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Author Topic: Animation Education  (Read 23776 times)

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Animation Education
« Reply #60 on: February 03, 2017, 02:53:21 PM »
It is a gift I have been honing all my life by completely disregarding what people do mean to say.
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oldkid

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Re: Animation Education
« Reply #61 on: February 03, 2017, 07:23:13 PM »
You're very good at it.  I can see you've practiced.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

pixote

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Re: Animation Education [Long Way North]
« Reply #62 on: February 03, 2017, 09:13:23 PM »


Long Way North  (Rémi Chayé, 2015)

I'm seem to have misplaced my notes for this or only written them in my head, so this will be brief. Long Way North appealed to me more and more as it went on. It's a simple film, in both story and animation, and at times it's maybe  too simple for its own good, with no real bite or standout elements to draw the viewer in. But once Sasha, the young protagonist is on her own, first in the restaurant and then on the journey north, her overly familiar situation slowly proves irresistible, despite all the while remaining unassuming. It might never rise above the level of a nice film, but it's also never less than pleasant. I wish the animation had been a little more adventurous at times, but I admire the primal naturalness of the color palette and the intricacy with which the Lund's ship is rendered. There will always be a place in my heart for simple stories told simply and well, just like there will always be a place for polar bears, no matter their fate.

Grade: B

pixote


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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Animation Education
« Reply #63 on: February 04, 2017, 05:21:46 AM »
I cannot remember the last time I saw a pixote A so I will count that as a win. I like what you say about simple stories and the colour palette, although I wouldn't change the look of the movie, it is gorgeous enough as is.
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pixote

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Re: Animation Education [The LEGO Batman Movie]
« Reply #64 on: February 10, 2017, 08:10:31 PM »


The LEGO Batman Movie  (Chris McKay, 2017)

I didn't care for the original LEGO movie, but I've always questioned my reaction to it. The positive reviews I heard from others afterwards were all pretty convincing, and the movie certainly had some very good aspects. I wondered whether I just saw it on the wrong day. But this new LEGO movie, despite the different creative talent involved, has put to rest my doubts. This style just isn't for me. (Apologies in advance to The Lego Ninjago Movie, as seen in the trailers of the Batman one.)

Hats off to LEGO, though. Their success with these tie-in video games and movies is just mind-boggling. Like, there's really no reason for this film to have involved LEGO at all. It could just have easily been just a silly, self-referential take on Batman, with very little lost. Some decent jokes come from the LEGO-brick basis of the world, and occasionally it informs the animation in a cool way — but for the most part I'm just like, why? I just don't get it, but I respect it.

As in the first film, there's definitely some good stuff scattered throughout the running time: the Batman-Joker relationship is a highlight, with their early "breakup" probably being the film's best moment, along with the scene pictured in the screenshot above. These quieter moments stand out because so much of the film is so loud, visually. To wit, it's one of the most annoyingly edited animated films I've ever seen. Like most of the film's style, it's better suited for a tv show where episodes are just twelve minutes in length. At 104 minutes, it's just exhausting.

If you imagine that Will Arnett's Batman is an inadvertent Donald Trump impression, things become considerably more entertaining.

Grade: C-

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pixote

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Re: Animation Education [The Red Turtle]
« Reply #65 on: February 14, 2017, 07:08:49 PM »


The Red Turtle  (Michael Dudok de Wit, 2016)

There are no true spoilers in this review, but The Red Turtle is probably better enjoyed knowing as little as possible about it beforehand, so if you like animated films and/or contemplative myths, then I recommend you see the film before reading further.

The first things I noticed about The Red Turtle were flaws in its animation. In the early scenes, for example, the sense of scale between the protagonist and island backdrop seemed off. In one shot, he looks like a giant; in the next, a Borrower. And when the ocean wind ripples his clothes, the artwork goes too far in trying to capture the effect, and the result looks rather primitive. Stepping back from those details, though, the overall look of the film is pleasant and transportive, in simple fashion, almost like illustrations in a children's book. And if you're the kind of child who looked at books just for the pictures, you're in luck, for there are no words here. The film tells its story just through images, sound effects, and a subtly effective musical score. This approach transforms what probably would have been a rather unremarkable representation of a slight myth into something significantly more special. Therein lies the real virtue of the film: the way it quietly invites contemplation, presenting itself almost as fodder for daydreams.

Grade: B

pixote


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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Animation Education
« Reply #66 on: February 18, 2017, 06:15:22 AM »
Are Borrowers part of the lexicon in the US?
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oldkid

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Re: Animation Education
« Reply #67 on: February 18, 2017, 10:47:47 AM »
Are Borrowers part of the lexicon in the US?

Only as a set of books.  That few people have read.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

pixote

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Re: Animation Education
« Reply #68 on: February 18, 2017, 12:01:11 PM »
It seemed an appropriate reference for a Studio Ghibli review, given that Mary Harron's The Borrowers was adapted as The Secret World of Arrietty. Perhaps that's less common knowledge than I assumed.

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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Animation Education
« Reply #69 on: February 18, 2017, 01:16:51 PM »
I knew that, I just wondered if most Americans knew that series. I never heard about it before reading about Arrietty post-watch.
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