AWNMag1 3

June 1996 Vol. 1, No.
Blechman
Goggle-Eyed
Plympton’s
Metamorphosis
The Independent
Spirit
ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE Volume 1, No.3 – June 1996
Editor's Notebook: The Independent Spirit and An Invitation by Harvey Deneroff 3

Plympton’s Metamorphoses by Mark Segall 5
Bill Plympton, the master of the outrageous, is in the midst of making his newest feature, I Married a
Strange Person, in which, as Mark Segall reports, the noted animator puts us through some strange
changes.
Transfixed and Goggle-Eyed by R.O. Blechman 9
R. O. Blechman, who has long charmed us with his films and illustrations, takes a humorous and often sardonic look
at the resurgence of all things Disney and what it all means.
Shifting Realities: In the Metaphysical Realm
Between Live Action and Animation by Suzanne Buchan 12
The Brothers Quay, those enigmatic masters of stop motion, have now come forth with The Institute
Benjamenta, their first “live-action” feature. Suzanne Buchan takes a look at the film and their career.
Instinctive Decisions -- Dave Borthwick, Radical Independent
by Frankie Kowalski 16
Dave Borthwick and bolexbrothers studios represent the best of Bristol’s thriving animation underground.
Their productions include the feature-length Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb, which is a far cry from
the usual version of the Grimm fairy tale..
Don Bluth Goes Independent by Jerry Beck 20
When Don Bluth suddenly left Disney in the late 1970s to strike out on his own, it led to a chain of events
that sparked today’s renaissance in feature animation. Jerry Beck provides a brief memoir of the days when
Bluth appeared to be animation’s white knight and could do no wrong.
Lotte Reiniger by William Mortiz 23
The long and varied career of Lotte Reiniger, best known for her exquisite Adventures of Prince Achmed,
one of the first feature - length animated films ever made, is detailed by William Moritz.
Cabin-Fever Animation by Gene Walz 29
The recent Siberian winter in Winnipeg may have been marrow - freezing, eyeball - aching weather, but
it was also perfect animation weather. Gene Walz provides a rundown of what’s been happening with
the likes of Neil McInnes, Cordell Barker and Brad Caslor, among others.
The Trance Experience of Zork Nemesis by Donna La Brecque 33
Donna La Breque interviews Activision producer Cecilia Barajas about the company’s new hybrid
animated - and - live action offering, Zork Nemesis -- the latest in the ongoing Zork saga.
Film Reviews: Ghost In the Shell by John R. Dilworth 36
Desert Island Series... Independents on the Shore!! compiled by Frankie Kowalski 41
News 43
The Oslo Animation Festival, News + Notes from E3.
Preview of Coming Attractions 46
Cover: Self Portrait by Bill Plympton © Bill Plympton 1
2
ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE June 1996
The Independent Spirit Mark Segall recently visited Borthwick has a habit of using live-
The terms “independent” and Plympton at work in New York and action actors as animated puppets.
“feature film” are not often thought reports back in “Plympton’s Combined with conventional stop
of in the same breadth when it Metamorphoses.” motion model animation, Bort-
comes to animation. The conven- R.O. Blechman, despite wick and his colleagues at
tional wisdom still sees indepen- the critical acclaim gained bolex-brothers have cre-
dent animators as filmmakers who by his two hour-long spe- ated their own pixilated
toil away producing highly per- cials for public tele-vision, universe. Several years
sonal and/or experimental short Simple Gifts and L’Histoire ago, he ventured into
subjects. Unlike their live-action du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale), features with The
counterparts, making an animat- has still found it diffi- Secret Adven-
ed feature is seen as beyond the cult to find backing tures of Tom
scope (financial and otherwise) of for his various fea- Thumb,
most animation artists. ture projects. In and in
The truth is that there is a his rather uppi- “Instin-
growing number of animators ty and cutting essay, “Transfixed ctive Decisions,” discusses his
who are making feature films out- and Goggle-Eyed,” he ponders the methods and his plans for the
side the mainstream. Some have current state of feature animation future with Frankie Kowalski.
gained funding from television, and of the hold Disney has on the Although it may be hard to
specialized distributors or even out psyche and pocketbooks of conceive of Don Bluth as an inde-
of their own pockets. In this issue, Hollywood and filmgoers alike. pendent, his apostasy in leaving
we look at a sampling of filmmak- The iconoclastic Brothers Quay Disney back in 1979 to go on his
ers who have taken various roads have long been known for their own was very much an act of
to making independent features. stop motion puppet films. independence. It was also a move
Perhaps the most persistent of However, their entry into features that generated considerable
independents in this area is Bill was recently made via the live- enthusiasm and hope for the
Plympton, whose wild and wacky action The Institute Benjamenta, future of animation. Jerry Beck,
shorts have given him an almost which also includes animation . who was a sometimes close wit-
cult following. Although his first Suzanne Buchan, in “Shifting ness to these events recalls what it
feature effort, The Tune, was far Realities,” reports why the medi- was like in his “Don Bluth Goes
from a runaway success, its initial um’s most famous twins, despite Independent.”
box office reception has not appearances to the contrary, are In “Lotte Reiniger,” William
stopped him from going ahead not about to abandon animation. Moritz chronicles the career of one
with I Married a Strange Person. Elsewhere in England, Dave of animation’s truly great pioneers.
3
For those who still associate the artists who would like to contribute
beginnings of feature animation articles, film/TV/interactive/book
with Disney’s Snow White, it is a reviews or news items, as well as
useful reminder of the richness cartoons or comic strips.
and sophistication animation could Although I sometimes have
ANIMATION WORLD NETWORK and did achieve in its early years. delusions of being a world
6525 Sunset Blvd., Gene Walz, in “Cabin-Fever renown expert in animation, there
Garden Suite 10
Animation,” provides the first of is no way that either me or my
Hollywood, CA 90028
Phone : 213.468.2554 what will be an ongoing series of Associate Editor, Frankie Kowalski,
Fax : 213.464.5914 regional roundups, focusing this can be aware of all that is going
Email : info@awn.com
time on Winnipeg. The city has on in today’s rapidly expanding
emerged as a center of innovative animation universe. For instance,
filmmaking far from the beaten as of this writing, Animation World
ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE track, Walz reports on Cordell Magazine has been “visited” by
editor@awn.com
Barker’s foray into CGI, as well as readers from at least 52 countries,
PUBLISHER
Ron Diamond, President
other local talent. Meanwhile, and the number is constantly
Dan Sarto, Chief Operating Officer Donna La Breque, in “The Trance growing!
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Experience of Zork Nemesis,” So, I extend my invitation to
Harvey Deneroff examines the role played by ani- please email me with your ideas
ASSOCIATE EDITOR/PUBLICITY mation in the latest update to the and/or request a list of our require-
Frankie Kowalski
Zork computer game phenome- ments and what we pay. (It’s not
CONTRIBUTORS :
na. much, but we do pay contribu-
Jerry Beck
R.O. Blechman This issue ends with John tors.) Although English is our main
Suzanne Buchan Dilworth’s review of Mamoru language, we will accept submis-
Harvey Deneroff
John R. Dilworth
Oshii’s cybertech thriller, Ghost in sions in other languages; in such
Frankie Kowalski the Shell, while Frankie Kowalski instances, we will probably pub-
Donna La Brecque offers up some Desert Island picks lish the piece in both the original
William Mortiz
Mark Segall from a variety of independent film- language and in English. (How-
Gene Walz makers who, at one time or anoth- ever, it does speed things along if
Le WEBMASTER er, have indulged their fantasies you submit queries in English or
Guillaume Calop
about making animated features. French.) Thank you.
DESIGN/LAYOUT :
— Harvey Deneroff
IMP Graphic
e-mail : imp_ecmp@club-internet.fr An Invitation (editor@awn.com)
Christa Theoharous
I suppose this is in the way of
ADVERTISING SALES a help wanted ad, which I guess
North America : Wendy Jackson
is nothing to be ashamed of. So, ©1996 by Animation World
Europe : Vincent Ferri
Network. All rights reserved. No
Asia : Bruce Teitelbaum here it goes -- Animation World parts of this periodical may be
UK: Roger Watkins reproduced without the consent of
Magazine is looking for writers and Animation World Network.
4
Plympton’s
by Mark Segall Metamorphoses
At first glance, you wouldn’t from the 300 individual sketches colorists are helping on Strange
peg lanky, laconic Bill Plympton push-pinned to the studio wall— Person, but once again all the
as the kind of guy who likes to the working storyboard for animation will come from his
electrocute people. Or squash Strange Person—this comedy/ hand.
them, burn them, and blow thriller will be full of the kind of While prolific draftsmen ani-
them up. But don’t let that inno- transformations that have be- mating single-handedly isn’t un-
cent, boy-next-door look fool come a Plympton trademark: known, it’s still pretty rare. Ani-
you. When it comes to cartoon men turning into lizards, char- mation pioneer Winsor McCay
violence, Bill is an innovator on a acters tearing themselves to worked that way on such films
par with Tex Avery and Bob pieces, lawns refusing to be as Gertie the Dinosaur, before
I Married A Strange Person

© Bill Plympton
Clampett. His characters swallow mowed. the advent of the studio system.
and inhale each other, and like Features are supposed to be Modern independent animators
to bite one another’s heads off turned out by big studios, using like Plympton’s mentor George
one chomp at a time. an army of animators and inbe- Griffin work alone. Animating a
Plympton is currently working tweeners, not one guy with a lit- feature was a pretty daunting
full-tilt on his new animated fea- tle help from his friends. Bill’s first task for the husband-and-wife
ture, I Married A Strange Person, feature, The Tune, was some- team of Paul and Sandra Fier-
which should be finished in thing of an independent ani- linger, whose hour-long Drawn
December. He describes it as “Aki- mation milestone: a 90 minute from Memory was released last
ra meets Pulp Fiction.” Judging film animated by one man. Ten fall. For someone working alone
5
idays off. Third, it’s not his style

