Saturday: Adventures in Music Online Screening

Last weekend, I had a great time hosting The Boing Boing Cartoon Circus. Saturday afternoon, I presented an all new show... Adventures in Music.

• Adventures in Music
  
• The Coolest Sound EVER!
  
• Bakersfield Shines in a Nudie Suit
  
• The Power To Create Emotion in Time
  
• Rhythmic Innovation
  
• A Scenester And A Square
  
• Beehives, Bluegrass and Beautiful Ignorance
  
• Superhuman Powers of Concentration
  
• The Ambassador Of Jazz Comes Marching In
  
• Buddy And Shirley At The Codfish Ball
  
• Bernstein On What Makes American Music American
  
• Jammin' The Blues
  
• A Priceless Fragment of American Folk Blues History
  
• Artists Communicating Together Without Words
  
• The Importance of Skill
  
• The "Boffo" Finish
  

We're living at the tail end of one of the biggest bursts of creativity in the history of mankind. The 20th century was one of the greatest times to live ever. If we want the 21st century to be even better, we need to WORK on making it great. We need to stop making excuses for amateurism and heartless, soulless, prepackaged, preprogrammed, predigested, canned culture. We need to stop taking the crap that gets handed to us by mainstream media and start supporting real live talented skilled performers of all types.

I'm doing that myself at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive by giving back to the students who want to learn the animation techniques of the past. I hope everyone reading this takes a minute to make a charitable contribution or volunteer some time to a local library, archive.org, wikipedia or any other non-profit resource that is working to raise the bar for our culture. I know myself from creating a non-profit resource from scratch that it is VERY hard to get by in these times on goodwill alone.

There's a lot of wonderful stuff out there. If you value the arts, become a part of it by giving back to the arts.

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A-HAA Fundraising Screenings of Secret of Kells

ASIFA-Hollywood, GKIDS and Cartoon Saloon invite you and a guest to a special screening of...

SECRET OF KELLS
December 4-10, 2009
AMC Burbank 8
201 E Magnolia Bl
Burbank, CA 91501

ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Fundraiser Screenings

Friday, December 4, 2009 7:00 pm
Saturday, December 5, 2009 2:00 pm
Sunday, December 6, 2009 2:00 pm
Monday, December 7, 2009 7:00 pm
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 7:00 pm
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 7:00 pm
Thursday, December 10, 2009 7:00 pm

Admission - $12 Adult, $9 Children, $11 Senior
Order Tickets Online Now: www.gkids.tv/intheaters

Buy your tickets online and $4 per ticket will be donated to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. To purchase tickets, please visit www.gkids.tv/intheaters. Select "ASIFA HOLLYWOOD" from the green pull down menu at top of the site labeled "select my school or organization", then buy the tickets for whatever screening you want to attend. Don't forget to bring the kids!

About The Secret of Kells

Magic, fantasy and Celtic mythology come together in a riot of color and detail that dazzle the eyes in this sweeping story about the power of imagination and faith to carry humanity through dark times. Young Brendan lives in the Abbey of Kells, a remote medieval outpost under siege from raiding barbarians. One day a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands, carrying an ancient--but unfinished--book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the faerie Aisling, a mysterious young wolf/girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarian hordes closing in, will Brendan's determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against barbarians?

Running time: 75 minutes

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FREE Screening Friday At Woodbury

FREE SUMMER SCREENING AT WOODBURY!


W. C. Fields, the comedian who broke all the rules to create one of the most vivid comic personas of the 20th century.
Pop Cultural Literacy 102
A Series of Summer Screenings
Friday, September 25th, 2009
Short Subjects Start At 7pm, The Feature Film Starts At 8:30.
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)


Lester Young
So far, we've screened some of the greatest musical performances of the 20th century, the granddaddy of all adventure films and the most anarchic comedy film ever made. This month we have a program featuring one of the most unique and under-appreciated film comics of them all. We'll be screening my personal choice for best comedy movie of all time. Don't miss it.

For more about the Pop Cultural Literacy programs at Woodbury, see...

