A funny cartoon by Levni Yilman.
Category Archives: Animation
Animation: Night On Disco Mountain
Phylicia Fuentes made this short and groovy little animation based on some of her old childhood sketchbook characters.
Charlie Brown Halloween: I Got a Rock
Early Avant-Garde Animated Films by Harry Smith
Harry Smith was an American artist, experimental filmmaker, folk music collector and mystic. His film work is considered to be some of the greatest avant-garde work of the 20th century. Here are the first 2 parts of 4 showing some of his early animation from 1941 – 1957.
Animation: Forget Me Not
Mew Lab animation brings us this lovely short film that combines live action and animated photographs to tell the story of an old woman who remembers her imaginary childhood friends. Forget Me Not, directed by Kim Noce, features excellent use of the photo cutout technique and a wonderful soundtrack.
Medieval Battle Animated with Toys
Here’s a dramatic medieval battle, pitting East against West, with knights, horses, swords, shields, spears and archers… all animated with toys. This is another stop-motion film from Toyman Studios.
1938 War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast in Toy Animation
I am on a roll of discovery tonight! Here’s the perfect film to kick off the Halloween season for 2010. This is a recording of the legendary 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater. But Toyman Studios has animated the entire thing with toys! Toy sets, toy people, and amazing toy battles! It’s beautiful. This is just the perfect way to tell this story now. I want more from Toyman Studios!
Stratos Fear – 1933 Animation by Ub Iwerks
Oh my gosh! Who has seen this before? A masterwork by the great original Disney genius, Ub Iwerks. A trip to the dentist turns into a fantastic space ride for young Willie Whopper.
Short Film About Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
I always think that films about Disney films are better than Disney films. Here’s a new one. In case you didn’t know, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit came before Mickey Mouse.
Super-Secret Artist Banksy Defaces The Simpsons
Emerging in utmost secrecy from his well-hidden fortress of urban art, Banksy has brought his/her unique brand of urban art-terrorism to The Simpsons. Last night’s episode featured an opening sequence directed by the incognito artist. We see the Banksy logo painted across a billboard and then the sequence suddenly takes us into what looks like an asian sweatshop of animators working on Simpson’s animation and making Simpsons toys. My favorite part is the suffering unicorn.
Most people are caught completely unaware by the artist’s secret nocturnal visits to leave behind images that provoke. However, I can’t imagine that the producers of The Simpsons were unaware of Banksy’s activities. The only person who seems unaware is some mid-level Twentieth Century Fox employee who keeps taking the videos down from YouTube for copyright violation. Would it be permissible for someone higher up at Twentieth Century Fox to take said employee into the parking lot and run over that person’s mouse hand with a Humvee?
Update: The higher-ups at the studio appear to have listened and graciously disabled the meddling fingers of whoever was deleting the video from YouTube. So posted above is the Simpsons opening in all its glory.
Animation: Bill Plympton Interview
Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film has an interview with fiercely independent animator Bill Plympton. I met him once back in 2003 at a film festival in Chicago and he was the most engaging and approachable guy in the entire place. I attended one of his talks and enjoyed the spectacle of him selling his various wares out in the theater lobby.
He’s got an excellent web site where you can spy on him as he animates and see a wonderful trailer for his latest feature film, Idiots and Angels.
Animation: Kahani
Meg Park, a final year student at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, made this short film that reminds me of how to be a kid. Fantastic animation of the characters and their movements.
Via Cartoon Brew
Animation: Velocity
Official selection at CINEME, 2003 Chicago International Animation Film Festival.
This is a short film that I started back in 2001. 9/11 happened and I put the film on hold for almost 2 years. When I returned to it I was able to finish it in several months of hard effort. I was working with Flash and my process was kind of awkward. The drawing is actually very crude. But the film came out decently. It got into a Chicago film festival in 2003 and it has remained in its Flash form on CandlelightStories.com ever since. It was recently shown by NewGrounds.com as part of their ‘Treasure Hunt’ festival of animation.
But getting the film out of the Flash ghetto and into video proved to be more work than I thought. So I’ve made a few little updates and improved some of the film effects a little. So now the film is actually closer to the film I was imagining back in 2001.
Animation: The Black Dog’s Progress
Vimeo user Quirky Pictures pointed me to this strange and dark little film about a dog losing its home and wandering through a rather horrible and tragic life. The film uses multiple flip book frames to tell its story in a series of loops. It was made by Stephen Irwin at small time inc. as an Animate Projects Commission for England’s Channel 4.
Another film from the Candlelight Stories Short Films group on Vimeo.
Animation: Dog Life
Who is Tanya Grishko? She made this film and it’s just absolutely magnificent. There’s not a false note anywhere in it. The timing is brilliant, never missing a beat. I love the scene in the bar where she starts lapping her drink and all the customers are just staring at her. Fantastic. Beautiful drawings. If you’re running an animation studio, just meet Ms. Grishko on the corner, walk her through the front door, sit her down at a desk and have her start working.
Another film from the Candlelight Stories Short Films group on Vimeo.