to use a lot of inbetweens; he
often works on threes and fours,
meaning he keeps the same
drawing on screen for a sixth of
a second instead of a twelfth or
a twenty-fourth.
Animation on The Tune was a
three-step process. Plympton ani-
mated scenes on paper. Assis-
tants cut the characters out with
X-acto knives and then mounted
them on cels. Plympton then re-
penciled, adding shadows, detail
and color. Animation on Strange
Person is a more traditional, two-
step process. Pencil drawings are
xeroxed onto cels and painted
on the back (“opaqued,” in ani-
mation parlance). “It’s quicker this
way,” he says, “and I like the
look.”
It’s a lot of hard work to ani-
Storyboard sketch: Bugs and the mother-in-law mate, finance and promote these
in I Married A Strange Person
© Bill Plympton films himself, but Plympton
it must be a doubly hard task to long hours. “My social life does wouldn’t have it any other way;
undertake. sorta get sacrificed to my anima- it gives him the artistic freedom
tion habit,” he admits. He rises and the independence he wants
Joking, Dreaming, or Drunk? daily at 6:30 a.m., goes straight and needs. Starting with Strange
In 1990, Matt Groening and to his animation table, and works Person, he’ll even be handling
MTV’s John Payson and Abby for 10 to 16 hours. He does not his own distribution. To give him-
Terkuhle ran into Plympton at a generally take weekends and hol- self more visibility, he’s also
party. When he announced that
he was making a feature, and
that he would be animating the
whole thing himself and financ-
ing it out of his own pocket, they
thought he was joking. Or
dreaming. Or drunk. They were
wrong to doubt him. Bill com-
pleted The Tune, his film about
an aspiring songwriter, on sched-
ule and within budget, in 1992.
How does he do it? First, he
draws fast. Plympton’s style, go-
ing back to his days as a political
cartoonist for New York’s Soho
Weekly News in the 70s, is loose
and squiggly. Second, he puts in Storyboard sketch,I Married A Strange Person
© Bill Plympton
6
launched a web site. “Actually, story driven, though like most out of Plympton; he’d rather talk
New York University initially con- Plympton projects, difficult to about his work. Peter Vey, who
tacted us about being part of summarize, but here goes: collaborated on the script of
their site,” says Plympton’s assis- When newlywed Grant Boyer Strange Person, proved equally
tant John Holderried. “Mike is zapped by strange radiation close-mouthed. When I asked
Dougherty, a student in NYU’s from a TV satellite dish, he grows him, “What do you know about
graduate animation program did an extra brain lobe capable of Bill?” he told me, “He’s tall and he
the HTML and worked with Bill making his fantasies real. Grant has a full head of hair. He always
on the layout and the links. It was turns his wife Kerry into several likes to wear shorts.”
fun to put it together, to look for different women during sex. He Musical collaborator Maureen
other related sites. I was surprised makes bugs come streaming out McElheron, who played with Bill
of his mother-in-law’s mouth. A years ago in a country band, was
how much Plympton material
demonstration of his abilities on more forthcoming. “Bill’s funny,”
was already on the web.”
she says. “He comes off so dead-
pan and normal and understat-
His characters swallow and inhale each other, and like ed. Not a big talker. But he has
to bite one another’s heads off one chomp at a time. that component that all geniuses
have, complete focus, singleness
Plympton’s financing is ingen- a TV talk show attracts the of purpose.” Bill is very supportive
ious, and extremely well thought unwanted attentions of a meg- of others, she points out, and the
out. His master plan for funding alomaniac media maven, a same people collaborate with
The Tune is a case in point. He washed-up comedian, and a him again and again. She’s very
made some money from his power-mad Colonel. To stay alive appreciative of the help he gave
string of successful, award-win- and out of their clutches, Grant in promoting her soundtrack for
ning shorts (How to Kiss, One of will need all the help he can get, The Tune, making sure it got dis-
Those Days, 25 Ways to Quit including that of his somewhat played in record stores.
Smoking, Plymptoons) and from bewildered bride. Will she stick In fact, for someone who puts
animating commercials, but still with him, for better or for worse, in such long stints alone at the
didn’t have enough to make a even though he’s become... a drawing board, Bill manages to
feature. He then decided to com- strange person? maintain a remarkably large and
plete segments of the film, submit loyal circle of friends, which
them to festivals, market them as A Full Head of Hair includes Matt Groening, car-
shorts, and plow the profits back It’
s hard to get personal details toonist John Callahan, filmmak-
into the feature. This er Gus Van Zandt
accounts for The Tune’s and Portland anima-
episodic structure, as tors Joanna Priestley,
different parts needed Will Vinton, Jim
to stand alone. Brashfield and Joan
There’s more mon- Gratz. Bill grew up in
ey available for the new Oregon City, Ore-
feature, so it contains gon, by the Clack-
only one segment orig- amas River; his par-
inally released as a ents still live there
short, How to Make and he keeps in
Love to a Woman. It touch with many
appears in the film as childhood friends. He
an instructional film goes back there
that one of the charac- every year without
Storyboard sketch: Our hero before he gets “zapped” fail to throw a barbe-
ters is watching. in I Married A Strange Person
Strange Person is more © Bill Plympton cue beside a mud
7
lake that has formed on the iad transformations—imploding, out, “that legally, any doodles
Clackamas. What happens at this exploding, melting and breaking you do, any jokes you tell, and
annual “Mud Party”? “One hun- out in dozens of miniature faces. any dreams you have during that
dred fifty people get stoned, take 36 month period, they own.”
their clothes off and wallow in One hundred fifty people Friends told him that, “When you
the mud,” says Bill. “It’s like warm get stoned, take their negotiate with Disney, it’s not
chocolate pudding.” When fel- clothes off and wallow good-cop/bad-cop, it’s bad-cop/-
low Clackamas County native in the mud. antichrist”.
Tonya Harding made headlines He passed on their offer in
the other year, Plympton added order to devote his time to The
another party in her “honor.” “It was a cheapo, throwaway Tune. The irony is that Plympton
experimental film, I thought. did once offer Disney his ser-
Soiled Underwear This’ll weird a lot of people out; vices—in 1958, at age 12. A big
What else does Bill Plympton they won’t get it, but they did.” fan of Song of the South and
do when he’s not animating? They didn’t just get it, they Peter Pan, he sent them his draw-
Well, for one thing he ings with a note empha-
turns out live-action films. sizing his eagerness to
The first was 1994’s J. lend a hand on their next
Lyle, a comedy about a big feature, Sleeping
greedy landlord. Currently Beauty.
touring the festival circuit They turned him
is Guns on the Clackamas. down flat. Some non-
A fake documentary, à la sense about his being too
Spinal Tap, it details the short, or child labor laws,
calamities that befall mak- or something like that. It’s
ers of a big-time western tantalizing to imagine
after key financing pulls how animation history
out. Production econ- might have been
omies lead to food pois- changed had they ac-
oning and electrocution; The outrageous work of Bill Plympton cepted. There might now
frugality necessitates © Bill Plympton be a film where Sleeping
shooting key scenes with Beauty rises from her
dead actors; new money is raised loved it. Your Face established long sleep, gazes deep into the
by selling the stars’ soiled under- Plympton’s reputation as a lead- Prince’s eyes and then sudden-
wear. ing independent animator. Only ly—bites his head off.
So, how does a kid from three years later, he was turning
Clackamas County end up in the down a million dollar contract
cartoon business? Ever since he from Disney. A self-described red diaper
first saw Daffy Duck, Bill wanted “They wanted me to work on baby, Mark Segall has won
to make cartoons; but it wasn’t the genie in Aladdin—on all that awards for labor journalism
until after working on the short crazy metamorphosis, fast humor and public service copywriting.
Boomtown with Jules Feiffer in they’re not really great at.” At 21 He co-authored How To Make
1985 that he had the opportu- he would have jumped at the Love To Your Money-
nity. “It was the time of all the chance, but at 44 it would have (Delacorte,1982) with his wife,
independents—Spike Lee, Jim been a step backwards. He was Margaret Tobin. This fall, he
Jarmusch— that inspired me.” In already making a living off of his will become Editor
of ASIFA-East’s aNYmator
1987, he garnered an Academy own wacky ideas without having newsletter, which he
Award nomination for the musi- to tailor them to some corporate currently designs and is
cal short Your Face. In it, the board of directors. “Disney con- a regular contributor.
singer’s head goes through myr- tracts are so complete,” Bill points
8
Transfixed and Goggle-Eyed

By R.O. Blechman
was a cross section of film-
lovers—this was The New York
Film Festival, after all—clearly
loving a film with formulaic
artwork, a banal story, and
cliché personae. Did these
Frenchmen ever inhabit any-
thing resembling a real France?
The village these folk inhabit-
ed was straight out of a theme
park. The stereotypical heroine,
Belle, with her enormous R.O. Blechman’s L’Histoire duSoldat
sunny side-up eyes, seemed to (The Soldier’s Tale)
resemble nothing so much as © R. O. Blechman
a Keane painting (remember walked stiffly toward the exit,

that Fifties artist—the butt of hoping that people would think
R. O. Blechman
© R. O. Blechman Woody Allen’s Sleeper—who I was headed for the Men’s
painted outsize eyes on street Room. But I doubt if anybody in
It seemed too special to miss. waifs? Well here he was, alive that rapt audience noticed.
The 1991 New York Film Festival again, and on a big screen). Belle
was offering a sneak preview of exclaims at one point, clutching Back to the Forties
Disney’s latest film, Beauty and a book to her bosom (heaving Home again, my time clock
the Beast, presented as a work-in- on ones), “I just finished the most shifted back to the Forties when
progress with pencil test seg- wonderful story!” The wonderful I was a young art student in
ments interspersed with final story turns out to be... Jack and Manhattan. In those days the cre-
footage. Despite ambivalent feel- the Beanstalk! This is literature? ative Scylla and Charybides were
ings about Disney (I admired This is a role model for children? two artists to be steered well clear
Pinocchio; I hated Cinderella), I But there were more basic of: Norman Rockwell (although
had to go. problems with the film. The visu- I’ve since come to admire his
The theater was packed, and als were often dogged with a lit- painterly technique, something
no wonder! Aside from the draw eralism of the sky-equals-blue, not apparent on the printed
that any Disney animation had, grass-equals-green variety, which page) and Walt Disney. Disney
there was the special attraction is the very antithesis of art. Art is himself was aware of his waning
of seeing the inner workings of a
hold on the American public.
Disney feature—the boney arm-
I got up from my seat and The Disney studio had been
ature as well as the flesh and
walked stiffly toward the eclipsed by the popularity of an
blood of the film.
exit, hoping that people upstart bicoastal studio, UPA,
Fifteen minutes into the film I
would think I was headed which pioneered a highly graph-
felt an irresistible urge to turn
for the Men’s Room. ic approach to animation design.
from the screen towards the audi-
The new studio was producing
ence. I already had a strong reac-
an often brilliant group of shorts
tion to the film and was curious stylization if nothing else, and using such talents as Ludwig
what other people felt. I turned there was precious little of it in Bemelman’s in the faithfully visu-
around. The audience was gog- what I saw. alized retelling of his classic chil-
gle-eyed. I was no less transfixed, I got up from my seat, stand- dren’s book, Madeline, and James
but for a different reason. Here ing alone in that vast theater, and Thurber in his masterful Unicorn
9
in the Garden (which I saw, inci- beyond mere aesthetics (al- in a world threatened by various
dentally, as a soldier, billed as The though there is nothing “mere” apocalypses—nuclear and envi-
Uniform in the Garden). Rankled about aesthetics. It is the baro- ronmental—how could some-
by the critical and popular suc- meter of a civilization.) It touches thing as trivial and, worse!, divert-
cess of these films, Disney came on no less than the American psy- ing—be honored? Well, what
out with his own stylized short, was being honored was its cir-
culation success, not its editorial
Belle, with her enormous achievement. What, may I ask,
sunny side-up eyes, had People done to uplift our cul-
seemed to resemble turally impoverished (and finan-
nothing so much cially impoverished—and per-
as a Keane painting. haps the two are related) society?
Nada. Zilch. Now back to Disney.
Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom. A Cachet to Die For

