls and the revolution that inspired so much of Sony Pictures’ success in the future. Refusing to follow the stereotypical rules of popular animation while simultaneously overtly acknowledging its tropes, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is “a little bit different,” like it has “something unique to offer the world.”

With posters on his wall of Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein painted to be a rock stars and his most prized possession being a white lab coat from his understanding yet recently deceased mother, it’s no wonder Flint Lockwood aspires to be a successful inventor. Unfortunately, with his most successful inventions being a communicator with a monkey who can only say his own name and a pair of spray on shoes that are impossible to take off (yes, he wears them the entire film), Flint finds himself well into adulthood and the fact that he still lives at home indicates that he has no major accomplishments. His lack of money, the surplus of fish the island has failed to export, and his overall desire to earn his father’s love has landed him a job working at the sardine store. There, he works for his dad to kill time until he can go home and work in his home made laboratory.

What creates the plot/conflict of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is in the ensuing scene, when Flint accidentally overpowers the FLDSMDFR and it goes haywire, runs rampant through the city, and ultimately flies into the sky, taking residence among the clouds. From there, he is able to remotely control the device causing it to rain (and snow and hail) in the form of all types of food, gaining him and his town international popularity. For a while, he revels in it, even getting the attention of those who previously neglected his existence and a pretty young reporter following his story. Chaos is the result however, when the machine gets a mind of its own and the town and its corrupt mayor are forced to deal with its dangers while Flint tries to solve this unique problem.

The film in itself is refreshingly different from the cookie cutter princess story that Disney has kindly provided for us all these years. The animation style, a form of 3d not unlike Pixar and Dreamworks, has its own identity, exaggerating certain characteristics and quirks in different ways. For example, it takes the freedom of adhering to its own laws of physics and runs with it without pushing the story outside the walls of our imagination into a realm that would leave us disinterested. There is a scene in the movie, for instance, when Flint and his love interest Sam are at a palace made entirely of gelatin. The animators take certain creative liberties having the Flint and Sam jump around the mansion and bounce around as if the place were made of rubber until they jump into a pool made of the exact same consistency of gelatin and they sink. Obviously, in real life this would be impossible and in any world outside of this one, it would make no sense, but because the animators follow their own laws and use their freedom intelligently, it makes for a fun and playful scene.

What sets this movie apart from others is its witty and self-aware, yet sincere, story line. It rattles off punches with a quick pace that keeps the viewer constantly entertained and develops characters that are extreme versions of the archetypes they embody. The dad is so stern, his eyebrows literally droop over his eyes and they can’t be seen until he is very surprised. The hard-nosed cop, played by Mr. T, yells at the top of his lungs no matter what his emotion is and his muscles are overwhelmingly visible through his extraordinarily tight cop uniform. The overarching story of acceptance and the idea that anyone can be a hero fits perfectly within the world the animators created. The comedy is used not as a crutch but simply as a side effect of the plot driving itself forward with the characters responding humorously to the plights they’ve found themselves in.

What impressed me most about this movie was the legacy it has created. Released only five years ago, it has propelled the career of the writer/directors Lord and Miller. Post Meatballs, they have – hand in hand with Sony – gone on to write and direct a Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs sequel, LEGO Movie, 21 Jump Street, and 22 Jump Street, all of which were enormously successful. It is this new style of humor that is able to poke fun at animation and traditional story telling that has transcended the art of animation and into live action movies (21 and 22 Jump Street are both live action movies that follow the same form of story telling). Simply, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is just the movie the world needs right now; a little bit different with something unique to offer the world.

Uncle Grandpa Could Get Milhouse's Parents Back Together

Animation on television has revolved around the use of humor since the beginning, with The Simpsons being historically the most effective. What’s worth noting is the difference in humor styles between The Simpsons and Uncle Grandpa. On one hand, there is essentially an animated sitcom, in which human characters live in a semi-normal world and hijinks ensue based on the interactions the characters have with each other and on the other hand is Uncle Grandpa, which relies on the silliness and exaggeration that is allowed with a completely fictional and unbelievable world. Both are successful and are representative of the era they come from.

Neither show provides a story arch that extends past the each episode. However, within each episode is a narrative that differs from the other. The Simpsons uses a coherent world with recognizable archetypes (at least within the cartoon world). For instance, in this episode A Milhouse Divided, the “lovably stupid father figure” of Homer is seen in many family-based animation television shows (Family Guy, Fairly Oddparents, Jimmy Neutron, etc.) who is seen early on sitting around in his underwear waiting for the party to start while everyone else is dressed and ready. This is representative not of normal fathers but of the Homer archetype we often see used to drive the narrative. The plot in this episode follows two of The Simpsons friends, Milhouse’s parents, who have decided to get a divorce. The comedy and ultimate storyline is based on the reactions to this and attempts to resolve it by the other characters. In Uncle Grandpa’s Escalator, Uncle Grandpa and Pizza Steve get stuck on an escalator, believing their life to be in danger. Extreme response to this is seen in the form of hyperbolic actions by very fictional characters. It is evident that these two shows follow a very different approach to comedy: one show uses realistic situations with believable characters and the other is an intentional fantasy designed to shock the audience into laughter. Both are effective.

As a spectator, I enjoyed both shows. Both provide a quick paced entertainment without any sort of depth. The Simpsons however is more relatable and is more successful I believe. Based on these episodes alone, it could be seen that each show is a satire in some form, a commentary on some aspect of society. Escalator points heavily at the obesity and laziness of Americans and consumers (scenes of fat and bored people eating and looking foolish during this episode point to that). The Simpsons episode is quick to point out early on the desire to have a more refined life, and how that is ultimately impossible for the type of people that the Simpsons represent.