Pop Culture 101: Famous Comedians

Pop Culture 101: Great Musicians

Pop Culture 101: Experimental Live Video Feed
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Pop Cultural Literacy 102: Second Helping of Fun

FREE SUMMER SCREENING AT WOODBURY!


The Marx Brothers
Pop Cultural Literacy 102
A Series of Summer Screenings
Friday, August 14th, 2009
September Date To Be Announced
Short Subjects Start At 7pm, The Feature Film Starts At 8:30.
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)


Laurel & Hardy
Last month, we screened some of the greatest musical performances of the 20th century along with the granddaddy of all adventure films. This month we have a laff-riot program planned with the funniest comedians to ever perform on celluloid. This show is guaranteed to make you say "WOW!" Don't miss it.

For more about the Pop Cultural Literacy programs at Woodbury, see...

Pop Culture 101: Famous Comedians

Pop Culture 101: Great Musicians

Pop Culture 101: Experimental Live Video Feed
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Comic Con: ASIFA Program Schedule

ASIFA-Hollywood invites you to join us at...



COMIC-CON 2009
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
July 23 -26, 2009


Visit us at Booth #5334 (To the right of the main entrance, against the lobby side wall) to get information on ASIFA-Hollywood membership, upcoming programs, the Annie Awards and the Animation Archive. The entire ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Database, which includes over 5,000 animated films and 15,000 images will be on hand for you to browse and enjoy. Stop by and see all the treasures!

ASIFA-Hollywood will also be presenting the following programs at Comic- Con:

Friday, July 24, 2009

2:30 pm -3:30 pm: State of the Animation Industry-- ASIFA-Hollywood's annual overview of trends in the animation industry. In this turbulent economy, how is the animation industry faring? Can games take up the slack? Is 2D coming back? Moderated by Tom Sito (Shrek, The Lion King). Panelists include Raul Garcia (The Missing Lynx), Frank Gladstone (producer, Starz Media, Dreamworks), Jun Falkenstein (The Tigger Movie, Mulan II), Helen Jen (Games), and Stephen Silver (Kim Possible) Room 10

Friday, July 24, 2009

9:00 pm -10:00 pm: Worst Cartoons Ever-- Animation historian Jerry Beck (Cartoon Brew) returns with an all new program of some of the worst cartoons ever made, including the Phys Ed super-hero Mighty Mr. Titan, space cadet Johnny Cypher and that crimefighting commander-in-chief, Super President. Have a ball with the best/bad animation ever! Room 6BCF

Saturday, July 25, 2009

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm What Is an Animated Film?-- Many people view animation as a genre. Like "westerns" and "science fiction," animation has come to follow a few tightly defined sets of conventions—anime, funny animal, and fairy tales form the basis of most animated cartoons. But animation is much more than just that. It is a medium capable of expressing a wide range of styles and stories. In this screening and talk, Stephen Worth, director of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, presents examples of animated films that don't follow the established formulas- films that experiment with technique and storytelling to push the envelope of the definition of animation. Room 3

Hope to see you at the Con!

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Pop Cultural Literacy Screening Experimental Live Feed

The crack team of electronic physicists at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive has been working day and night to make it possible to stream a small portion of the Pop Cultural Literacy 101 Program at Woodbury to all of you who couldn't make it to the show- but that's not all. Our engineers have devised a method to GO BACK IN TIME to Friday night for a LIVE STREAMING VIDEO. It's still a little glitchy, but click on the link for a technical explanation from our chief engineer, T. Frothington Bellows and a sample live feed direct from Woodbury!


CLICK TO LAUNCH LIVE FEED
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Pop Cultural Literacy Screening FRIDAY

You never know who you might meet at the Pop Cultural Literacy show at Woodbury University Friday night!


Lena Horne
The 20th Century has been described as "the golden age of everything." Join us at Woodbury University for a sampling of some of the most incredible performers of the past- three solid hours of some of the greatest entertainment ever put on film. FREE admission. FREE parking. Don't be late! The show starts promptly at 7pm and the feature starts at 8:30pm. See you at Woodbury!

