Cartoon Brew TV is showing this student animation called The Terrible Thing of Alpha-9! It was directed by Jake Armstrong as his thesis for the School of Visual Arts. It’s got a very free drawing style and combines a great sci-fi sensibility with gentle humor. If you head over to Cartoon Brew, they’ve got a full interview with the director with lots of information about the making of the film.
Category Archives: Animation
Animation: Café Serré
A cop sits in a diner having his simple breakfast and, without so much as breaking a sweat, he foils a robbery. Café Serré is a short animation by Denis Bouyer for Supinfocom Arles. I love the way the cop reaches for his coffee spoon and misses it the first time. Great detail. Nice timing. Fabulous diner too.
Film: I Dreamt of Flying
Filmmaker Alex Bland made this animated/live action film about RAF bomber squadrons during World War II. He mixes hand-drawn illustration and archive footage from the war. The soundtrack is excellent. I really like how the film explodes into abstraction as the planes fly through the spotlights during an attack. Mr. Bland also made an excellent animation called Unforgettable Evil From Mars.
Animation: ‘Cars’ Goes to Tokyo
In this fast-paced and colorful short, Pixar sends Mater to do some incredible street racing in Tokyo. This one’s a lot of fun.
Who’s Hungry: Animation Based on Hansel & Gretel
Freshman CalArts animation student, David Ochs made this wonderfully dark and violent take on the Grimms story, Hansel and Gretel. It is everything a good fairy tale should be – full of evil, danger, self-reliant heroes, terrible and disgusting villains, and threatening environments. The artwork is gorgeous and the piece is beautifully animated and has a very unsettling soundtrack.
Thanks to Cartoon Brew for posting this.
Reach: Animated Short
Reach is a rather sad but lovely animation by Australian animator Luke Randall. The story is told with perfect simplicity and it is quite moving.