If animation is the sincerest form I believe that the sea change
of flattery, it is also the surest sign in Walt Disney’s popularity has a
of artistic bankruptcy. lot to do with the massive pub-
So what has happened in licity machine spearheaded by
Beauty and the Beast
these intervening years? Why © Walt Disney Pictures that mother of all cocktail table
would a look considered so books, the gorgeously written
bankrupt in one decade be so che. and produced Abrams volume,
bankable in another? Why has I suspect that this decline of The Art of Walt Disney. Here was
the taste of the American public visual standards—this willingness an imprimatur and cachet to die
shifted so radically—and the taste to accept kitsch, and worse, this for, and it gave Disney a foothold
of the media critics, those pre- inability to recognize it—has in the American psyche that has
sumed watchdogs of the nation- something to do with a gallop- become a stranglehold on inde-
al taste? Something profound, I ing infantilism, a product of less- pendent animated filmmaking—
suspect, and something frightening educational and loosening at least in the theatrical area.
ening. Something that goes media standards, perhaps fed, lit- Name a breakthrough in ani-
erally, by the junk food we con- mated theatricals in the past 10
sume. “We are what we eat,”goes
the old adage, and it may not be In the world of theatrical
far afield of the truth. Whatever features, what is there but
the precise reasons for this Disney and Disney Redux .
decline, Disney is enjoying an
unparalleled success. or 20 years? None that I’ve
A mere waif at the turn of the seen—none, at least comparable
century, the bitch goddess Suc- to those in the field of publishing
cess has become a reigning such as Maus, or comic strip
queen. And success has tri- artists such as Joost Swarte,
umphed over the more solid Charles Burns, Kaz or Mazzu-
virtue of achievement. This was cchelli. In the world of theatrical
brought home to me recently features, what is there but Disney
when I attended the National and Disney Redux, or else things
Magazine Awards luncheon. pretested and pretasted in the
Inducted into the “Hall of Fame” animated kitschens of television?
by the Association was that cover- Of course there are admirable
The cover of Art Spiegelman’s Maus:
A Survivor’s Tale (Pantheon). to-cover gossip magazine, Peo- types such as Bill Plympton who
© Art Spiegelman ple. I couldn’t help thinking that dare the impossible and work
10
Your Ad
Could Be
Here!
For rate cards and
additional information
about
various opportunities
for exposure at
Animation World
Network, The Unicorn and The Garden, Bill Hurtz, 1953
© UPA
contact our
Los Angeles Why would a look considered so bankrupt in one
office at decade be so bankable in another?
213.468.2554 with 11 fingers on 25 hour days R.O. Blechman pursues a dual

to produce their own features. career as an illustrator and as
But for filmmakers with only 10 head of his own animation stu-
or e-mail
digits and 24 hour days, or fam- dio, The Ink Tank, in New York.
any of our sales ilies to support, or studios to man- Starting this fall, Stewart, Tabori
representatives: age, there is little hope. & Chang will be publishing
But Leonard Bernstein main- three of his books: The Life of
North America: tained that hope is a sixth (or is it Saint Nicholas, a reissue of The
fifth? I can’t remember which) Juggler of Our Lady, and a
Wendy Jackson instinct. So there is always the contemporary retelling of The
wendyj@awn.com hope that the telephone will Book of Jonah.
ring—the fax
Europe: machine will
buzz—and there
Vincent Ferri will be an offer
vincent@awn.com from Pie in the
Sky Productions,
U.K. “Mr. Brilliant
Roger Watkins Filmmaker. We
read your latest
roger@awn.com proposal (or read
your latest
book)”—either
Asia:
fantasy will do—
Bruce Teitelbaum ”It would make a
bruce@awn.com great feature...” Madeline, Bob Cannon, 1952
© UPA
11
Between Live Action and Animation

By Suzanne Buchan
The Brothers Quay are
among the most accomplished
animation artists to emerge in
recent years. Their fantastic decor
and Kafkaesque puppets, atten-
tion to the liberation of the mis-
take and their casual and linger-
ing closeups combine in an inge-
nious alchemy of unconscious,
metaphoric vision. Watching any
of their animated films means
entering a dream world of met-
aphor and visual poetry. In their
own words: “Puppet films by
their very nature are extremely
artificial constructions, even more
so depending at what level of The Institute Benjamenta, 1995
© Zeitgeist Films
‘enchantment’ one would wish
for them in relation to the sub- London together with Keith tations (as though lying in wait
ject, and, above all, the concep- Griffins, whom they had met at to trap the slightest fugitive en-
tual mise-en-scène applied.” The the Royal College of Art. counter).”
enchantment of the Quays’ films Trained as illustrators, their In addition to puppet films,
has won them audiences films give greater attention to the work of the Brothers Quay
throughout the world, and their mise-en-scène and the marginal, encompasses various animated
innovations have introduced a and are more associative than
shorts and advertising commis-
new quality of poetry to ani- narrative: “We demand that the
sions (including documentaries
mated film. decor act as poetic vessels and
on Punch and Judy, Stravinsky,
Janácek and the art of Anamor-
A terrifying sense of the sublime simultaneously haunts
phosis “De Artificiali Perspectiva,”
and mystifies the Institute and its inhabitants.
and station/network I.D.’s
(Channel 4, MTV). They have
Stephen and Timothy Quay be foregrounded as much as the designed theater and opera pro-
were born near Philadelphia in puppets themselves. In fact, we ductions (Mazeppa, A Flea in Her
1947. After studies at the ask of our machines and objects
Ear, The Love of Three Oranges)
Philadelphia College of Art, they to act as much if not more than
for various European venues and
moved to London and attended the puppets ... as for what is
the Royal College of Art, where called the scenario: at most we have made music videos, includ-
they made their first puppet films. have only a limited musical sense ing collaborating on Peter
After the release of prize-winning of its trajectory, and we tend to Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, and pro-
Nocturnia Artificialia in 1980, be permanently open to vast un- mos for Michael Penn and His
they founded Koninck Studios in certainties, mistakes, disorien- Name is Alive.
12
Locus of Literary A Dreamlike

and Poetic Voyage
Fagments Carl Orff’s music
Their films reveal and a spoken riddle are
the influence of East- the aural foreshadow-
ern European cul- ing which accompany
ture: whether in- the film’s exquisite, styl-
spired by animators, ized opening credits. At
composers, or writ- dusk, a small man ap-
ers, a middle Euro- proaches a door, pulls
pean esthetic seems at his heavily starched,
to have beckoned blindingly white collar
them into a myster- and hesitantly knocks.
ious locus of literary The Quay Brothers and Nick Knowland on the set of
Jakob von Gunten
and poetic frag- The Institute Benjamenta (Mark Rylance), a thir-
ments, wisps of mu- © Zeitgeist Films tyish, delicate man
sic, the play of light and morbid US. The illustrious mastery who “wants to be of use to
textures. Certain films can be achieved in their exquisite and someone in this life” enters the
considered homages to film- uncanny animated films is con- Institute Benjamenta, a school
makers whose work they admire tinued in this film’s decor, lab- for domestics, and embarks on a
(The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer), yrinthian narrative and esthetic dreamlike voyage through an
others present their own intu- composition within the frame. eerie, metaphysical fairy tale
itive and visionary encounters The Institute Benjamenta was world.
with authors, artists and com- shot in black and white, en- Assisted by her devoted and
posers whose writings and com- abling the subtlety of chiar- enigmatic model student Kraus
positions are transformed into oscuro, an animated choreog- (Daniel Smith), doe-eyed Frau-
the cinematic medium: Street of raphy of light and stark graphics lein Lisa Benjamenta (Alice
Crocodiles, is loosely based on to disorient, capture and en- Kriege) runs the institute with
Bruno Schulz’s short story, chant audiences. The few ani- her brother Herr Benjamenta
“Rehearsals for Extinct Anat- mated scenes within the film are (Gottfried John), guiding her stu-
isolated interludes, expressions dents through a lesson which is
We ask of our machines of subjective vision and poetic always the same, “Practice-
and objects to act metaphor. They contribute to scenes-from-life”; mechanical rep-
as much if not more the dreamlike quality of a film etition, self-castigation, mo-
than the puppets. which is uncannily freed of laws notony and submission. It is a
of time and space. This and curriculum of cryptic signs,
future live-action projects are by absurd gestures and unbearable
omies,” and was inspired by a no means an indication of a detail. Jakob’s arrival awakes in
print by Fragonard. The ob- move away from animation: the Herr Benjamenta a haunting
served incorporation of other Brothers Quay intend to explore hope of a Savior, with discrete
media, which brought the the po-tential which slumbers in homoerotic undertones.
Quays from 2D illustration to the combination of these cine- The fragmented, dark and
animation, continues in their matic techniques. The formal obscure relationship between
most recent film: The Institute possibilities inherent in anima- brother and sister and Kraus cli-
Benjamenta, their first full-length tion are essential to the dream, maxes in Lisa’s decision to stop
live-action film completed last inner vision and narrative mean- living; she is “dying from those
year. The film has received dering so essential to their cine- who could have seen and held
awards at numerous festivals matic transformations of text, me ... dying from the emptiness
and has just been released in the poetry and imagination. of cautious and clever people.”
13
of light gives the film

its ethereal quality.
Short animated se-
quences punctuate
the film and com-
plete the fairy tale
environment, sus-
pending time; they
are minute and dis-
crete visualizations,
reminders of a meta-
physical life which
slumbers in the
Institute.
Through the Roof

Whether working
in animation or live-
action, the Quays
The Institute Benjamenta, 1995 choose to use what
© Zeitgeist Films they call a lateral
Jakob stirs Lisa from a loveless mystifies the Institute and its hierarchy of cine-
existence, causing a horrific inhabitants. In isolation, the film’s matic formal aspects; unlike con-
recognition of something un- visual leitmotifs and iconogra- ventional films, in which the hier-
speakable which gnaws at her phy are exquisite: totemistic archy is vertical, topped by a
until she can no longer bear it. cloven hoofs, deer antlers, flow- script and narrative, the Quays
After a confession to Jakob ing waters; in their sublimation cast the Institute before the
sealed with a fleeting brush of and appropriation in a world of actors. “We wanted the film to
her lips on his, she expires. On suppressed Victorian eroticism, move more in the direction of
her bier, like Snow White they become obsessive, dark the fable or the fairy tale (or at
mourned by her dwarfs, her and ambiguous. School mistress least a notion of it), as Walser
brother bent over her in grief, Lisa Benjamenta’s did obliquely. He didn’t walk in
Lisa’s eyes open and sparkle dark- cane, with which
she guides and
A poetry of shadowy masters her stu-
encounters and dents, is tipped
almost conspiratorial with a tiny hoof
secretiveness. (initially the Quays
thought to give her
ly into the camera. Jakob and cloven shoes); Herr
Herr Benjamenta leave the Benjamenta’s foot is
Institute, but Kraus remains seen hoofed, and
behind. Guardian of the fish in a disturbing
bowl, the riddle and the sleep- moment we see
ing beauty, Kraus is the con- him rutting in front
stancy who seems to guarantee of a steam-streaked
that rituals and fossils like the mirror, a majestic
Institute will never fully expire. set of antlers in his
A terrifying sense of the sub- arms. Street of Crocodiles, 1986
lime simultaneously haunts and A stunning use Courtesy of Suzanne Buchan
14
the front door, he came through

the roof, so to speak. Thus, in
order to, score something of, as
Walser called it, the ‘senseless
but all the same meaningful
‘fairy tale,” we started by casting
the decor as the main actor. We
felt that the essential ‘mysterium’
of the film should be the insti-
tute itself, as though it had its
own inner life and former exis-
tence which seemed to dream
upon its inhabitants, and exert
its own conspiratorial spell and
undertows. That time and space
should be ambiguous, that the
Stille Nacht (Silent Night)
locale of the film would be less Courtesy of Suzanne Buchan
geographical than spiritual, all
to score that particularly Walser- film poet Tarkowsky; of Kafka Throughout their opus, a conti-
ian half-waking, half-sleeping (who was greatly influenced by nuity can be observed Quays’
‘world in between.’ And, since Walser) and of essential myth devotion to the marginal, the
we’ve always maintained a belief and fairy tale. Continuing col- nobody and the unnoticed, ele-
in the illogical, the irrational ... laboration with the Polish com- vated into the sublime.
and the obliqueness of poetry, poser Leszek Jankowski supports Their films are unbound by
we don’t think exclusively in and counterpoints their careful time, preferring to investigate
terms of narrative, but also the visual choreography, whether of what they call “a poetry of sha-
‘parenthesis’ that lay hidden puppets, exquisite objects or dowy encounters and almost
behind the narrative.” A gesture actors. Like Lisa Benjamenta, the conspiratorial secretiveness.”
to their loyalty to puppet film images are simultaneously frag- Whether commissioned or inde-
aesthetics, the Quays’ remarked ile and immortal. The films evade pendently produced by long-
that they “treated the actors with a postmodern context or inter- time collaborator Keith Griffiths,
Institute Benjamenta retains the
Enabling an animated choreography of light and unique signature which informs
stark graphics to disorient, capture and enchant. their work. “We like going for
long walks, metaphorically, into
whatever country we go to—we
as much respect as we treated pretation, and their epiphanic could disappear in any country.”
our puppets.” They are current- moments and dreamscapes pro- For the Quays, the realm of ani-
ly working on a new live-action vide a momentary orientation, mation remains a favored locus
feature project, which will once but are themselves even greater of future cinematic sojourn.
again incorporate animated enigmas within the film’s poetic
Suzanne H. Buchan is a
sequences, further exploring the fabric. Teaching and Research
melange of these two tech- Seen as a whole, the Brothers Assistant at the Film Studies
niques. Quay’s works are independent Department at the University
In scenes of elusive cinematic of any definable genre; indeed, of Zurich. Co-founder and Co-
and literary reference which the imitation of their unique style Director of the Fantoche
identify the Quays’ films, one is which can be observed in films International Animation Film
obliquely reminded of silent film- of other animators are a com- Festival Baden/Switzerland,
makers Kirsanov, Murnau, the plimentary gesture to the auteur she is currently preparing a
surrealist Buñuel and the Russian style they have developed. dissertation on animation.
15
Instinctive Decisions—Dave Borthwick,

