Author: Timothy Abrams

Living from March 24, 1901 to July 7, 197 Ub Iwerks was a very dedicated animator. He designed characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Peg Leg Pete, and was insistent on doing the most animation for the early Disney shorts. One of his animation signatures would be the iconic rhythmic bouncing motion.

(seen at 3:48)

Iwerk’s animation is a mix of scary combined with goofiness. The main shock factor in Skeleton dance would most likely be the quick close up motions. (4:05 1:43)

He works in the ruberhose style, and ocasisonaly breaks it with E X T R E M L E Y choppy and quick motions that can be off putting. Who needs in-betweens?

Examples: 1:51 2:30

(4:15) What is t h i s ?

I’d say my favorite horror themed animation would be the ‘Spider Within’

https://youtu.be/AFPLRIdn1pk?si=wE1LRWWOCAclatU5

Do I need to describe Spiderverse Animation to a group of animators? No I won’t. The short itself lets us into the mind of Miles as everything seems off-putting. The atmosphere remains dark throughout the film, with some quick scares and mildly surreal moments.

Disney

https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0226183&ref_=fn_co_co_2

Sony

Sony Pictures Animation

The animation in Rooty Toot Toot ranges from smooth and fluid, to very snappy and exaggerated. It is believable while not confined to realism.

Upon first appearance, RTT is a musical comedy, but it’s much deeper. The story hides a very good message on lying, manipulation, and persuasion.

For the parallel animation, I wanted to use something great. A cult classic the made a ripple through a generation. Dreamworks has made many masterpieces throughout the years, but the’ve made nothing like this movie.

Both animations boast a sleezy lawyer in a comedic courtroom setting, and both lawyers are able to persuade the people. Both are very exaggerated in performance and creativity. The characters in RTT are built with simple shapes, and have nice silhouettes, while the other characters are loosely modeled off the voice actors. Not to mention both lawyers have the sam build which I find funny.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I USED THE BEE MOVIE AS HOMEWORK AN YOU ALL GET TO SEE IT!

‘Rooty Toot Toot’

Director and Writer – John Hubbley

Choreography – Olga Lunick

Animators

Art Babbit, Pat Mathews, Tom McDonald, Grim Natwick

Color & Design – Paul Julian

Bee Movie – Dreamworks Animation

My chosen animation comes from the Documentary Series ‘Monster Bug Wars’. What differentiates my animations from the ones we viewed last time is the particular style. As the name suggests, MBW is a tv series showcasing real battles between bugs in a ‘nature documentary meets wrestling’ style. It features standard 3D animation on all black background. The animation plays at the begging and middle of fights to showcase anatomy and the different weapons each bug utilizes. Yes, it is very dramatic and often cheesy. But that’s what makes it a fun watch. The animations play their part in making the fights appear like a huge spectacle, and the simplicity the cgi enhances the main focus of the short stories.

ARTISTS

Daniel Kouts	…	graphics / graphics supervisor (13 episodes, 2011-2012)
Tony Ganner	…	graphics (6 episodes, 2011)
Bachir Kazzi	…	graphics (6 episodes, 2011)
Joshua Bramley	…	graphics (6 episodes, 2012)
Ben Wheatley	…	graphics (6 episodes, 2012)
Anthony Church

SOURCES

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1884907/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

https://youtube.com/@monsterbugwarstv?si=OwYFUmAs-VaGsOo3

I chose an iconic scene from Dreamworks’s Animation Studio.
The Prince of Egypt released in 1998, and was a pivotal part in the technological advancements of animation. The movie was made to be a grand masterpiece with an epic sense of scale. A primary goal was expand the aesthetic boundaries of animation, as stated in the production documentary. Animators traveled to Egypt to study, and background artists went to Death Valley to paint. Many famous actors were cast such as Jeff Goldblum and Patrick Stewart. Direct inspiration was taken from painters Gustav Doré and Claude Monet to shape the feel of the film. Much of the process was taking from the best art has to offer.

https://youtu.be/GJleW4TCQM0?si=np4ybywxx0TW8LsN

The characters are animated in the traditional 2D dimensional fashion, but placed in 3D environments. The crew was able to do this thanks to a tool called the Exposure Camera.
You can watch the interview with Doug Keller, the Plague Sequence Lead at 1:43 below.
https://youtu.be/_EHP5eVkH6Y?si=RVjFRQ4-9KPDYrJO



IMPACT ON THE INDUSTRY: The Prince of Egypt’s production enabled 2D characters to move around in digital 3d environments, and have the camera follow those characters.

UNIQUENESS: It’s a climatic scene, but it’s a montage. The two main combatants never duke it out with their fists. It’s a plea for freedom, with the main antagonist constantly choosing to deny it, holding out until he can’t anymore. There’s also a great use of red and blue color contrast. Normally red is used for the side of evil, but in this movie, I believe it symbolized the power and terror brought upon Egypt.

PERSONAL IMPORTANCE: The movie holds many core values that animated films seem to be dismissing. A sense of grand scale, a proper balance of serious, joyous, and comedic tone all make this one of the greatest 2d animated films.

Animators

Plague sequence
Sequence leads – Doug Ikeler, Rosana Lyons

Animators – John Huey, Jane Smethurst

Digital effects – Bob Lyss

Assistants – Mark Asai, Noe Garcia, Helen Javan, Susan B. Keane, Chris Kurshbaum, Chance Lane, John Mc.Farlane, Juile Penman. Chris Trorey

WORKS CITED

‘The Prince of Egypt’ Directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells DreamWorks Animation Dec. 16 1998

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120794/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0594883/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

For my animation showing the creator’s hand, I chose Alan Becker’s fourth entry in his Animator vs Animation series. As the name suggests, he fights the stick figure he created in his animation software.

For my indexical animation, I chose a stop motion called Mitosis. The creator goes by the name Guldies. Mitosis animation however is very surreal, and get’s a little trippy. Despite that, you can see and feel the dedication. The sculpting, motion, and even sound design line up perfectly to create a miniature masterpiece.

Lastly, my illusion choice comes from one of the greatest animated films of all time.

The Prince of Egypt Pencil tests are WAY TOO SMOOTH. Dare I say some tests may even surpass the Richard Willams level! Go to the time stamp 3:29 and catch your jaw before it hits the ground.

Some of the Dreamworks animators. William Salazar also did one of the tests.