Happy holidays, folks!
Originally, this was going to be the big event for me this weekend, until I was ‘adopted’ for Christmas by a neighbor. (For the uninitiated, I moved from the east to west coast this summer to pursue an animation career, leaving behind all my family and the few friends I had there.) Still, this was a big thing for me, I got to treat myself to some beloved old cartoons while knee-deep in small children and old people er, do some job research.
The films were being shown at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA, originally a vaudeville and motion picture palace, it is now volunteer-run and hosts vintage film screenings and various performance arts. Jerry Beck, the animation historian who runs Cartoon Brew, and Frank Gladstone, who is a producer and animator (among other talents), were the hosts for the day’s showing. I met both of them briefly while wandering the CTNeXpo, an animation convention (which I apologize for not posting about last month {it was freaking awesome, btw}).
Anyway, we watched 6 cartoons, one each from five somewhat prominent and recognizable studios of the late 30′s through 50′s – MGM, Terrytoons, UPA, Disney, Walter Lantz, Fleischer, and two Warner Bros. cartoons to start and finish. All supposedly played on original 33mm, all on the big screen – as they would have been seen in their heydays. Prior to the feature, they played an original theatre trailer for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds – which will be screened at the Alex in April.
Here’s the line-up (each will open to it’s own Youtube page since my blog is loading too slowly to properly embed)
- Duck Amuck – Daffy Duck – Warner 1953
This film, where Daffy fights against an unseen animator, was the first of three Chuck Jones shorts inducted into the National Film Registry.
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse – Tom and Jerry – MGM 1947
This was directed by a familiar duo known as Hanna and Barbera, 20 years before the opening of their own studio and familiar limited animation style (which was, in part, to keep up with the demands of a TV cartoon production schedule)
- Mother Goose’s Birthday Party – Mighty Mouse – Terrytoons 1950
Prior to the showing of this ultra rare film (since MM is never shown on TV, and supposedly has no official release collection), Jerry and Frank showed a quick little video that broke-down and highlighted the somewhat absurd ‘straight ahead’ animation style of Jim Tyer. I think this went over a lot of people’s heads, but never the less was interesting to see how one person would achieve different effects and visual gags.
- Popeye the sailor Meets Ali Baba’s Fourty Thieves – Fleischer 1937
Along with the break-down, there was also a quick behind-the-scenes type clip briefly explaining the process the Fleischer’s used to animate cel cartoons against 3-D backgrounds. The had a rig set up that would hold up a frame of animation over a table where the background had been constructed in miniature. A camera was also attached to the rig and for each frame of motion, the rig was moved slightly. While this method seems bulky and awkward, filming the background THEN overlaying cels of animation would probably have been more problematic and costly, requiring far more redraws or reshoots to correct errors. Their method also opened up the ability to have 3-D elements in the foreground for added depth.
- Gerald McBoing Boing – UPA 1951
With a story by Dr. Seuss, UPA pioneered a bold, geometric art style, and also continued to buck the long-standing tradition of making cartoons about animals. You may be more familiar with their first human star – Mr. Magoo.
- Lonesome Ghosts – Mickey, Donald, Goofy – Disney 1937
Our hosts said this might have been the inspiration for the movie Ghostbusters, and while in a round-about way it might be (though anyone who knows the original premise of the 80′s classic would disagree) I’d say it’s a little closer to the 70′s TV Show featuring Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch and the gorilla… Though it was the cartoon used in the DTV music video of Ghostbusters… ANYWAY……..
- The Cracked Nut (originally released sans title) – Woody Woodpecker – Walter Lantz 1941
The 1940′s was a real turning point in animation, which for the most part was driven by talking animals and more importantly classical music and fairytale themes. Woody, originally a side character in one Andy Panda cartoon, kicks the entire notion of class right in the dick. This film, originally just called Universal presents “Woody Woodpecker”, has absolutely no plot and it’s just complete weirdness for 6 minutes.