Radical Independent
“Independent: Free from influence, guidance, or control of another or others;
self reliant: an independent mind.” —The American Heritage Dictionary
By Frankie Kowalski
Adventures of Tom Thumb
(1993).
Officially founded by Borth-
wick and Dave Riddett (now at
Aardman Animations) in 1991,
bolexbrothers is part of Bristol’s
thriving animation community.
He recalls that the impetus to
establish their current facility
Working as an
independent filmmaker
is not a “stand still”
kind of thing.
came when, “We were faced

with a project (i.e,The Secret
Adventures ) that was going to
take one-and-a-half years to film,
meaning we had to set up and
equip our own studio. So, the
film’s completion left us with a full
studio facility. Keeping that going
had been relatively easy so far,
because (to our surprise) we
found ourselves being offered
Dave Borthwick
© bolexbrothers commercials on the back of the
Working as an independent its the amount of work he takes film.”
filmmaker is not a “stand still” kind on, so the studio can devote In retrospect, Borthwick says
of thing for Dave Borthwick and more time to making experi- that the process that led him into
his colleagues at bolexbrothers mental shorts. Recently, the stu- animation began in the late 60s
studios, in Bristol, England. The dio has turned out such films as and early 70s, when he was
studio currently turns out com- Darren Walsh’s The Biz and Mike mainly working in “theater-based
mercials for such clients as Coca- Booth’s The Saint Inspector—both projects.” This involved design-
Cola’s Fanta, Legos and Weetabix made by first-time directors. This ing and producing projected spe-
to fund his love of “dynamic film- is in addition to its first feature cial FX, backgrounds and light-
making.” In fact, Borthwick lim- effort, Borthwick’s The Secret ing for “traveling performances.”
16
Visually Narrative Ideas body expressions to provide for a

“As I’d had little or no experi- more dramatic effect; in this, he
ence of working with film,” he seems to have wanted to delib-
recalls, “all the material was ‘stills erately avoid the more comic,
based,’ [which involved] using a slapstick effects achieved with the
variety of still projectors to pro- method by the past master of this
duce the movement and anima- technique, Norman McLaren.
tion that was needed (any light The opportunity to put pixila-
The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb
show veteran will know what I © Manga Entertainment
tion to the test came out of the
mean). That was a very formative blue, with a chance commission
period for me. Not only in dis- was living in Copenhagen, but from BBC Bristol to make a 10
covering ways of teasing move- frequently returning to England minute animated pilot. Several
ment out of still images, but also to work for the BBC. A turning ideas were discussed, but he
in working with visually narrative point was an assignment to pro- eventually settled on the idea of
ideas.” duce a series of “cheap” shorts reworking some traditional fairy
The theater group he was set against the soundtracks of vin- tales. He wanted to try to trans-
working with never bothered tage pop records. The job pose them from the “sterile never-
rehearsing their shows and the required the juggling of very never land, to which time has rel-
first time anyone saw the “whole small budgets in order to pay for egated them,” into a world that
picture” was on opening night. the actors required for particular would seem less removed and
Working under these conditions films, leaving only “a few hun- more accessible, and “which had
may seem somewhat coura- dred pounds in the kitty. So, the ability to engage an adult
geous, yet the experience seem- together with Dave Riddett,” he audience.”
ed to generate excitement and explained, “I decided to produce Borthwick was thrilled with
wonder to the audience. He them as animation films. All they the idea, because animation is a
fondly remembers that, “What it required was our time and imag- means by which he could totally
taught me was that it can pay ination. We couldn’t afford to immerse himself in his own fan-
dividends if you learn to trust commission armatured models, tasy world. “I wanted to work
your instincts, especially when so we plundered local rubbish with actors and models. A story
making creative solutions about dumps and the toy cupboards of involving giants and little folk
narrative.” friends’ children.” seemed the obvious subject and
Borthwick still feels that the Tom Thumb offered some salient
theater is “the perfect vehicle for issues that appealed to my more
audience engagement.” How- sinister curiosities.”
ever, despite the excitement he I enjoy working with Although the BBC encour-
experienced in seeing a different kindred spirits who aged Borthwick to be radical,
show every night, Borthwick appreciate instinctive even provoking, their initial reac-
envied people who could “carry decisions. tion to the script was “pretty neg-
it around in a film can.” ative.” He commented that, “I
After learning the fundamen- think they felt it was offensive.
tals of filmmaking at Bristol The Ultimate Ready Made But I was very excited at its
University, he wanted to be an It was during this period, in potential and insisted that I was-
animator; instead, he spent the search of “ready mades,” that n’t interested in producing any
next 10 years or so as camera- Borthwick started working with other ideas that had been sug-
man, indulging his passion for the ultimate ready made, the gested.” The BBC changed their
lighting and composition. Borth- human body, using pixilation. He minds and Borthwick got the go
wick was fascinated by the whole wanted to try and work with the ahead. “Then the commissioning
filmmaking process and wanted technique in a very controlled editor went to the programmers
to be more involved. way; his aim was to create char- with a bunch of new programs,”
By the early 1980s, Borthwick acters with more subtle facial and he recalls, “including a couple of
17
action in it. I have a bit of a prob-

lem mixing live-action with ani-
mation. Once you’ve set up an
animated world. live-action, for
me, just shatters the illusion and
drags one back to normality.”
The Secret Adventures of Tom
Thumb is a bold approach to the
story’s basic theme and a visually
striking journey through a bizarre
and often surrealistic post-indus-
trial world of “giants” and “little
folk.” One can only marvel what
sort of world Borthwick’s next fea-
ture venture will evoke.
Frankie Kowalski is Associate

Editor of Animation World
Magazine.
19
Don Bluth Goes Independent

by Jerry Beck
A personal remembrance of
when Don Bluth quit Disney,
formed an independent studio
and inspired the current feature
animation boom.
The 1970s was a decade in