Paul Wells vs. Science

   

In all forms of art there is precedence and there are rules. Throughout the history of painting, the world has witnessed precedence get set and destroyed. The tradition of painting things as they are in real life (with artists like Gustave Courbet) was shattered by surrealist and abstract artists (such as Pablo Picasso) who decided that they wanted to paint what they felt, not what they saw. Even in film, there is the classical Hollywood ritual of a structured narrative and a limited palette of shots and framing- an institution that experimental filmmakers and conceptual directors have come to intentionally neglect.

The issue implied between Paul Wells’ “True Animation” and John Halas’ “Animation: The Physical Laws” is whether or not the conventions of using physics and scientific laws within animation are merely a precedence to be transcended or a rule to be followed religiously. Halas believes in the rule. In his book, he references Newton’s three laws on page 32, and dives into detail and example. This reading makes it apparent that the over arching argument is that just because the world an animator creates is completely from scratch, it is still necessary to follow the world’s natural guidelines and that there will be enough room for creativity amongst that:

“Imagination follows on scientific analysis, taking its cues from what is real.”

                                                                                          -Halas p. 60

This thought differs from Wells’ Picasso-esque mindset of “aesthetic expression” on page 29, but Halas bridges the gap in his emphasis on the importance of creativity toward the end of the chapter:

“The artist is under obligation to create something which goes beyond the manufacture of a carbon copy of natural forms and movements-- the province of the live-action camera. “

                                                                                          -Halas p. 60   

Wells would agree in this sense of auteur, that the artist is in total creative control, but he would take it one step further. His belief is that, like the mind and heart, animation should be free and abstract and that expression in its uninhibited form is the only way to create animation. In my own experience as a spectator and appreciator of art I have found myself standing in Halas’ camp. There are certain rules of art, like rhythm in music, that make the piece palatable and enjoyable. This set of rules, these elements of art are the common ground in which the artist and the spectator are able to meet and connect. Without it, the artist can try to bare his soul to the world without parameters, but we the viewer will not understand, as if he were trying to tell us a story in a language we do not speak.

Nina Paley's "Two Geometric Smiling Circles Sing the Blues"

Chapter 3 Narrative Devices:

Metamorphosis: Something that transitions into another

Condensation: Taking a long story and making it short (condensing it)

Synecdoche: A part representing a whole

Symbolism: (similar to synecdoche) something that represents something greater (i.e. the American flag is a symbol of freedom)

Metaphor: A more recognizable, more obvious symbol

Fabrication: copying the real world, often through animation (Andy from Toy Story is a fabrication of a child)

Associative Relations: Relating things that weren't previously relatable

Sound: diegetic and non-diegetic noise that sets mood and pace of movie

Acting and Performance: movements of the character created by the animator

Choreography: motion used in animation

Penetration: the animator's ability to relay abstract ideas and deeper meanings through his animation

     Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues is a painfully long film that follows the life and troubles of two main characters through a few different story lines. While I personally did not enjoy the movie or my time watching it, it did have some noteworthy characteristics. The style, music, narrative, and intentional contrast were all unique in their delivery.
     For reasons that I assume were to keep us all from shooting ourselves from boredom, there were three different constantly switching styles in the film. It bounced back and forth between a colorful, geometric, cartoony-looking animation style that was used to tell the story of Sita. This style, in partnership with the narrative, was used most likely to tell that part of the story in a playful manner (including the violent war scenes in which sweet oblivious Sita was inside singing her blues with a smile on her face). There was a shaky, epilepsy-inducing comic strip style that was used to tell the story of the San Francisco based author. In using this traditionally American style of animation, she was able to show us that the author is in fact living in America. The third style and form of narrative is seen when the deities or gods (or just ancient looking old people) are trying their best to tell the story of Sita. This ancient puppet style of animation was used to show the antiquity and classicality of the story, as it is an integral part of the religion and society of the people native to this region. Either that or Nina Paley is using the most out dated form of animation in one last, almost quite successful, attempt to get us to stop watching her weird movie.
     The music choices in the film were mostly characteristic of the style it represented with the exception of the fact that Sita is singing 1920s American blues in the middle of ancient India. This is indicative of the intentional contrasts in the film.
     While this movie is tragically unentertaining, it does contribute to the progress of animation through it's developmental approach. Paley ties in experimental elements (i.e. the photographic looking shots mixed in with the hand drawn animation in San Francisco and New York) with certain aspects of traditional story telling (protagonist, antagonist, resolution, a narrative we can follow etc.) and is worth watching for for strictly educational purposes.

Animation Breakdown

Chapter 2:

Wells breaks animation down into three major styles: experimental, developmental, and orthodox.

Experimental is animation with no walls. It is not restricted to common narrative (or narrative at all) and its primary uses are experimentation and projecting the auteur's feelings in an unencumbered way. It is the style in which the creator is most 'present.' An example would be "Transfigured," by Stephen Arthur.

Developmental animation occurs when there are elements from both extremes present. For instance, often the creator is still very present in style (like experimental) but the animation will follow a common narrative (like orthodox). It can be aesthetically stylistic while having a storyline we can follow. An example of this would be a tv show called "Uncle Grandpa" which is mixed media and trippy, despite being a show for kids.

Orthodox animation is very traditional. The artist is gone, dialogue is important, there is continuity, and there is form in the narrative. This is what we most commonly see in popular art and culture. Disney and Universal lean heavily toward orthodox with productions like Wreck it Ralph and Feivel Goes West.

The Meaning of Life, by Don Hertzfeldt, would most likely be classified as developmental erring on the side of experimental. Its lack of clear narrative and emphasis on aesthetic would land it in the category of experimental with only tastes of orthodox (presence of dialogue and some continuity) would pull it only slightly in the direction of developmental.