Pop Cultural Literacy 101: THE MUSIC
Pop Cultural Literacy 101: THE COMEDY


Johnny Cash
Pop Cultural Literacy 101
A Series of Summer Screenings
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Friday, August 14th, 2009
September Date To Be Announced
Short Subjects Start At 7pm, The Feature Film Starts At 8:30.
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)


Errol Flynn
It's ALL GOOD!

Thanks to Woodbury University and the Walter Lantz Foundation for making this event possible.
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Screening: Pop Cultural Literacy 101

FREE SUMMER SCREENING AT WOODBURY FRIDAY NIGHT!


The Marx Brothers
"I was teaching my animation history class and I overheard one of the students telling his friend about this great anti-war film he had just discovered... Duck Soup!" --Tom Sito overheard at an ASIFA meeting

Pop Cultural Literacy 101
A Series of Summer Screenings
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Friday, August 14th, 2009
September Date To Be Announced
Short Subjects Start At 7pm, The Feature Film Starts At 8:30.
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)


The Three Stooges
Music is the life force of great animation, and last week I posted a teaser about some of the great music we'd be featuring in the series of screenings at Woodbury University that begins this coming Friday. Today, I'm going to talk a little bit about the comedians we'll be seeing.


Harold Lloyd
That image up there is one of the most iconic in all of silent comedy, but I bet you have never seen the film it comes from, nor any of Harold Lloyd's other films for that matter. It's not your fault. The downright lousy programming on cable TV over the past decade or so has cheated a whole generation of cartoonists out of the opportunity to explore the world of the incredibly talented comedians of the past. I'm going to take a stab at rectifying that wrong at Woodbury University this summer with a series of screenings designed to give young animators a random sampling of great stuff that will amaze and inspire them.


W. C. Fields
Obviously, it's impossible to pack everything that was good in the 20th century into a few short hours, but my goal is to drop bread crumbs like in Hansel and Gretel which can act as a trail for artists taking their own trip of discovery through some of the best entertainment ever created.


Laurel & Hardy
You've probably seen caricatures of most of these famous faces in old cartoons. The animators didn't just caricature them because they liked their films, they analyzed and broke down their technique to refine their own comic staging and timing. Although the subject matter of these films may be dated, the techniques are not. These films are an encyclopedia of ideas for creating comedy.


Our Gang
There will be assorted musical and comedy shorts beginning at 7pm, and a classic feature at 8:30. Even if you've seen some of this before, it won't matter, because these are the kinds of films that you can watch over and over and still find new things in them.


Buster Keaton
This screening is presented FREE to the creative community by the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, Woodbury University and the Walter Lantz Foundation. Come on out and bring your friends. No RSVP is needed. Parking is free. Try to find a better way to spend a Friday night... You can't!

Pop Cultural Literacy 101
A Series of Summer Screenings
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Friday, August 14th, 2009
September Date To Be Announced
Short Subjects Start At 7pm, The Feature Film Starts At 8:30.
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)

See you at Woodbury this Summer!

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

Many thanks to Dr. Macro's High Quality Movie Scans for the wonderful photos that illustrate this post.
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Pop Cultural Literacy 101: Summer Screening Series At Woodbury

Spike Jones and Doodles Weaver
Spike Jones: Clink, Clink Another Drink
Spike Jones: Pass The Biscuits Mirandy
Doodles Weaver: A Day With Doodles
I've written before about the creative explosion in the arts that occurred around the first half of the 20th century. It always surprises me when I meet a college student who is studying animation who doesn't know anything about the music that came before the Beatles or movies before Star Wars. This Summer, thanks to Woodbury University and the Walter Lantz Foundation, I have a chance to share the work of some of the most amazing entertainers who ever lived with a new generation of artists.


Maria Callas
Maria Callas: Habanera From Bizet's Carmen
The Golden Age animators knew and loved these performers. They studied them and incorporated elements of their style and caricatures of them into their cartoons. There is a lot to learn from this old stuff. The first thing you will learn is that it is surprisingly skillful and entertaining. Isn't that something you want your animation to be?