- What’s Opera Doc? – Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd – Warner Bros. 1957
Considered Chuck Jones’ masterpiece, it is also one of the illustrious 3 films of his in the National Film Registry. This was also one of the last cartoons with Arthur Q. Bryan providing the voice of Elmer Fudd, before his death in 1959.
Aside from the sudden disturbance of a wailing child being removed from the theatre during Lonesome Ghosts the afternoon was great. At the suggestion of our hosts (as if I needed an excuse) I sang along with What’s Opera Doc? which I’ll have you know is one of my very favorites. I’m also not afraid to admit my eyes got a little moist at the end.
For more information about Alex Theatre, and the Alex Film Society, including how to become a member and/or donate, check out the websites below.
Alex Theatre
Alex Film Society
Hey all,
On Tuesday I was a special guest on the Sequential Underground podcast hosted by Nick Marino. He, myself, and Shawn Atkins ended up doing a sort of Q&A about making comics versus animation, since Shawn and I had similar backgrounds. Though he went down the path of indie comic making and occasionally makes animation, I am basically the opposite, so we examine where the division lies and what still drives us.
Check it out!
Sequential Underground #29
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[WARNING] THIS IS TEXT AND IMAGE INTENSIVE!! [/WARNING]
In its finally week, I finally got to see this rather fascinating exhibit of works from the modern master of the macabre, Tim Burton.**
This exhibition was originally featured at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York. Items on display included drawing/paintings, production notes, props and costumes, puppets, and even early pencil tests and movies from Burton’s childhood, and as a student at CalArts.
I decided to spring for the guided iPod Touch tour, since I was a little more interested in the exhibit than “OMG I LOVE JACK!!!” I’ll try not to bore you with too many details about Tim’s life since they can easily be found elsewhere; I’ll be detailing some of the points I found interesting about his inspirations and meanings behind his iconic imagery.
One of the first things the tour explained, is Tim Burton’s love of monsters. Intrigued by the contradiction of human existence, he believed a creature’s response and behavior was far more genuine. They were pure of heart, and generally lived by a ‘simpler’ set of inclinations. In fact, he views and uses them as manifestations of strong emotions, a concept that isn’t exactly unheard of. His affinity for monsters also extends to his fascination with outsiders for much the same reasons. Edward Scissorhands, with his confusion and gentle nature, and Lydia, with her curiosity and ‘unclouded’ world perspective, are good examples of this notion.
Another recurring archetype is the clown. Clowns are scary, daresay soulless, inhuman beings in the mind of Tim Burton. They’re predatory creatures, the true monsters among monsters. They have the capacity to steal and mutilate bikes, poison a population, or simply kill in a flash and disappear without a trace. They are the warped duplicity of adulthood personified; the twisted corruption of authority. Burton says jokingly that he’d be terrified if he ever crossed paths with a police-clown. One possibly exception being the Mad Hatter in the new Alice in Wonderland, being a sort of typical ‘sad clown’. I’ll have to take the audio tour’s word on this one because I just refuse to see that movie.
There was a section of the exhibit that contained concept designs and costumes from the Batman movies and Edward Scissorhands. The ears on the Bat-cowls, as well as Catwoman’s suit were dry and curling with age, but what really interested me about this section was the accompanying audio tour segment, in which explanation is given as to why so many costumes and characters often bear a patch-worked, or body-mod appearance. Tim says that while it obviously shows dismemberment and/or fragmentation, the stitches also represent repair and survival. Selina Kyle, after all, survives a fall from a tall building and with the help of the Care Cat Stare (whatevs) is reborn a sex vixen with retribution in mind.
His most famous character sporting this stitched look is, of course, Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The stitching that holds her clothes and her body together are meant to tell us she is disconnected/alienated from the rest of society without beating you on the head with it. But above all she is a survivor. She’s not a victim of her injuries or life lot, she’s intelligent and clever, and like all of Burton’s outsiders, she is the only one who sees there will be consequences to the town’s activities.
