The INDEXICAL
“Rooty-toot-toot, right in the snoot”
THe bartender
For my choice of an INDEXICAL piece of animation, I decided to go with the 1951 animated short ‘Rooty Toot Toot‘ by John Hubley. This piece is an incredibly well known and incredibly fun animated short centering the court case of a character named Frankie (pictured above), who “allegedly” shot her sweetheart for thinking he cheated on her. It is told in a musical form and is in a heavily-stylized East Coast animation style. The Hubleys (John Hubley and Faith Hubley, his spouse) have coined a style very unique to them. When watching Rooty Toot Toot, you can recognize the style behind it. You can see the shapes that make up the characters, partly because they are woven into the designs, and then played around with within the animation. (Another film of theirs that I would call ‘indexical’ would be Moonbird, as even though it is a finished film, you can see the sketches of the characters and how they are over-layed with their surroundings and backgrounds.) This example is a very modest example, as Moonbird and Windy Day (also by the Hubleys) are more extreme examples, for this assignment I wanted to stick with things that I am more familiar with, hence why I chose Rooty Toot Toot.
The HAND
For my personal choice for THE HAND in animation, I decided to go with the 1939 film by Len Lye, ‘Rainbow Dance’. This film was made using -at the time- breakthrough technology. It was ‘live action’ in the sense that there were people in front of a camera, but it used Pixelation, Augmentation, Color (before colored films were being made), and stunning VISUAL ANIMATED EFFECTS! Although Elvis Costello had the first animated music video with his hit song “Accidents will happen” in 1979 (which is admittedly the first ‘fully animated music video’, not just animated in general-), this animated film was a lot like one big animated music video! I encourage that when you watch it, you view it with this lens, as well as without! It can give you some fun perspectives! Len Lye is famous for working with colors and shapes, especially to music. In fact, the cover image of the animation world history blog is a snapshot from one of his films! How cool!
The ILLUSION
“Not lonely at all”
THe tree
For my last style, ‘the illusion of life’, I chose the soviet animation ‘The Tree and the Cat’. There are so many great examples of illusion of life. From storytelling to worldbuilding. It can be complex and fantastical- but something I love about ‘The Tree and the Cat’ is its simplicity. It is told much like a fable. I absolutely adore the style, the animation, the colors, the backgrounds and the personification of both the cat and the tree. I love the message it tells, it is not just a story but it hits you in the feels. It makes you think. It pulls you into the world and makes you feel as if you were the cat, only to reveal that all along, you were the tree. The illusion that yes, trees can talk! Yes! Cats can talk! It brings you in on your human experiences to create this illusion of a story that resonates with the viewer while also being a magnificent piece stylistically (art/animation wise) as well. It is work like this that really inspires me.
Works Cited
The Tree and the Cat. (Дерево і кішка) Directed by Yevgeny Sivokon, performances by Davyd Babaiev, Sergei Filimonow. Animated by Kievnauchfilm. (1983)
Rooty Toot Toot. Directed by John Hubley, Performances by Thurl Ravenscroft, Annette Warren. Animated by Art Babbit, Pat Matthews, Tom McDonald, Grim Natwick. (1951)
Rainbow Dance. Directed by Len Lye, performance by Rupert Doone. Music by Burton Lane. (1936)
“IMDb”, (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028156), accessed Sep. 11, 2024
“IMDb”, (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2443150/?ref_=ttrel_ov“, accessed Sep. 11, 2024
“IMDB” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043980/), accessed Sep. 11, 2024
“YouTube” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl3xoKrgabY&list=PLW4PZJfG0c4PIoczP0dq1lhktZ-vW9aYk&index=19) accessed Sep. 11, 2024