Buck Owens
Buck Owens: I've Got A Tiger By The Tail
Buck Owens: Foolin' Around
Another thing you'll discover is that the music of the 20th century is unbelievably diverse. Today, we have a million names to describe basically the same type of music. Back then, the names defined a myriad of sounds... country, opera, jazz, folk, blues, rock and roll... more kinds of music than existed in any other time period. We'll sample a little bit of this ocean of great stuff in a series of screenings this Summer at Woodbury.


Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway: The Reefer Man
Cab Calloway: Minnie the Moocher
In this post, I've given you an idea of the musical performers you'll discover at these screenings, but there's much more... rare examples of dance, comedy, drama... all kinds of entertainment that directly applies to your work as an animator... up on the big screen the way they were intended to be seen. I'll tell you more as the time gets nearer. Mark these dates down on your calendar, and plan to attend. It's FREE to students, the animation community and the general public courtesy of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, Woodbury University and the Walter Lantz Foundation.


Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters: Hoochie Coochie Man
Muddy Waters: I Can't Be Satisfied
Pop Cultural Literacy 101
A Series of Summer Screenings
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Friday, August 14th, 2009
September Date To Be Announced
Short Subjects Start At 7pm, The Feature Film Starts At 8:30.
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)


Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck: Take The A Train
Dave Brubeck: It's A Raggy Waltz

See you at Woodbury this Summer!

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

Many thanks to Dr. Macro's High Quality Movie Scans for the wonderful photos that illustrate this post.
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Animation Salon: SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT! March 21

Woodbury University has graciously invited ASIFA-Hollywood to host events at their newly opened Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium. These events are free and open to the animation community.

AN ANIMATION SALON
Saturday, March 21st, 2009 7:30pm
Admission FREE
Woodbury University
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510


Jean Francois de Troy, "Reading from Moliere" 1728
On Saturday, March 21st at 7:30pm, we will be holding an Animation Salon to encourage animated filmmakers to...

SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!
Yesterday at Animation Nation, Don Bluth asked, "How did traditional animation come to be viewed by almost every American household as children's entertainment?"

It's a good question... one that we will be discussing this Saturday March 21st at 7:30pm at Woodbury University.

Animation didn't start out as a vehicle for fairy tales and trite moral platitudes. Pioneers like Winsor McCay saw animation as an outgrowth of print cartooning, a powerful medium for challenging social comment going all the way back to Thomas Nast.

In the years since McCay, animation has proven itself to be effective for education and persuasion. Animated propaganda films helped to win World War II, and animated commercials have sold billions of dollars worth of products.


In some countries, animation is a powerful tool of persuasion and enlightenment. Even though animation is by its very nature collaborative, some filmmakers have been able to use it as a medium of personal expression.

Why has it come to be perceived as children's entertainment then?

Not that children's entertainment is necessarily a bad thing. There have been animators who have pushed the envelope to create kids' TV that not only entertains, but has something interesting to say as well. But on the whole, animation that has a point is the exception, not the rule.

This Saturday, we will be screening some examples of animated films that successfully merge entertainment with meaningful comment on life and the world around us.

Some of them take a wide ranging view, tackling immense subjects...

...Others take the opposite approach, using a small scale to make a large point. Both are valid.

But when it comes to feature animation, films with something to say are as rare as hen's teeth. Sprinkled in amongst the talking dogs and fairy tale princesses are occasional sparks of life. But often those sparks are extinguished before the film even reaches the theater.

For instance, do you know about the hidden link between Disney's Fox and the Hound...

...and Ralph Bakshi's Coonskin?

You'll find out the secret if you attend ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Salon at Woodbury this Saturday night!

Don't miss it!

Here as a little sneak peek is a clip from Bakshi's Coonskin. This sequence was designed by Mark Kausler and animated by Charlie Downs and John Walker. Here is a bit of Mark Kausler's storyboard for the sequence...


And here is the sequence as it appears in the film...