While we’re talking about Sally, as we all know she is the better half of one Jack Skellington, which gently segues us into Tim Burton’s love of opposite pairing. As mentioned, Sally is street-smart and rational while Jack displays a penchant for book-smarts and flights of fancy, which ultimately fails him and he’s left ill-prepared (for a time) to cope with the harsh reality that sometimes plans go bad, and sometimes plans are just bad. His lanky, skeletal body is meant to symbolize his frailness and vulnerability which conflicts with Sally’s ragdoll body and personality. The variously mismatched pairs in Corpse Bride are another example of opposition in relationships. Coupling, Tim recognizes, is a big part of life, and there is no one way of going about it and in a way suggests that we’re all just trying to figure it out.
There were some funny anecdotes from his early years at Disney. For the movie The Black Cauldron, it was Burton’s task to come up with monsters for the army which was meant to spring forth from the cauldron. You’d think this was right up his alley, but over 200 creature designs later, not a single one was used and they went in a slightly different direction with the film. (I just recently saw TBC, and I can see why I’ve never heard of it until a couple years ago.) Some of the cauldron creatures on display were typical Tim – winged, pointed, striped, and curly. If I remember correctly I think one held a sex doll which it was penetrating through from behind with what I hope was a tail, funny, but ultimately un-Disney.
Also, back when the Disney Channel was starting out, he was put in charge of directing a TV movie of the tale Hansel and Gretel. It was only shown once, and was believed to have been lost, but somehow MoMA or LACMA found one remaining copy and played it on a loop in the exhibit. All the characters were Japanese (and possibly the mother and father were played by the same dude), on the horizon were several curly hills, and the woods looked like the one in the beginning of Nightmare. The dialogue was so odd bad awkward that, at one point during the presentation, someone cried out “What is this, a John Waters movie?!”
OK, this post is running pretty long, so I’ll just bullet point the miscellaneous tidbits I’ve learned:
- Tim is drawn to dark fairytales, especially those that make parents wince, because of the appeal they have to children. The tales are scary and the characters and situations grotesque, which to a child (or outsider), is how the world appears to be, or in fact is.
- He prefers stop-motion because it’s a medium most conducive for conveying emotions.
- The aliens in Mars Attacks! were supposed to be stop-motion, but due to financial constraints were digitally animated with a faux stop-motion quality.
- He likes to play with the concept of social norm and societal hypocrisy, and how becoming a slave to the mundane can consume and deform.
- His new movie Frankenweenie was Burton’s original vision, and I still can’t get over it.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas was based on a poem written by Burton. In fact, many of the things he’s made are based on, or inspired by his own poetry.
- The Corpse Bride puppets are very large (about 2-2.5ft tall), to allow for more subtle articulation and facial emoting.
- The Headless Horseman’s cape from Sleepy Hallow is patchwork inside and out, and the pattern on the outer fabric is of waves drawn in traditional Japanese style.
- The Skeleton Eskimo and Donald Duck-like creature were the only James and the Giant Peach characters to make an appearance in the exhibit.
Of course, I did a little loose sketching.
Aside from his own projects, there was also a viewing area where you could watch selections of movies which helped warp shape the young artist/director’s mind. Many were German expressionism films, like The Cabnet of Dr. Caligari.
Also, within the regular museum, there was a smaller exhibit of Burton’s favored art pieces from the LACMA’s collection. Among them, were the interestingly titled The Eye, Like a Strange Balloon, Mounts Toward Infinity, and Death Chasing the Flock of Mortals. There were also many paintings and drawings with Day of the Dead-like themes, of which Tim has obviously taken much inspiration from.
I feel bad that I wasn’t able to go and review the exhibit sooner. However I’m glad that I was able to see it at all, and I hope that it pops up in some other museum in the country for those of you who missed it.
**Please note** The pictures in this post are of exhibit items I have found on other sites, as photography was not allowed in the gallery. Credit goes to Brandon Shigeta for the exhibit photos from LACMA.