which TV animation plunged to
its depths, with the likes of
Hanna-Barbera and Filmation
dominating Saturday mornings
with the worst of their wares.
Although Hollywood was barely
interested in animated film, the
Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy
period began with considerable Courtesy of Jerry Beck
promise, with such independent
films as Ralph Bakshi’s Fritz the offered by a new team of young mators quit to join Bluth and
Cat and Heavy Traffic, John animators; this, along with early company. It was a bold move
Wilson’s Shinbone Alley and René artwork released on The Fox and and it shook up Disney’s anima-
Laloux’ Fantastic Planet. But as the Hound offered some hope. tion department; finding capable
the decade progressed, Disney Then came a story in The New Disney-trained character anima-
sunk to an all-time low with the York Times about a defection at tors to replace these renegades
release of Robin Hood, and ambi- Disney’s. wasn’t easy. And it would cause
tious attempts like Richard a major delay in the release of
Williams’ Raggedy Ann and Andy, Quitting in the The Fox and the Hound .
Murukami-Wolf-Swenson’s Mouse Name of Disney Bluth established his own
and His Child and Sanrio’s Winds Directing animator Don Bluth
of Change proved to be bitter dis- and two colleagues, Gary Gold-
appointments. man and John Pomeroy, three of
the most talented of the young
Turks at Disney (publicized heav-
Bluth’s dream was ily in the promotion of The
to return the art of Rescuers) had defiantly quit. They
animation to its left because of what they felt was
glorious Golden Age. a lack of regard by their superi-
ors about the quality of the art-
work, a deteriorating production Don Bluth’s Banjo The Woodpile Cat
process, and management’s de- Courtesy of Jerry Beck
I graduated from high school
in 1974 and planned a career as clining respect for the artists who studio, with the backing of
a cartoonist and animator. But built the studio. They quit in the Aurora Productions, a company
things were so bad in those days name of Walt Disney, whom the headed by a group of ex-Disney
that I grew frustrated with anima- three felt would never tolerate executives, and started produc-
tion and pursued research into the way the current regime had tion on a feature, The Secret of
its wonderful past. let the animation department fall NIMH.
All was not lost. Disney’s The to such a low level. While at Disney, Bluth led a
Rescuers showed the possibilities The next day, 11 other ani- group of animators to work after
20
hours on a Disneyesque half hour at the School Of Visual Arts. This in my mind for weeks. I had seen
short, Banjo the Woodpile Cat. It turned out to be, perhaps, the the future of animation and it’s
was done to learn the entire pro- first studio recruitment pitch open name was Don Bluth Produc-
cess of making a film, not just the to the public. The studio rep, a tions. (It was a high that was only
character animation they were business partner installed at Bluth
toiling on during the day. Banjo by Aurora, began to talk of the
also taught them tricks and tech- studio’s dream to return anima-
niques they could use on their tion to it’s glorious past. I remem-
features. The art direction and ber that many animation students
special effects were in the classic there were bored to tears at his
Disney and Hollywood cartoon speech and were there just
traditions, techniques and styles because they were required to
no longer being practiced any- attend. Then he showed a clip
where in animation at that time. from NIMH.
When Disney management I’ll never forget it. It was the
A scene from Xanadu
failed to take interest in this out- sequence of Mrs. Brisby and Courtesy of Jerry Beck
of-pocket, home made short, Jeremy the crow (voiced by Don
Bluth then used Banjo as a way DeLuise) flying to the tree where topped in later years, when I had
to lure investors in his dream: to the Great Owl (John Carradine) seen advance scenes from The
was. The entire sequence—with Thief and the Cobbler [Arabian
the cobwebs, the darkness, the Night], Who Framed Roger
great voice acting, the owl crush- Rabbit and the genie [“Friend Like
ing a spider and eating a moth— Me” sequence] in Aladdin, and
was the greatest thing I had ever experienced that rare “sense-of-
seen! It looked like Disney ani- wonder” deja vu.) Animation
mation from the forties, only dark- wasn’t dead! Anything was pos-
er. It was as lavish as anything sible! My personal faith in the
from Bambi or Fantasia, only medium was renewed. It was
slightly subversive (skeletal coming back and all anyone had
remains of other animals the owl to do to believe was to see this
must have eaten, littered the clip from (what was then called)
The Secret of NIMH background; the owl taking a Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
Courtesy of Jerry Beck
chomp at a Disneyesque moth). In 1980, the Olivia Newton-
return the art of animation to its The students (myself included) John/Gene Kelly musical Xanadu
glorious Golden Age. With an begged the man to run this was released. It contained a short
offer from Aurora to challenge footage again. Everyone was animated sequence by Bluth
Disney, Bluth and his team made charged and excited. It wasn’t just which was a knockout. This stu-
their bold move. talk—Bluth was going to do it! dio was doing Disney better than
I had that sequence running Disney.
Bored to Tears, Then ...
Early in 1980, I was working Supporting the
in New York for United Artists as Future of Animation
a salesman in their 16mm depart- A few months later, in late
ment, renting films to colleges 1980, I accidentally inter-
and hospitals. One night, word cepted some interoffice mail
spread in the local animation heading for my boss. It was a
community that a representative deal memo stating that
of Bluth’s new renegade studio United Artists had just ac-
(Executive Producer Mel Griffin) The Secret of NIMH quired Mrs. Frisby/NIMH and
was going to give a presentation Courtesy of Jerry Beck Banjo. I was working for the
21
company that was supporting these things I made the call to ly entertainment. The Secret of
the future of animation! Gary Goldman and immediately NIMH failed at the box office.
Though my department had hit it off with him. He invited me
limited involvement with Bluth, I to visit the studio if I ever came to I had seen the future
made it my business to have as Los Angeles and I took him up of animation and its name
much involvement as possible. on his offer. was Don Bluth
The coolest animated feature in The following summer I vaca- Productions.
years was going to be released tioned in L.A. and San Diego, but
the highlight of my trip was vis- That failure caused Aurora to
iting the Bluth studio, then heav- back out of producing Bluth’s
ily into production on NIMH. The next film, East of the Sun, West
feeling of optimism was infec- of the Moon. Bluth’s studio stayed
tious. This wasn’t just an animat- alive animating two innovative
ed feature, it was a cause. I came video games, Dragon’s Lair and
away knowing I had to do more Space Ace, which created a short-
to help. lived sensation in the summer of
1984. Luckily, through Jerry
A Full-Fledged Bluthie Goldsmith, who wrote the music
Back in New York, I connect- for NIMH, Spielberg caught on to
ed with NIMH’s unit publicist and Bluth and An American Tail was
Dragon’s Lair concocted a slide presentation on released in 1986.
Courtesy of Jerry Beck the film which I presented at Xanadu, The Secret of NIMH,
comic book conventions on the Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace
by United Artists, and it soon East and West Coasts. I was a full- pointed toward a potential that
became apparent that I was the fledged “Bluthie,” preaching the has not been realized by the sub-
only person there who knew gospel to whoever would listen. sequent Bluth productions. But it
about it and cared. In Spring 1982, I visited Bluth was Bluth, Goldman, Pomeroy
one more time and got a look at and 11 other renegades from
It was as lavish as any- the most complete version of the Disney who, in 1979, caused a
thing from Bambi film that one could see: the entire chain reaction which led to
or Fantasia, leica reel, mostly in color, except today’s feature animation boom.
only slightly subversive. for the final reel. I was so happy They shared a dream for anima-
to see this much incredible tion’s future which has just begun
United Artists had a checkered footage, I never asked about the to happen.
past with animated features. final reel; besides, it gave me
Yellow Submarine (1968), Lord something to look forward to
of the Rings (1979) and later Rock when the film was finished. But
& Rule (1983) were its best I should have suspected some-
known releases. The studio en- thing. When I finally saw the fin-
joyed more success on television ished film a few weeks later at a
with its syndication of the pre- press screening, I was disap-
1948 Warner Bros. and Popeye pointed. Jerry Beck is Vice President
cartoons, along with DePatie- But the studio still held such Animation, Nickelodeon Movies,
Freleng’s Pink Panther menagerie. promise. MGM/UA did a lousy job in New York. He is also an
Because my department was releasing the film, doing it region- animation historian, whose
immediately able to release Banjo ally instead of nationally all on most recent book was
in 16mm, we required still pho- the same date. Summer 1982 The 50 Greatest Cartoons
tos, slides and other materials also saw the release of Steven (Turner Publishing).
from Bluth. We had a small staff, Spielberg’s E.T. The Extraterestrial,
so when it came time to request which blew away all other fami-
22
Lotte Reiniger
by William Mortiz
Lotte Reiniger, when men- people who see Snow White ever they should (18 frames-per-sec-
tioned at all, is most often brush- get to see any Reiniger film at all. ond silent speed versus 24
ed off in a single sentence not- Few of her nearly 70 films are frames-per-second sound speed).
ing that she apparently made a readily available—and almost
feature-length silhouette film in none of them in excellent prints; I love working for
1926, The Adventures of Prince when Reiniger fled Germany to children, because they
Achmed; but since that was in England in the 1930s, she was are a very critical and
Germany, and silhouettes aren’t not able to bring her original very thankful public.
negatives with
her, so most
modern prints The original symphonic score by
are copies of Wolfgang Zeller, one of the great
copies, which film composers, more correctly
have lost much supports the drama with a
of the fine de- thrilling grandeur, exciting sus-
tail, especially in pense and lush romanticism.
backgrounds. Furthermore, although the
More than “restoration” reestablished the
just noting that tints of the original, much of the
Reiniger’s Prince fine background detail in most
Achmed, be- scenes is lost. (Original nitrate
gun in 1923 prints are available in Europe, so
and released in let’s hope that a more authentic
1926, was a restoration becomes available
pioneer feature- soon.)
length anima- In addition to Prince Achmed,
ted film, one Lotte Reiniger made a second
must proclaim feature, Dr. Dolittle, released in
that it is a bril- 1928 (unfortunately just as the
liant feature, a sound film began to triumph),
wonderful film with a musical score by Paul
full of charming Dessau, Kurt Weill and Paul
comedy, lyrical Hindemith. Following Hugh
romance, vig- Lofting’s 1920 book, The Story of
orous and exci- Dr. Dolittle, it tells of the good
Portrait of Lotte Reiniger, Berlin 1918 ting battles, eer- Doctor’s voyage to Africa to help
Courtesy of William Mortiz ie magic, and heal sick animals. Again, it is cur-
cartoons, Disney still invented the truly sinister, frightening evil. Our rently available only in a televi-
feature-length animated film with current prints of Prince Achmed sion version with new music,
Snow White. Anyone who has were “restored” in 1954 with a voice-over narration and the
seen Prince Achmed wouldn’t be new (rather kitschy) musical score images playing too fast.
convinced by this reasoning, but, by Freddie Phillips, which means Lotte Reiniger actually worked
alas, only a tiny fraction of the that the images move faster than on a third feature as well. She
23
loved Maurice Ravel’s 1925 opera

L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (The Boy
and the Bewitched Things),
which tells of a naughty child
who ruins his schoolbooks and
toys, hurts his pets, breaks dish-
es and furniture and despoils the
garden—but all the things he has
damaged come to life and accuse
him until he repents. Both
Colette’s text (the “china” tea set
speak the mock Chinese of
“Hong Kong, Mah Jong” while
the torn arithmetic book sings
fragments of math problems) and
Ravel’s diverse music (from mock
18th-century shepherdesses, to
jazzy fox trots to cat yawls to a
symphony of garden sounds) are The Adventures of Prince Achmed, 1926
Courtesy of William Mortiz
magical. Lotte tried for seven
years to get the rights to the abandoned the project, although owpuppet theater in a carnival—
piece—a complex and expensive she had designed sequences and and starred Jean Renoir and
matter, since Ravel’s music, Col- animated some scenes to con- Bertold Bartosch; unfortunately,
ette’s libretto and the particular vince potential backers and the it was begun as a silent film, and
musical performance (singers, rights-holders. the attempt to add voices after-
orchestra, etc.) had to be cleared In 1929 Lotte Reiniger had ward proved disastrous.
separately. When Ravel died in also directed a live-action feature,
1937 the clearance became even The Pursuit of Happiness, which A Very Thankful Public
more complex, and Lotte finally involves people who run a shad- In addition to her feature pro-
jects, Lotte animated dozens of
shorts for children, and a few
delightful advertising films. In a
1969 interview with Walter
Schobert (of the Deutsches Film
museum in Frankfurt), Reiniger
said “I love working for children,
because they are a very critical
and very thankful public.” She
has rewarded her youthful audi-
ence with challenging interpre-
tations of classic fairy tales, new
stories and some operatic mo-
tifs—all of which played success-
fully in cinemas and on television
in the early years before ratings
and commercial demands made
children’s TV a branch of the toy
industry. Lotte also performed
The Adventures of Prince Achmed with live shadow-puppet perfor-
Courtesy of William Mortiz
mances in England, and wrote a
24
definitive book about Lotte Reiniger:

Silhouettes. A Biographical
Lotte Reiniger her- Note &
self is the prime genius Filmography
behind all of her films. Although not Jew-
She had an astonishing ish, Carl Koch and
facility with cutting— Lotte Reiniger were
holding the scissors still closely identified with
in her right hand, and leftist politics (Bert
manipulating the paper Brecht counted them
at lightning speed with among their good
her left hand so that friends) and deplored
the cut always went in the rise of Nazism.
the right direction. She They immediately
drew the storyboards tried to leave Ger-
Galathea, 1935
and devised the plots and Courtesy of William Mortiz many in 1933, but
characters, which were were not able to get
closely linked. If a figure needed the best shape, it is worth trying emigration visas into France,
to make some complex or supple to see as many of her films as you England or other European coun-
movement, it would have to be can, for Lotte endowed every tale tries. Lotte worked on a Pabst film
built from 25 or 50 separate with enchanting touches and in France in 1933, but had to
pieces, then joined together with droll social commentaries. The return to Germany, where she
fine lead wire—as in the famous earlier films seem better to me. made six more films, between fre-
Falcon that Walter Ruttmann Carmen (available in the U.S. quent “vacations” to England,
used to make Kriemhilde’s dream through New York’s Museum of Greece and other places in search
sequence for Fritz Lang’s 1924 Modern Art), gives a feminist of asylum. In 1936, Carl and Lotte
feature Niebelungen. If a char- reappraisal of the opera’s plot, resolved to leave Germany for
acter needed to appear in close- making Carmen a capable and good, even if it meant a transient
up, a separate, larger model of self-sufficient woman, smarter existence, which it did. Jean
the head and shoulders would and stronger than the men who Renoir employed Carl in Paris,
have to be built—as well, possi- pursue her. The later films often while Lotte found some backing
bly, as larger background details have color backgrounds (being for silhouette films in England—
to stand behind it. But Lotte originally designed for television but both had to leave the coun-
worked always with her hus- try where they were every few
band, Carl Koch, who usually ran months and reenter on a new
the camera. For the large projects In 1936, Carl and Lotte tourist visa, sometimes only meet-
like Prince Achmed she had a resolved to leave ing in the terminals at Dover and
staff of five: Carl for camera, Germany for good, even Calais.
Alexander Kardan to check the if it meant a transient With the beginning of the
exposure sheets, Walter Türck existence, which it did. war, Renoir arranged to take
who arranged the backgrounds, them to Italy, where he was con-
and two special-effects men, in England), the most easily avail- tracted to direct a feature, which
Walter Ruttmann and Bertold able of them probably the Na- he soon turned over to Carl
Bartosch; the latter two were ani- tional Film Board of Canada’s when he decided to return to
mators in their own right, who Aucassin and Nicolette; the film France to salvage some of his
were able to continue their own follows a medieval tale of young father’s paintings (and eventually
careers thanks to the help Lotte lovers separated—and needless fled to the US). Carl and Lotte
gave them with this extra em- to say, it’s Nicolette who is brave worked on three features and a
ployment. and clever enough to get them silhouette animation in Italy
Even if the prints are not in back together again. before they were evacuated to
25
Germany when the allied armies (The Pied Piper of Hamelin). Live-
invaded Italy and the German action feature directed by Paul
forces began to retreat in 1944. Wegener. LR made silhouettes for
Even during the blitz on Berlin dialogue titles, and animated
(in addition to caring for her
model rats.
aged mother and Carl, who suf-
fered from “shell shock”), Lotte
was forced to work on a silhou- 1919
ette film, which was finished after Das Ornament des verliebten
the war by the newly founded Herzens (The Ornament of the
East German DEFA studios. Carl Heart in Love). First animated sil-
and Lotte finally managed houette short by Reiniger.
to emigrate to England
in 1949. 1920
Der verlorene Schatten
All films listed in the
(The Lost Shadow).
following list , unless
otherwise noted, are Live-action feature
First trick-table (Berlin, 1920)
short silhouette directed by Rochus Courtesy of William Mortiz
animations by Gliese. LR animated a
Lotte Reiniger. sequence in which the Flying Trunk), based on the Hans
musician has no shadow, Christian Andersen tale.
1916 but the shadow of his vio-
Rübezahls lin is seen moving on the Der Stern von Bethlehem (The
Hochzeit (Rumpelstil- wall as he plays his instrument. Star of Bethlehem).
skin’s Wedding).
Live-action fea- Amor und das standhafte 1922
ture directed by Liebespaar (Cupid and the Aschenputtel (Cinderella), from
Paul Wegener. steadfast lovers). Silhouette the Brothers Grimm.
LR does silhouette cutouts for the animation short with one
dialogue-titles. live actor who interacts Dornröschen (Sleeping
with the cutouts. Beauty), advertising film.
Die schöne Prinzessin von China
(The Beautiful Chinese Princess). Several advertising 1923
Live-action silhouette film, actors films for Julius Pin- Lotte Reiniger makes a
only seen as shadows on screen, schewer agency, in- complex silhouette figure of
directed by Rochus Gliese. LR cluding: Das Geheimnis a falcon for a dream se-
does costumes, sets, special der Marquise (The quence in Fritz Lang’s
effects, etc. Marquise’s Secret) feature Die Niebelun-
for Nivea skin cream gen. Walter Ruttmann
1918 and Die Barcarole (The (who is working on Rein-
Apokalypse (Apocalypse). Live- Barcarole) for Pralinés iger’s Prince Achmed at
action short directed by Rochus Mauxion dessert. Also a the time) completes the
Gliese. LR’s silhouettes depict the commercial for ink. dream with various
horrors of war. painted images, and it
1921 becomes known as
Der Rattenfänger von Hameln Der fliegende Koffer (The Ruttmann’s sequence.
26
1923-25 1929 Carmen, based on the Bizet

Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Die Jagd nach dem Glück (The opera.
Achmed (The Adventures of Pursuit of Happiness), live-action
Prince Achmed), 90-minute sil- feature codirected by Rochus 1934
houette feature, from episodes in Gliese and Lotte Reiniger. Tale of Das rollende Rad (The Rolling
The Arabian Nights. Completed people who run a Wheel). Traces society through
film submitted to censorship shadow-puppet the changing role of
board January 15, 1926, press theater in a carni- wheels from anti-
screening May 2, 1926, Paris pre- val. Includes a 20- quity to the pre-
miere July 1926, Berlin first run minute silhouette ani- sent. er Graf von
September 1926. Original musi- mation by Reiniger to Carabas (Puss-in-
cal score by Wolfgang Zeller. represent one of the Boots), from the
theater performan- Brothers Grimm.
1926 ces. Stars Jean Ren-
Der scheintote Chinese (The oir, Catherine Hes- Das gestohlene Herz
Seemingly-Dead Chinaman). Ori- sling and Bertold (The Stolen Heart),
ginally a 13-minute episode in Bartosch. Premiere from a fable by Ernst
Prince Achmed, cut by the Ger- (with voices added by Keienburg.
man censor, as well as French other actors): May
and German distributors in the 1930. 1935
interest of keeping the film with- Der Kleine Schornstein-
in the attention span of children. 1930 feger (The Little Chim-
Released as a short in 1928. Zehn Minuten Mozart (10 neysweep), from a tale by Eric
Minutes of Mozart). Walter White.
1927
Heut’ tanzt Mariette (Today 1931 Galathea, from the classic fable.
Marietta Dances). Live-action fea- Harlekin (Harlequin), 24 min-
ture directed by Friedrich utes, to baroque music. Papageno, scenes from Mozart’s
Zelnik. Silhouette opera, The Magic Flute.
effects by LR. 1932
Sissi, 10 minute sil- 1936
1928 houette animation pre- The King’s Breakfast, from the
Doktor Dolittle und pared to be shown dur- poem by A.A.Milne.
seine Tiere (Dr. ing a scene change of the
Dolittle and His Fritz Kreisler operetta Sissi. 1937
Animals), 65- The Tocher (Scottish dialect for
minute feature 1933 “The Dowry”), advertising film for
after Hugh Loft- Don Quixote. Live-action fea- the General Post Office.
ings novel. At the ture directed by G.W. Pabst.
Berlin premiere, De- LR animated silhouettes for La Marseillaise Live-action feature
cember 15, 1928, opening sequence in directed by Jean Renoir. LR pre-
Paul Dessau conducted a score which Don Quixote reads pared a sequence of a shadow-
puppet theatre performance
with music by Kurt Weill, Paul a book about knights’ adven-
depicting the need for the French
Hindemith and himself. tures. Revolution.
27
1939 Snow White and Rose Red, from figures and backgrounds.
Dream Circus, after Stravinsky’s the Brothers Grimm.
Pulcinella (unfinished by the 1958
beginning of the war). 1954 The Seraglio, after Mozart’s opera,
The Three Wishes, from the Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
L’Elisir D’Amore, after Brothers Grimm. Color figures and backgrounds.
Donizetti’s opera.
The Grasshopper and the 1960
1944 Ant, from LaFontaine’s The Pied Piper of Hamelim. Made
Die goldene Gans fable. for the Christmas Pantomime at
(The Goose that the Coventry Theatre, where it
Laid the Golden The Gallant Little Tailor, played between acts. Fgures and
Eggs), after the Bro- from the Brothers Grimm. backgrounds in color.
thers Grimm. (Unfin-
ished.) The Sleeping Beau- 1961
ty, from the Brothers The Frog Prince, for Coventry
1949 Grimm. Theatre Christmas Pantomime.
Greetings Telegram. Figures and backgrounds in color.
Ad for General Post The Frog Prince, from
Office. the Brothers Grimms. 1962
Wee Sandy Intermission piece for
Post Early for Christ- Caliph Stork, from Glasgow Theatre production.
mas, ad for G.P.O. the fairy tale by
Wilhelm Hauff. 1963
Radio License, ad for Cinderella, from the Cinderella Made for the Coventry
G.P.O. Brothers Grimms. Theatre Christmas Pantomime.
Figures and backgrounds in color.
1950 1955
Several advertising films for Hansel and Gretel, from the
Crown Film Unit in London, Brothers Grimms. 1975
including Wool Ballet. Aucassin and Nicolette, after the
Thumbelina, from Hans Christian medieval cantefable. Produced at
1951 Andersen. the National Film Board of Can-
Mary’s Birthday Black silhouettes ada, with black figures and color
over colored backgrounds. Jack and the Beanstalk, from the backgrounds.
Brothers Grimm. Color back-
1953 grounds. 1979
Aladdin The Rose and the Ring, after W.M.
1956 Thackery’s tale. In color.
The Magic Horse, from Arabian The Star of Bethlehem. Color
Nights. (Much of the footage backgrounds.
from this film and Aladdin seem William Mortiz teaches film and
to have been culled from Prince 1957 animation history at the
Achmed.) Helen La Belle, after Offenbach’s California Institute of the Arts.
operetta, La Belle Hélène. Color
28
-
by Gene Walz
familiar, it is deliberately so. After
a couple of cryptic early films,
McInnes wanted to “play with
some dopey clichés.” And play
he does, to hilarious effect.
Ronnie the Realtor is a nattering,
manic lover whose macho pos-
turing produces some of this
movie’s funniest gags, featuring
exaggerated love bites and
tongue kisses. Lovehound’s best
sequence, a tense and crazy
chase edited and scored like a
Hitchcock montage, ends when
Ronnie’s fast black car hits poor
Pete’s dog, and Ronnie plays
hackiesack with the inert pet.
Richard Condie Some of the humor is decidedly
© The National Film Board of Canada twisted. In fact, there is probably
Somehow Winnipeggers have nearing completion. something here to offend every-
once again survived a brutally one.
Siberian winter. This one was, offi- An Auspicious Beginning But gags and sick humor are
cially, longer, colder, and snowier Neil McInnes (Boarding not Lovehound’s outstanding fea-
than it’s been in generations. Six House, Transformer) is the first ture. McInnes has taught anima-
months of snow-cover. Daily Winnipeg animator to hit the tion for years and it shows in the
wind-chill warnings: Exposed skin screens in 1996. It’s an auspicious well-crafted squash and stretch
freezes in 10 seconds. Almost all beginning for the community. animation and the beautifully
of January and February spent Lovehound is a send-up of a clas- designed backgrounds. He gives
below -20. sic love story done in classic cel the movie a polished retro-look,
It was marrow-freezing, eye- animation style. Ronnie the recalling the buildings and furni-
ball-aching weather. Momma, Realtor browbeats Knucklehead ture from the 1939 New York
stop chug-a-lugging the Prozac Pete who is smitten by the love- World’s Fair. Most indoor scenes
weather. Also: perfect animation have an offbeat deep-focus effect
weather! It’s momma, stop chug-a- achieved by placing kitschy lamps
Bears hibernate. Middle Amer- lugging the Prozac prominently in the foregrounds.
icans vegetate. Winnipeggers weather. Also: perfect As is typical of most Winnipeg
animate. And enough of them animation weather! animation, this one also has a
kept their Jack Frosted noses to rich, multilayered soundtrack.
the pegboard this past winter to ly Ethel, Ronnie’s opportunistic The music, composed by Boyd
make 1996 look like it’s going to mistress. Ethel spurns Pete until MacKenzie, is thick with mar-
be a banner year for animation. Pete accidentally proves his man- imbas and flamenco guitars, as
Everyone, it seems, from inter- liness. In the end, Pete gets what befits a Latin lover villain, but the
nationally famous Richard Condie he wants but not quite what he overall effect is more like a
(Getting Started, The Big Snit, The expected. Bernard Herman score.
Apprentice) on down has a film If the story structure sounds Lovehound is both vulgar
29
Although Ulrich did not win the the first time. Using Swivel 3-D
contest, his submitted lyrics were software on an Apple 840 AV to
good enough for the CBC to set build his characters, he told a
them to music, record and broad- brief story about a man and his
cast them. Then last year he won cat. Bob lifts the cat up; when
the Best Animation Film trophy the cat objects, he puts it back
at the Manitoba Film Awards (The down. Not so simple Up and
Blizzards, what else?) with a crazy Down.
little film called Silence of the Anita Lebeau took time out
Clams. That was enough encour- from her own eight-minute ani-
agement to convince him to animated film, Louise, to work on
mate his own song. two Sesame inserts. The Letter S
Love Means... is a country is an exercise in wit, characteri-
and western tune sung by Jim zation and timing. In it a spider
Desjarlais. Its wry three-minute sews a sweater for a skunk shiv-
story is about a woman who ering in a snowstorm. Twelve
refuses to shave her legs and the Flies is a simple lesson compli-
sensitive guy who stands behind cated by the fact that it was two
her. It should have people laugh- minutes long and filmed without
ing and line-dancing in the aisles. cuts.
Cover from Incredible Manitoba
Several of the Winnipeg mem- Jason Doll used the Sesame
Animation video. bers of the Manitoba Society of commission to test out color, line,
© The National Film Board of Canada Independent Animators have and characterization for his
and sophisticated, tasteful and spent the winter doing short ani- upcoming film Santa’s Gotta
tasteless. It begins like Metropolis. mated inserts for the Canadian Gun. This film is definitely not for
Many of its backgrounds are post- version of Sesame Street. Al- kids. In it, a thug busts out of jail,
card pretty. It’s got a bad Elvis though the amount of work has kills a Salvation Army Santa, and
look-alike and other fifties stereo- been scaled back somewhat in then hides out in a men’s room.
typed caricatures. Its jokes are recent years, the quality remains A child almost as persistent as the
often crude. It ends feeling like a unexpectedly high. One of the feline nemesis in Cordell Barker’s
Generation X movie. It is a reasons is that the local anima-
refreshingly eclectic mix of plea- tors have decided to use the chil-
A thug busts out of jail,
sures. dren’s television work as a test-
kills a Salvation Army
ing ground for their own per-
Santa, and then hides
Sweat and Agony sonal projects.
out in a men’s room.
Paul Ulrich’s new film, Love Bill Stewart, for instance, did
Means Never Asking You to two inserts of a minute or less
Shave Your Legs, should have each. In Shape Man, about cir- The Cat Came Back has to be
been the first Winnipeg animated cles, squares, rectangles, and tri- dealt with in increasingly violent
movie of 1996. But a criminally angles, he worked on more and amusing ways.
incompetent courier lost his neg- detailed character design and on Santa’s Gotta Gun and Louise
ative and sound mix. It’s taken acting through the animation. In may need another horrible
four months of sweat and agony 3-2-1-0, he experimented with Winnipeg winter to bring them
to reconstruct things. flash frames and smoke effects to completion. Likewise, the
The story behind the movie is like the ones in Aladdin. much-anticipated projects by two
even more interesting. A couple Alan Pakarnyk, whose psych- of the city’s premier animators:
of years ago the local CBC radio edelic Carried Away is featured Oscar-nominee Cordell Barker
station ran a Valentine’s Day con- on the NFB’s video Incredible and Genie-winner Brad Caslor.
test. They were looking for new Manitoba Animation, tried his After a back ailment caused
love songs for the nineties. hand at computer animation for him serious delays on his project
30
were disconcerting surprises at

