Author: Meghan Warner

By Meghan Warner

Mad God and other puppets

Phil Tippet has a certain grittiness to his puppets and stop motion work that I believe is what creates a sense of fear. The creatures don’t look exactly “surreal” they are overly detailed, a good example being some of his mad god puppets as well as the Rancor he design for Star Wars. You can note all of the gritty detailing on it below which makes the threat feel more real and tangible, as well as truly capturing the idea of a “monstrous” creature. His designs place the viewer in the moment, causing suspense and fear. The movement of the creatures is also very realistic, the original movements of the Rancor actually being modeled with a man in a gorilla suit to give the motion a more fluid effect, continuing to place the audience in the scene and increase the horror’s realism.

Another example of his work causing fear is a very famous scene from the first Jurassic Park, raptors in the kitchen. The velociraptors bear his distinct mark of realism in their designs, but where they really shine is in the movement. It’s somehow both humanlike and completely alien, making the audience terrified for the children being hunted by these predators. Even in his original test animation before the polish and input from the directors you can see how the movements and models of the raptors create tension within the scene.

Impact

Phil Tippett has had a lasting impact on stop motion, many of his works old and new are still being praised today. He has created cultural icons in the rancor and raptors. He is considered a pioneer of the stop motion industry and is still commended for his lifelike work. I myself was one of the children terrified and fascinated by raptors in the kitchen and his work has had a lasting impact on my interests and love of horror.

Favorite

One of my favorite pieces of animated horror media is Coraline by LAIKA studios!

https://www.tippett.com/portfolio/jurassic-park/

https://www.hollywoodmemorabilia.com/en/phil-tippett-star-wars-return-of-the-jedi-rancor-signed-8×10-photo-psa-dna-number-2/p-241112172407993849+z-96-1959273494

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0864138/

By Meghan Warner

Digging for Diamonds

This animation is done in a simplified pen style, resembling quick doodles that an artist might make but with a fully colored and shaded finishing. This was created by Joost Lieuwma and produced by Frame Order. The animation depicts a man desperate to find riches and mining for diamonds.

The Miner’s Daughter

This animation is done in the cartoon modern style and produced by UPA.
The directors of this film were Robert Cannon and John Hubley, created by the artists at UPA. The animation is about a miner and his daughter, the father wanting riches and the daughter wanting to marry the snobby miner next door.

These two cartoons share the similarity of a theme of greed. Both depict men trying to attain wealth through various methods. The difference is the ending where in the UPA cartoon the wealth is obtained, in the other it is not. The cartoons also have a similarity of simplified character designs, though contrast in line work and background styles. I feel as though both have a very effective style. Ironically, I think that the non cartoon modern cartoon could’ve benefitted by being cartoon modern instead.

https://youtu.be/V-87kXkATaA?si=tGpigOHQ_z7rZSCq

https://youtu.be/K0gG9KreOlc?si=xNgtkIlJMTYeqpBE

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151579/

By Meghan Warner


The documentary I chose was The Sweatbox, the shunned unofficial Disney documentary on the scrapping of The Sun Kingdom and hurried creation of The Emperors New Groove. This documentary was a little bit hard to find (since Disney hates it) but in the end I was able to locate it on an unlisted playlist. It is also on the internet archives in its unedited form but I couldn’t get the page to load.

I believe that this falls under the category of supporting ideas or facts. Though, it does contrast from some of the examples shown since the animation is the subject of the actual documentary. I still believe that the rough animation clips shown count as supporting ideas for the documentary, being pieces of the original script and adding authenticity to the film’s claims. They use the animation to both tell and highlight key points in their story.

Sources:
https://www.bloopanimation.com/best-animation-documentaries/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332422/

Directed by

John-Paul Davidson

Trudie Styler

By Meghan Warner

The Wolf- SIAMÉS

The technique used for this animation was frame by frame 2D unique drawings which come together to give the piece a hauntingly unique work.

Direction: Fer Suniga & RUDO Co. Animated & Produced by RUDO Co. Art Direction & Animation by RUDO Co. Script by Fer Suniga Lead Animators: Ezequiel Torres & Pablo Rafael Roldán

While the exact impact of this video on the animation industry would be hard to find, the video itself has 201 MILLION views. It has been a staple of well done animated music videos for a long time, 7 years to be exact. I consider the fluidity of the work to be particularly amazing, when you consider it was animated in 2D it becomes apparent how remarkably 3D it appears. This animation is important to me because about 7 years ago it was one of the key factors in deciding my love of art and animation!

The Wolf – RUDO. (n.d.).  https://rudocompany.com/works/the-wolf/

The Wolf- SIAMÉS, Apr 21, 2017 https://youtu.be/lX44CAz-JhU?si=ms8WMvn1th5pW9oO

By Meghan Warner

Actual Hand- Distortion

I chose distortion for the use of an actual hand because the artist uses their own hands to directly interacts with the claymation at the end of the film. The artist of this animation is Guildies and it is a showcase of their talents in claymation, containing many motion effects and not really having a central “plot”. I believe the artist uses their hands in this piece to show the scale of the objects they’re working with as well as showcase their dedication to claymation.

Indexical- Isle of Dogs

I chose this clip from Isle of Dogs for indexical because despite the animation being clearly stylized, many elements of the dogs feel very organic or unique. There’s a lot of clear passion put into the animation and actions of the dogs. From the expressions to the fur moving as though it’s being blown in the wind, the film clearly shows indexical quality. The film was created by Wes Anderson with artists from 3 Mills Studios. This specific clip of the animation depicts a dog fight over food scraps on the trash island. I believe the film was created to be indexical to draw in the audience and fit in with the style of other Wes Anderson films.

Illusion of life- Aristocats

I chose Aristocats for the illusion of life due to the incredibly smooth and detailed animation that makes the animated cats appear incredibly lifelike. Even if they don’t always move like real life cats, the animated drawings feel very alive and fluid. The full film was created by Disney, this specific clip is a pencil test of the cats speaking to each other. The illusion of life is common in old Disney films, most likely as a way to enchant and impress the audience.

Sources:

ARISTOCATS Pencil Test- pencil test of a 2D animated film, uploaded by Andrea Deja, August 18, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbXrTebZQq8

Isle of Dogs official clip “Ok, it’s Worth it”- Clip of a stop motion film, uploaded by Searchlight Pictures UK, Feb 7, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lxqzem01IU

Distortion, A stop motion film by Guldies- Stop motion short film, uploaded by Guldies, Jan 22, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZqIQmdSa1E