_of_the_Dark.jpg)
Here is the link to the slides with the animations:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1B5mzHpkkZK56Wq0wcd-Nd2FfCa2jxILvNxtnra2imFQ/edit?usp=sharing
Page 12 of 21
Charlie Zuo
The Iron Giant (1999)
The Iron Giant (1999) is an animated science fiction film directed by Brad Bird and produced by Warner Bros. The film blends themes of identity, mortality and the human capacity for choice. Set against the backdrop of Cold War-era paranoia, the story explains the conflict between fear and understanding, the nature of free will vs predetermined purpose. The film focuses on a boy named Hogarth Hughes, who one night discovers a giant robot that crash-landed from space. The Iron Giant who is designed as a weapon of mass destruction, isn’t aware of its destructive capabilities, who he learns from Hogarth that it is capable of more than violence. Hogarth’s almost gentle and repeating words of “You are who you choose to be,” clarifying that one’s purpose does not dictate by their nature but by their choices following by its actions. The film also examines the human tendency to fear of the unpredictable. Kent Mansley, the government agent, seeing the Giant as a global threat rather than a being capable of change and peace. While through Hogarth’s innocent wisdom poses a counterpoint to Mansley’s fear driven worldview, advocating for compassion and understanding as the paths to peace.
Gerald McBoing Boing (1950)
Gerald McBoing Boing (1950) is an animated short film by UPA directed by Robert Cannon. The animation is minimalistic, using simplified, abstract designs and a bold use of color. A young boy named Gerald communicates entirely through sound effects like whistles, bells, and boings, which led his parents concerned and seeking help from a doctor and a schoolteacher. However still no one can figure out why Gerald can’t talk normally, until when he gave the schoolteacher a call. It was then when they discovered that they can hear him talking normally, just through calls. However in Dr. Seuss’s Gerald McBoing Boing, Gerald was noticed by a radio station owner who recognizes the potential in his sound effects abilities. Who then offers Gerald a job creating sound effects for radio programs.
Both Gerald McBoing Boing and The Iron Giant share a central theme of embracing individuality and turning what makes someone different into a strength. In both stories, the main characters are misunderstood because of their unique traits that was initially perceived as problems, are finally embraced and celebrated. However the short film Gerald McBoing Boing is way lighthearted, and a whimsical tone, using humor and a playful animation style addressing Gerald’s struggles. The Iron Giant, while still an animated film, has more of a serious emotional tone, dealing with heavy themes like war, fear and sacrifice. The film delves deeper into complex emotions like the ethics of violence.
https://irongiant.fandom.com/wiki/The_Iron_Giant_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_McBoing-Boing
in both of my examples, the animation was hand drawn and colored. the fist one is about a girl trying to get the boy to lover her. while the second one is about a man going on a journey and happens to fall in love.
UPA cartoon Modern
animators:
Bill Melendez
Willie Pyle
Paul Smith
Pat Matthews
Pete Burness
Not Cartoon Modern
animators: (from what i can find)
Andreas Deja, supervising animator
Eric Goldberg, Philoctetes
Nik Ranieri, Hades
The differences between the two is the story, the animation style, and who made them.
The similarities between the two is how they are both hand drawn, has a theme of falling in love, and a quest to get that love.
work cited
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_(1997_film)#Animation_and_design
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
Madeline is a UPA short film released in 1952, shortly after their 1951 short Gerald McBoing-Boing proved an overwhelming success and won an Oscar. Madeline is a sweet, simple little story about a young Parisian girl with a knack for mischief and her adventures at a Catholic boarding school. Adapted from Ludwig Bemelmans’ picture book series, and although only the first book was published at the time, the team had a “real love” for it, according to film director Robert (Bob, Bobe, Bobo) Cannon. (How UPA Made the Very First ‘Madeline’ Cartoon) The animation team on Madeline was made up of a small handful of people; color artist Jules Engel, animator Chris K. Ishii, animator Bill Melendez, animator Frank Smith, and uncredited assistant animator Paul Bartel.
The animation is simple but effective. The main character group (the twelve little girls and Miss Clavel) all wear the same color outfits (almost always red). The backgrounds are watercolored in an energetic, illustrative way that contrasts the simple inked character designs, allowing them to both be distinctive and fit into the world. It makes for an appropriate adaption from the expressionist roots of Ludwig Bemelmans’ original story.
The next short of my choice is “No Smoking”, the pilot episode to the animated series Cow and Chicken, first airing as part of the What A Cartoon! showcase on November 12, 1995. “No Smoking” was storyboarded and directed by creator David Feiss, animated by himself at Hannah-Barbara Studios, and written by himself, Sam Keith, and Pilar Feiss. In the pilot, Chicken gets caught smoking a cigarette by his sister Cow. While this is happening, The Devil (Known as the “Red Guy” for the rest of the series) is watching the siblings from his lair and announces that he loves causing disasters and dragging people who make bad decisions down to hell. The Devil offers Chicken a pack of cigarettes and proceeds to drag him to hell for underage smoking. Chicken is tortured via giant cigarette smoking, but is rescued in the end by Cow.
Cow and Chicken is a great example of how the artistic rebellion of one era can branch off and influence the next. Looking back, the influence of UPA’s cartoon modern style on the “wild” cartoons of the 90s feels pretty obvious; the bold colors, clean lines, stylized designs, strong shapes, and exaggerated lines of action are some things both eras share. Are these two shorts incredibly different? Yes. But the parts they share, both visible and invisible tie them together. Though Madeline is simpler, both in plot and animation, it has those bold colors and exaggerated choices in posing and composition that we can also see in Cow and Chicken. It’s very intriguing to look at how different eras’ styles can drip down and inspire each new “next big trend”.
List of UPA cartoons – Wikipedia
The World of UPA (Part 1 of 3)
How UPA Made the Very First ‘Madeline’ Cartoon
Exploring Art and Color with Madeline
The Enduring Delight of Ludwig Bemelmans’s ‘Madeline’ | American Art | Sotheby’s
Cow and Chicken | The Cartoon Network Wiki | Fandom
Cow and Chicken (TV Series 1997–1999) – IMDb
1950’s Cartoon style – @serioussamuel on Tumblr
Amid Amidi’s Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation
Project MUSE – Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation (review)