every turn and frustrations
galore. The original machine he
was using developed 32 differ-
ent hardware failures before he
tossed it out. When he finally got
comfortable with the replace-
ment (a Silicon Graphics Indigo
Extreme with a 2 gigabyte hard
drive and 256 megs of RAM), he
realized that “the choices can
drive you nuts!”
The Softimage 3-D (version
3.0) software made discipline
paramount. “If you had a per-
manent income, you could go off
somewhere and play with it for
an entire lifetime and still not
Ronnie the Realtor from Neil McInnes’Lovehound. exhaust the possibilities,” he mar-
© The National Film Board of Canada veled. The wave effect, for
instance, which the company
On TV, Caslor has a new story- recently, he has animated a series
included to animate flags, could
board and is building momentum of television ads for the phone
be used, Condie discovered, for
again. This darkly humorous company of Quebec. Unfor-
solids as well. So he used it to ani-
examination of the effects of the tunately, you have to live there
mate the firing of a cannon. The
tube on people’s behavior promis- to see any of his work lately.
cannon is only one weapon in
es an entirely new look for
the weird arsenal of comic effects
Caslor’s work. Unlike the mar-
He attributes his decision in La Salla. Turn on the laugh
velous pastiche of forties cel ani-
to try the computer to “ meter for this one!
mation (especially Bob Clampett)
Thaddeus Toad syndrome.” The story is simple. A Condie-
that made Get a Job such a sen-
boy (unnamed in the movie but
sation, this one will be done
called “Adam” in the script) plays
entirely on paper with black and Doing New Things
with his toys and is tempted by
colored pencil drawings. Winnipeg’s other celebrity ani-
the door leading out of his room.
Barker has expanded his orig- mator, Richard Condie, has been
That’s not everything, but it’s
inal nine-minute film Strange squirreled away for the past sev-
enough. For the story is really in
Invaders into a 22 minute opus. eral years in his workroom on the
the toys and the way Adam plays
It’s about a thirtysomething cou- second floor of his River Heights
with them. Among other things,
ple who question whether they bungalow. He has been assidu-
there’s a mechanical fish, a pecu-
should start a family. In the mid- ously mastering the intricacies of
liar three-dimensional Etch-a-
dle of the night a strange child is computer animation. He attri-
sketch plus TV thing, and the
delivered to them, and it is not butes his decision to try the com-
aforementioned cannon which
exactly an answer to their puter to “Thaddeus Toad syn-
shoots out cows instead of can-
prayers. drome.” Like the Toad in the Hole
non balls.
Strange Invaders will have a in The Wind in the Willows, he
Much of the inspired zaniness
hokey 1950s sci-fi look to it, along must do new things. The result-
that Condie is renowned for
the lines of Invaders from Mars ing new film, La Salla, will be
comes from bizarre distortions of
and The Thing. It’s hard to pre- released this summer.
the familiar and an exaggerated
dict when it will be ready, as La Salla is well worth the wait,
soundtrack. There are the usual
Barker keeps getting tempted but Condie is not entirely sure
gurgles and gasps and an-
away by commercial work. Most about the Herculean effort. There
31
guished howls here, but the real makes for a darker, more clut-
treat comes from Condie’s return tered image than is his won’t,
to his first love—music. (He has
composed music for other peo-
and it probably underlines the
seriousness of the endeavor and Your Ad
ple’s films.) La Salla is not spoken; the message as well. Luckily, it
it is sung. And I don’t think it’s giv-
ing away too much to provide
does not diminish his signature
zany humor.
Could Be
Much of the inspired zaniness that Condie
Here!
is renowned for comes form bizarre distortions
of the familiar and an exaggerated soundtrack. For rate cards and
one of the film’s best recitative Condie’s films have always about
lines: “Moments ago I had every- been true auteur films. Perhaps various opportunities
thing. Now there’s a cow in my more so than any other anima- for exposure at
nose.” tor he puts his own experiences Animation World
Condie describes La Salla as a in his work. There’s no mistaking Network,
combination of Genesis-2 and that the piano player in Getting
Paradise Lost. (When was the last Started is the filmmaker himself.
contact our
time you heard a filmmaker put La Salla is another one of these Los Angeles
personal parables. The office at
boy playing with his toys
is not so terribly far away 213.468.2554
from the artist playing at
his computer. (And thank
the Lord for that!) Stuck in
or e-mail
his room and trying to any of our sales
laugh and make the best representatives:
of it. Parody and para-
noia.
North America:
This is Condie’s spe-
The Big Snit cial territory, but it is not Wendy Jackson
© The National Film Board of Canada entirely unique to him. wendyj@awn.com
Cabin-fever animation. It’s
those two sensibilities together?!) what a lot of Winnipeggers do. Europe:
He’s being modest, of course, and
he should toss in Toy Story and Vincent Ferri
Saturday Night Live’s Opera Man. vincent@awn.com
And up the comic ante by a lot.
This is everything you’d ever Gene Walz is head of the
U.K.
want in a Richard Condie film film program at the University
Roger Watkins
and more. It’s a computer-ani- of Manitoba, Winnipeg. He is
mated Richard Condie film. The roger@awn.com
currently finishing a biography
jokes, characters and props are on character designer
the same, but this is a staged per- Charlie Thorson and is now Asia:
formance rather than a series of
editing a book called Bruce Teitelbaum
drawings. Which means Condie
gets to play with the camera and Great Canadian Films. bruce@awn.com
the lighting and the props. All this
32
The Trance Experience

of Zork Nemesis
by Donna La Brecque
It’s backed by a million-dol- The early Zorks were text
lar marketing campaign and adventures. This is a very
generates a fevered buzz in powerful medium because it
well-traveled chat rooms. It is words. With words we can
offers at least one technologi- convey nuance and tone.
cal first. And its earnings are With Zork Nemesis, we took
likely to exceed the box office those givens and started to
of some major motion pictures. expand upon them. Two
It’s Activsion’s new, hybrid ani- years ago, Return to Zork
mated-and-live action offering, was such a big deal because
Alexandria Wolfe holds a secret
Zork Nemesis. that players must uncover to solve it was a CD-ROM at a time
Okay, but numbers aside, the mystery of Zork Nemesis when CD-ROMs were new
© Activision
does this latest installment of to the marketplace—and the
ture.
the ongoing Zork saga have First, a bit of orientation: first graphic adventure with-in the
something to say about the role Zork’s Forbidden Lands universe series.
and destiny of animation in the includes five uniquely different
world of CD-ROM entertainment? worlds, hitherto unexplored: Up until very recently, at
At Activision’s headquarters in Temple, Monastery, Castle, Asy- least, it seems CD-ROM ani-
Los Angeles, producer Cecilia lum and Conservatory. They’re mation has too often hap-
Barajas sits surrounded by magic decidedly well fleshed out, as pened without serious art
posters from the turn of the 19th alternative worlds go: Zork direction...
century and a spate of merchan- Nemesis occupies a lot of space— I was going for something
dise spawned by the title. Besides three CD-ROMs worth, including that has generally been very un-
her producer’s credit, Cecilia thousands of 16 bit animations derused: a sense of visual author-
shared in the writing and direct- ship. It’s done in film all the time—
ed the adventure’s interactive seg- I tried to maintain production design is really, really
a way to imbue the important to establishing a great
ments. No rank newcomer to the
image with a sense of movie. Underusing visual author-
Zorkian underworld she: As
emotional content. ship represses a way of creating
Associate Producer of the com-
emotions. In the game experi-
pany’s successful forerunner,
ence, visuals are incredibly impor-
Return to Zork, Cecilia has, for tant. So, with my art dir-ector,
now at least, traded in her pre- and nearly an hour of live-action
video in a “prerendered” game Mauro Borrelli, I tried to maintain
vious role as a Los Angeles de- a way to imbue the image with a
environment. The Nemesis ‘
puty district attorney to serve as sense of emotional content. So,
soundscape, too, is omnipresent.
Activision’s interactive alchemist. rather than the image saying,
With the toot of a fleezle, we
For all the richness of the “Oh, here’s a temple,” it feels des-
enter...
game’s environment, it’s built on olate and stark and barren -- in a
good, sound three-act bones. The The original Zork is gener- very particular way.
petite and understated producer ally acknowledged as the Also, by borrowing some of
turns out to be less an advocate grandaddy of all interactive the same postproduction tech-
of the newest and the latest than adventure games. Why has nology that film and television
an admirer of books and litera- it survived? use, we created a greater realism
33
than computer games usually complex framework. Like with one world and appropriate-
have. We could add to the estab- the animation: Putting animation ly delicate in another. When
lished animation incredible de- over a surround image is fairly do you sit back and say, too
tails—flames leaping from a book, much?
the real time flicker of a candle, Great animation is one of You keep experimenting, ad-
the planetary system that glows the keys to visual author- ding and taking away. You try not
brighter and brighter, spinning ship. And you can’t find to become too attached, too
rings—some pretty cool stuff. “how to” books on this excessive. Then discipline sets in.
Combined with Mauro’s back- subject in the bookstore. You think about timing and the
ground as a production designer, pace of the storytelling, how
director and illustrator on major complicated. And some of our many puzzles you need to solve.
motion pictures, we were able to compositing involves both live Practicality. You know it’s not a
hone in on the environments. action and animation. The initial quick action game, so you’re not
computer graphic image is cre- going to get the adrenaline—the
But how good does the ani- ated geometrically, with all of the kill or be killed buzz—like other
mation really have to be to textures created over a layer of games give you. But we wanted
communicate story in a basic geometry, just as the way each of the environments to be
video game? the skeleton gives you the gen- distinctive—that was one of the
Great animation is one of the eral outline of a body. So, for givens. We tried to give the
keys to visual authorship. And example, we can animate a Asylum a direction like the movie
you can’t find “how to” books on scrapbook filled with theater Brazil, in terms of feeling both
this subject in the bookstore. I posters and make you feel like technological and old and rusty,
came up with an approach in this you’re actually thumbing through like you’d need a tetanus shot if
game: I stitched in little pockets of the pages of antiquity—and then you fell. That’s going to be embel-
narrative where I could and boom! Time changes and a per- lished.
exploited the tools I had to work formance begins. Also, I used other things like
with. I started first with the graph- symbology for clues. There’s a big
ics. And then video, text and You’ve got a lot of compo- piece of animation when the sun
audio. Unlike a movie, where nents working together and moon are joined. With
you’re pretty much strapped here: sound and animation, Activision’s newly developed 360˚
down and made to watch events complex animated fly- perspective called Z-Vision, the
in a given order, Zork Nemesis throughs swooping into a animation looks seamless. That’s
has a very nonlinear environ- prerendered environment, pretty much never been done
ment—but I still wanted to com- varying styles of animations before, especially using surround
municate the core story within a that look clinically eerie in perspective in a prerendered envi-
The burning book of sheet music of one of the many Sketch of the burning book.
animated clues in Zork Nemesis © Activision
© Activision
34
time, standardiza-
tion is impossible.
Even though
the under- Your Ad
world was al-
ready
lished in the
estab- Could Be
Zork series, you
could say that
Here!
you’ve taken
the game into, For rate cards and
what, a darker
place?
Yes, a much about
Sketch of the underworld in Zork Nemesis darker direction. various opportunities
© Activision It’s got a very sur- for exposure at
ronment with animation and live- real and macabre Animation World
action video. All of it was done tone to it. We were even able to Network,
on high end SGI’s. We used 16 get animations into distorted contact our
meg graphics, which occupy a images by compositing them
lot of space because of their thou- onto computer graphics with this
Los Angeles
sands and thousands of colors. office at
But all of this allows you to have They’re the most nihilistic
amazing images which get load- form of entertainment: 213.468.2554
ed into memory. Having enough you start out knowing
memory is still one of the con- that whatever you create or e-mail
straints in the technology. will be obsolete by the any of our sales
time you finish it. representatives:
It seems there’s new tech-
nology every day.
Games in general are the really great machine called a DP
North America:
wave of the future. The power of Max. For example, an animated
the written word will always be violin floating from a coffin might Wendy Jackson
maintained, but I think we’re pique your interest. And the wendyj@awn.com
moving into an even bigger direc- strains of a violin solo. You be-
tion for interactive games. I think come keenly aware of everything Europe:
they will actually cut into the film around you. I call it the trance
industry. They’re the most nihilis- experience. It’s very much en- Vincent Ferri
tic form of entertainment: you hanced with music and surround vincent@awn.com
start out knowing that whatever sound. Wherever you are, it can
you create will be obsolete by the slow you down at a rate slower U.K.
time you finish it. For example, than your heartbeat.
Roger Watkins
huge storage capacity on a CD is
right around the corner. Right
roger@awn.com
now, we’re constrained by about
500 megs of information, and Donna La Brecque is a writer
based in Los Angeles. Her e- Asia:
graphics alone take up a lot of it.
But as we keep investing in our mail address is Bruce Teitelbaum
graphics, the quality will keep elbcie@aol.com bruce@awn.com
getting better and better. At this
35
By John R. Dilworth
Ghost in the Shell

