The films I chose to compare are The Tell Tale Heart and The Raven (animation). The Tell Tale Heart is an animation made by UPA, and is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s story, The Tell Tale Heart. It follows a man who, when entranced by his caretakers eye, kills him and buries him under the floorboards. The beating of his heart drives him crazy and leads him to turn himself in.

This film is a far cry from their other productions, being suspenseful and dramatic. They still keep their style of backgrounds, but opt for more of a painterly approach, and change their usual character design to more realistic and uncanny proportions. The visuals are stunning, and show another side of the company. It was made by UPA productions, directed by Ted Parmelee, and voiced by James Mason.

The second film, The Raven, is an animation that tells the story written by Edgar Allan Poe, called “The Raven.” The art is a lot more literal, with the background making logical sense and the raven and man being represented literally. It was made by RegPow Art and Review&Brew.

The similarities between these two are that they are both made based off of a story by Edgar Allan Poe. Both of these stories include lots of suspense and drama. Their styles are both dark, with grey colors and uncanny faces. The main differences that I can see are the way in which the story is told.

The story in both of them is told differently, and I think thats what makes the quality difference so stark. The Raven, while being good, just doesnt have much of that drama feel. Only in a few places is it “creepy,” or even just suspenseful. The values used don’t lean much into the room being dark or haunted, but almost well lit. The animation, in most places, is very smooth. The voice acting is okay, but does not have any special qualities to it. What I will say, though, is they did a good job of showing the ravens mystery.

I think that their styles did a really good job of expressing the story. Specifically, UPA’s. It was well made, suspenseful, and full of details while still being simple in their style. I loved the color, the character design, and the voice acting.

As for The Raven, I liked it a little bit less. I think the art was good, it expressed the story and had some moments that were unique enough to make it emotional. However, the whole thing felt confined and the shots were repetitive. I think if they used a more undefined, imaginary style the true feelings of the poem would have shown through.

Citing Sources:

0do0m. (2015, October 31). The Tell Tale Heart (UPA, 1953) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCEdRES08Y4Review&Brew. (2018, October 30). The Raven | Animation | Edgar Allan Poe [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLbe4JwE6-0GradeSaver. (2023, April 5). The Raven – Poem Summary [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m85RlmXA_8M