Malcolm the Cockroach
from Ralph Bakshi's "Coonskin" (1975)
(Quicktime 7 / 6.5 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

We'll be discussing and screening examples related to these and many more topics at Woodbury University on March 21st. I hope you can join us.

Animation Salon: SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!
Saturday, March 21st, 2009 7:30pm
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

Stumble It!

Animation Salon: Acting For Animation Feb 21st

Woodbury University has graciously invited ASIFA-Hollywood to host events at their newly opened Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium. For the next several months, the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive will be hosting Animation Salons on the third Saturday evening of every month. These events are free and open to the animation community.

AN ANIMATION SALON


Jean Francois de Troy, "Reading from Moliere" 1728
On Saturday, February 21st at 8pm, we will be holding an Animation Salon on the subject of...

Acting For Animation
What is "acting"? What constitutes a well acted performance?



What are the differences between acting for animation and acting in live action?



Are there things that can be done in live action that can't be done effectively in animation?



Are there are other ways to convey mood, emotion and personality besides acting?



What sort of inspiration did golden age animators look to for creating an animated performance? What do these models of pantomime acting have to inform modern animation?

Who was the greatest actor of all time? Was it John Barrymore who received acclaim for his performances in Hamlet and Richard III?



...Or was it the "wascaly wabbit", Bugs Bunny?






Acting For Animation
John Barrymore "Twentieth Century (1934)
Bugs Bunny in "Tortoise Wins By A Hare" (1943)
(Quicktime 7 / 6.7 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

We'll be discussing and screening examples related to these and many more topics at Woodbury University on February 21st. I hope you can join us.

SPECIAL GUEST: EDDIE FITZGERALD


Joining us for this Animation Salon will be cartoonist Eddie Fitzgerald, the creator of Uncle Eddie's Theory Corner and story artist on Ren & Stimpy. Eddie will be screening one of his favorite films and sharing his theories on acting and building a characterful performance.

Don't miss it!

Animation Salon: Acting For Animation
Saturday, February 21st, 2009 8pm
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

Stumble It!

An Animation Salon: What Is An Animated Film?

Woodbury University has graciously invited ASIFA-Hollywood to host events at their newly opened Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium. Our first two presentations there are The ASIFA-Hollywood Student Animation Festival on Saturday, October 18th, and the Don Hahn Alchemy of Animation booksigning fundraiser on Monday, October 20th.

AN ANIMATION SALON


Jean Francois de Troy, "Reading from Moliere" 1728
I've been asked to present a series of screenings at Woodbury, the first of which will take place as part of the ASIFA-Hollywood Student Animation Festival. This series will be aimed at professionals and students of the medium, and will consist of informal discussions on topics related to animation filmmaking. We'll have guest speakers, rare films from the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, panel discussions, audience participation and networking sessions. The goal is to create an animation salon to bring together the creative spirit of the animation community and foster the interaction of the membership of ASIFA-Hollywood.

The first program, which will take place on October 18th at 10 am will address a fundamental question...

What is an animated film?
Many people view animation as a genre. Like "westerns" and "science fiction", animation has come to follow a few tightly defined sets of conventions...


Anime generally involves stylized human characters with large sparkling eyes, big spiky hair and long thin limbs. Characters produce large sweat drops when under stress and strike static poses against backdrops of effects animation in dramatic situations. These characters inhabit futuristic or magical worlds and do battle using otherworldly forces in violent, complicated stories that frequently span multiple films. The character designs are usually based on realistic proportions and the overall stylization is very detailed and complicated.


The Funny Animal style is the staple of American animated short subjects. Star characters perform along with a supporting cast of comic foils consisting of anthropomorphized animals and childlike humans. Storylines are very simple, constructed from a basic beginning and end bookending variations on a theme performed in slapstick pantomime. Designs are round and simplified and the setting of the action usually takes place in rural environments, exotic locations relating to the theme of the cartoon, or idealized suburbs.


