Category Archives: Animation

So? Adventure in the Univerphone

by Cimaxion | 1 Comment

This is an Italian animated TV series about an inventor who gets sucked into the virtual world inside his cell phone. You know… like most Americans do… while they are driving at 75 mph on the freeway and they smash into a concrete pylon, spattering their dull brains across five lanes of traffic. And most deservedly so. But this little animated preview looks inviting. I like it. The series is made by Marco Bigliazzi and Fabrizio Bondi of Toposodo Episodic Productions.  The series has its own web site.

100 Year Old Little Nemo Animation by Winsor McCay

by Cimaxion

The Los Angeles Times’ Hero Complex blog has a post about Winsor McCay’s early animation efforts from 100 years ago. This is a film that features the cartoonist impressing his skeptical artist friends with moving characters from his great comic strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland.

The actual Nemo animation starts at the 8:15 mark.  Enjoy!

Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip.

Justus 2: A Film by Ryan Spring Dooley

by Cimaxion

Ryan Spring Dooley (aka MarvinTiberious on YouTube) and Juppy Nash made a catchy little tune and played it on an Italian rooftop where they could enjoy the place they were in and become infected with art. Dooley’s films are a constant stream of creativity and artistic perception unlike anything else. He combines old and new and creates works so easily expressive that you wonder why anyone needs anything more than paper, paint and a camera to do anything. Watch this film and wonder at just how good it really is. Masterful.

The filmmaker is also using Kickstarter to fund a bigscreen project:

The Willow Pattern Story – An Animated Film by Kids

by Cimaxion | 1 Comment

Quirky Pictures conducts another animation workshop for school children. This time it was a nine day workshop at Great Missenden C of E Combined School. The students made four films based on tales from around the world. I love the freely drawn lines and cutout characters combined with the very matter of fact narration by the kids. They are good storytellers. What fun art classes like these must be. I never had so much fun when I was a kid. I’m a bit jealous.

Three Big Pigs – A Middle East Revolution Animation

by Cimaxion

Egor Zhgun presents a cartoon news report on the revolutions rocking the Middle East. Some of these revolutions, though coming from noble intentions, are failing miserably. Egypt has rid itself of a dictator only to be taken over by a barbaric military that conducts organized rape and torture of men and women who seek to engage in any further protests. Egypt is now a military dictatorship. It is sheer stupidity to believe otherwise.  I won’t go visit the pyramids any time soon because I don’t want to be raped by Egyptian soldiers.

Dreams Ripple ~ Here Now – Japanese Animation by Akinori Okada

by Cimaxion

What the heck is this? I have no idea. But I like it. It looks like nothing I’ve seen so far. Seems to have something to do with a magic box of dreams maybe. Dream characters dance about and frolic with strange projections and shadows.  There’s an element of old Japanese folktales with tiny toys or figures coming to life at night.  Very strange.

The film was made by Akinori Okada in 2009.

The Animated Films of Painter György Kovásznai

by Cimaxion | 1 Comment

While visiting Your Daily Cartoon, I watched an animated film by Hungarian painter György Kovásznai.  I liked the calm mishmash of drawing styles and quiet humor. The 1965 film is called Mesék a m?veszet világából (Tales From the World of Art). It has no subtitles but is pretty easy to follow, taking a bemused look at several kinds of art. The first part is an action movie, the second is a theatrical piece, the third is a piano recital.

This one is called Várakozni jó (Waiting for Good). It’s about a traffic jam with a truck that suddenly opens its back doors and explodes into a 1969 rock & roll jam. The wild sketchy ever-changing animation style is more psychedelic than most commercialized sixties psychedelia could ever be.

This one is Gitáros fiú a régi képtárban (Boy Guitarist of the Old Hits) from 1964. It’s simply a guitarist playing and dancing his way through artworks by old masters presented in a very avant-garde fashion. Understanding the art is one thing, but the person who can truly enjoy it is far ahead in the game.