Feature Animation style consists of fairy tale settings with princesses, princes and evil villains. Comic relief is provided by anthropomorphic animals who perform pantomime derived from the funny animal style. Stories usually involve an innocent lead character being threatened by a villain and befriending comic relief characters that help him or her overcome the foe. Designs for lead characters are generally very realistic, with cartoony side characters, and the settings derive from storybook illustration.

There have been exceptions to these generalizations over the years to be sure, but these are the characteristics that most people think of when they hear the word "animation". Is animation a genre? Do animated films have to adhere to these categories? How did these classifications come about? Let's take that last style, feature animation, and see where it got its start, and where it might have gone if animation had followed a different path...

THE GODDESS OF SPRING 1934

Here we have "ground zero" for the feature animation style. "The Goddess of Spring" was Walt Disney's experiment in constructing a prototype for his first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It consists of a fairy tale (Pluto and Persephone) set in a magical woodland populated by cute animals and helpful dwarfs.


The lead character is a realistically designed princess. Les Clark, who animated many of the scenes featuring the character of Persephone, was disappointed with the results. The acting in the film is primitive, much like the acting in melodramas, and it was difficult for the artists to control the realistic proportions of the lead characters.


The story was largely dictated by the overall themes of the original fable, but Disney's focus is on the beautiful girl dancing in a wood full of friendly animals, the threat by the devilish villain and the eventual happy ending that returns everything to normal again.


In key poses, the drawing of the lead character is quite good; but in motion, her features crawl all over her face, and her limbs resemble rubbery spaghetti, rather than flesh and blood arms and legs.


The villain, Pluto is the prototype for the Disney villain- thoroughly evil and melodramatic. He is as two dimensionally evil as Persephone is two dimensionally good. Similar characters can be found in Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians and The Little Mermaid, as well as the recent film Kung Fu Panda. The relationship of Persephone and the dwarfs is echoed by the relationship of Pluto and the demons in Hades, just like Briar Rose's animal friends and Maleficent's goons in Sleeping Beauty.


The scenes are laid out with the characters in profile, moving left to right and right to left, as if the characters are performing on a stage in front of a painted backdrop. There is very little indication of depth between the characters in the scenes of Pluto and Persephone and they maintain a "stage distance" from each other while delivering their lines. This makes the stilted acting and melodramatic poses look even more mannered.


The film ends with an abrupt "picture postcard" happy ending, just like most Disney films. The real focus of the film is on the wild musical number in Hades. The happy ending is just the period on the end of the sentence, not the point of the picture itself.

Goddess of Spring
(Disney/1934)
(Quicktime 7 / 21.5 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

JOIE DE VIVRE 1934

Here is a French animated cartoon released the exact same year as "Goddess of Spring" which illustrates similar themes depicted in a totally different way. I was introduced to this film by cartoonist, Milton Knight, who pointed out its unique animation style to me. In 1930, Anthony Gross, a French printmaker and painter was inspired by Walt Disney's cartoons to create his own animated films along with Hector Hoppin. Like "Goddess of Spring", "Joei de Vivre" is a retelling of a traditional fable... in this case a sophisticated version of Perrault's Cinderella.


Instead of working from designs from children's illustrated books, this film incorporates elements from French art nouveau posters, the fine art of Matisse and visual ideas from the Post Impressionists and Italian Futurists. The choreography is very imaginative, and constantly plays with the movement of the two dimensional abstractions in three dimensional space. Like Disney's films, the effects animation is particularly impressive.


The dreamlike atmosphere of the film comes from the total integration between motion and music. Unlike Disney's film, "Joei de Vivre" does not require draftsmanship that exceeds the ability of the animators. The motion is stylized to suit the design, and vice versa. The film exhibits a strikingly unique conceptual unity.


This film starts and ends with dynamic images of modern power plants and trainyards, with a calm dreamlike center that takes place in a wooded glade. Structurally, it's like a mirror image of "Goddess of Spring" which begins and ends with pastoral scenes with dynamic scenes in Hades in the middle. Instead of abduction, "Joei de Vivre" deals with escape.


There is no stereotypical villain, melodramatic acting or stilted rhyming dialogue trying to put across plot points. Instead, it's a simple story of a boy struggling to pursue two girls on his bicycle, teaming up with them at the end to tame technology and escaping together into the clouds. The reactions of the boy to the girls is much more natural and believable than the mannered stage acting of Pluto. The situations all make perfect sense without having to be explained in words.


This film is more symbolic and less dependent on plot or traditional narrative than "Goddess of Spring". It's more of a visual poem than it is a literal visualization of a children's fairy tale. The music functions to set the mood in this film much more than in Disney's borderline kitsch pseudo-operetta.


What would animated features be like today if this was the model instead of "Goddess of Spring"? Why aren't there more films that tell stories in more visual and abstract ways? Would animation be better if films rethought aspects of style for the story being told instead of repeating elements from previous films? Is the animated film really a genre? Or are there other styles and stories suitable for the medium that just aren't being told?

Joei De Vivre
(Anthony Gross & Hector Hoppin/1934)
(Quicktime 7 / 19.9 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

This is just one of the subjects we'll be covering at our first Animation Salon at Woodbury University. We'll be screening and discussing a program of animated films that illustrate the width and breadth of styles and techniques possible in animation. If you are interested in the art of animation, you won't want to miss it.


The ASIFA-Hollywood
Student Animation Festival
October 18th, 2008
Screening starts at 10am
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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Event Oct 21: Treasures Screening in Hollywood

Milt Kahl, Carlo Vinci, Grim Natwick, Ed Benedict, Rod Scribner, Tex Avery, Warren Foster, Mike Lah, Max & Dave Fleischer... You've read about them on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive blog. Now, here's your chance to see some of their rarest and most wonderful cartoons on the big screen in the heart of Hollywood. You won't see these cartoons on TV! Meet the special guests! Networking party after the screening!

Treasures of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
Sunday October 21st at 2.00 pm
Tickets $10 (includes after party)
Silent Movie Theatre
611 N Fairfax Av
Los Angeles, CA 90036


The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood is embarked on an ambitious project-- building a library, museum and digital archive dedicated to the art of animation. On Sunday October 21st at 2.00 pm, ASIFA-Hollywood will be presenting a screening at the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax as part of LAAF 2007, the Los Angeles Animation Festival. The program is titled "Treasures of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive", and it will include rarely seen cartoons covering a wide spectrum of animation's rich history.


"Hollywood was the place animation reached its absolute peak" says ASIFA-Hollywood President, Antran Manoogian, "and it's still the place to be for an artist looking to break into the business. Technological advances and an upsurge in interest in the medium indicate that cartoons will be even be even more a part of our lives as time goes on. The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive is making that happen by providing much needed resources to students and artists working in the field."


"The goal of our project is to help artists build on the accomplishments of the past, rather than reinventing the wheel." says Stephen Worth, Director of the ASIFA-Hollywood Archive. "There's no better resource for doing that than our archive." Located on Burbank Bl. in Burbank, ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Archive is open to the public four days a week, with thousands of animated cartoons and images available for viewing in an interactive computer database. "Something like this has never been attempted before." says Worth. "Our archive is like the Library of Alexandria or the Louvre- just for cartoons!"


The program of animated films will include classic cartoons by many of the most famous names in animation. It will also put the spotlight on artists you might not have ever heard of, but who were responsible for creating the cartoon characters you know and love. After the program, there will be a reception in the Silent Movie Theater's beautiful Spanish Patio with special guests. Proceeds from this event will be going to support the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive project.


Because of the limited number of seats available, it is suggested that you purchase admission in advance. Any remaining tickets will go on sale one hour prior to showtime.

Treasures of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
Sunday October 21st at 2.00 pm
Tickets $10 (includes after party)
Silent Movie Theatre
611 N Fairfax Av
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Advance tickets are exclusively available online.
(Click on Program 5 for the Archive Screening.)

For the full schedule of the Los Angeles Animation Festival 2007, visit...
www.laafest.org/

For more information on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, contact...
Stephen Worth, sworth@animationarchive.org
.

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