© Manga Entertainment
“In the near future ... the storing. This is how the world has the manga created by Masamune
advance of computerization ... become. After surviving World Shirow (Appleseed, Dominion),
has not yet wiped out nations Wars III and IV, a few changes it is reportedly the most expen-
and ethnic groups.” This is the have altered the way humans sive anime created at approxi-
opening text of Mamoru Oshii’s existed after thousands of years mately $US10 million. Ghost fea-
(Patlabor I & II, Twillight Q. ) of genetic evolution. Man and tures credits for things like
incredible new animated feature, machine have become one and “Weapon Design,” as well as an
Ghost in the Shell. The year is now the machine part craves for international lineup of executive
2029, and if you prefer you may inde-pendence of being human. producers led by UK’s Manga
trade in your body for a cyber- Not since Akira has an ani- Entertainment. It is a shame that,
netic one. Of course you may mated feature from Japan (Ja- at this writing, Ghost In the Shell,
keep a few original cels from your panimation) delivered such eye has no major distributor in the
brain and hopefully some of the widening visuals and thought United States.
memories you’ve spent a lifetime challenging content. Inspired by
36
character’s unexpectedly de force. I certainly wouldn’t

long monologue so rich want to compromise artistic
in observation and ob- vision, but if the concept is to
tuse thinking, you will broaden the understanding of
find your mind spinning Japanese culture, an effective
for 10 minutes attempt- area to impress a market is in film-
ing to figure it out. This is making. The plot does kick in
what could have been midway through the film, but if
the factor behind Mira- you do not get the story the first
Programming of a cyborg max deciding to pass on time, maybe you’ll have to see it
from Ghost in the Shell Ghost (It should be kept again and maybe again. If spend-
in mind that Miramax is a ing your afternoons at the movie
Daring You to Disney company and I cannot theater is not possible, then you
Follow Along remember the last time Disney may have to accept the film as
In New York, the principles of promoted an animated feature eye candy. And what candy it is.
Anime Crash, a growing chain of other than its own. Recall the
retail stores devoted to all things recent rerelease of The Lion King? The story opens near
anime and manga, and partici- Ask yourself what other animat- the end and the end
pants in helping to bring Ghost ed feature was opening that closes at the beginning.
wider exposure in the States, said month. Historically, there were It almost dares you
Miramax was set to handle Ghost two Alice In Wonderland ani- to follow along.
distribution domestically but mated films, but you only know
passed at the last hour. And this about one of them.)
is where the chink in the shell of The challenging narrative is The Noise in Her Head
Ghost is found. The narrative something I respect and ulti- The film begins with a com-
and multiple plots are extremely mately frown on. Ghost deserves puter generated, multi-leveled
challenging. The story opens a wide release. It is far more grid of a section of a city and the
near the end and the end closes entertaining than most of what viewer is completely immersed in
at the beginning. The film almost comes out of Hollywood. Yet the the grid by flying through it and
dares you to follow along. author and director chose to around it. Motoko Kusanagi is a
And if you luckily possess the alienate Western audiences in high level officer with Section 9
ability of advanced comprehen- most part by accepting to stand (the security police) engaged in
sion, you will be derailed by a behind the film as a visual tour surveillance high on top a
skyscraper roof. In the back of
her neck are four ports in which
she could jack into any comput-
er network. Motoko also has a
cybernetic body. The noise she
hears in her head during this
opening sequence is very impor-
tant in the arc of the main plot.
When the order to move in is
given, Motoko stands, disrobes
revealing a beautifully slender
and athletic body (reminding one
of a naked Barbie doll with small-
er breasts), and with outstretched
arms backdives off the roof.
Motoko’s partner in Security, Bateau in Ghost in the Shell. When the mission is concluded,
© Manga Entertainment the next time you see Motoko,
37
you don’t. It is one of the most The Real Celebrities wonderful hybrid that Ralph
exciting opening sequences in The real celebrities in Japan Bakshi felt somewhere in his
cinema today. are not the Hollywood imports bones but was never able to
The opening sequence re- but the creators of manga, and transmit onto the screen.
veals all the ingredients that will it is the only area where a Another shot that has caused
make up the next 75 minutes. woman is as equal as a man. We some debate is one where two
Ghost combines traditional hand may never see fluid squash and government officials are riding
drawn, 2D and 3D animation. All stretch from anime, but when down a glass elevator with their
the mediums are neatly balanced was the last time you tried tap backs toward the camera while
and integrated in a way that tells dancing when you felt con- having a 20 second (film time)
you something new is going on strained spiritually? It cannot be conversation. The only move-
here but doesn’t distract from the done. There are many shots ment is the panning background
important stuff, the characters. where live action seemed to and a sliver of jaw moving on
Granted mixed media technology inspire movement and tone. An one of the characters. The big
is not new to animation, but question is why? The shot shouts,
what is notable is the execution “Look at me!” What could the
Motoko disrobes revealing
and the mastery of the craft. Art director, Mamoru Oshii, be trying
a beautifully slender and
direction, the ability to showcase to say? Surrounded by action
athletic body, reminding
detail and stage passive or active heavy scenes, it could be that he
one of a naked Barbie doll
action, and lead one’s eye was sharing his feelings with his
with smaller breasts.
through color and composition audience. In a display of direc-
is a tenet of high art. Look at the torial freedom, we could have
paintings of Vermeer or Rem- early scene shows Motoko wak- witnessed a deliberate recession
brandt and all will be revealed. ing in the dark and sitting up, of craft. What is it like to have dra-
The opening titles are an excel- opening the blinds to let the light matic action, but not be able to
lent example of art direction. in. She is groggy with thought express it through movement?
Witness how a cybernetic body and slightly lethargic. The feeling Animation is so much about the
is manufactured while Japanese was beyond animated. It is a ability to express freedom with-
drums beat behind an angelic out limitations. Given a clean
chorus of female vocals. Here you sheet of paper, how would you
are led visually as well as audibly. express motion? That would
Ghost feels more like a live- depend on several factors.
action movie than what one is One factor is how you inter-
accustomed to think animated pret your environment. Ever go
features look like. The animation abroad and discover new things
is not based on the style that and appropriate only what you
evolved out of years of explo- can? Acceptance of diversity will
ration by the artists who created inspire and the lack of accep-
the classic Disney films. It more tance will limit. This is echoed
closely resembles how humans through Motoko herself during a
really move and the way the Ja- chase scene. “If we all reacted
panese interpret human move- the same we’d be predictable.
ment, slightly stiff and restrained, And there’s more than one way
but deliberate. It is very under- to view a situation. What’s true
standable, knowing how formal for the group is also true for the
Japanese culture is, that distrac- individual. It’s simple. Overspe-
tions like eye popping special effects, cialize and you breed in weak-
outrageous characters and stories, ness. It’s slow death.” Certainly
hyperunrealistic action and long Motoko, the main character the overwhelming social codes
in Ghost in the Shell.
legged, Western styled women reign. © Manga Entertainment of behavior and public conduct
38
have long been the issues and Casey Kasem. The actor who
explored by Japan’s influential cre- When was the last voices Motoko, Mimi Woods, is
ators. time you tried tap very believable and satisfactorily
dancing when you felt appealing. She is able to convey
Individualism and constrained spiritually? a detached emotionalism and yet
Personal Destiny at the same time add a hint of
The feelings of individualism Bateau, Motoko’s partner in the melancholy that makes her sym-
and personal destiny are strong security police, leans over her pathetic. It also doesn’t hurt to
undercurrents in Ghost. All the destroyed shell and the two of see a cyborg go scuba diving in
leading characters are fighting them continue a conversation. a frog suit as a means of medi-
for it, or fighting to understand Although her shell is no longer tating. The film’s sound design is
how they fit in with the big pic- functional, Motoko’s robotised very even and well balanced.
ture. The argument is raised brain is and that is the part that In an attempt to broaden the
about the importance of being Bateau recognizes. It suggests the film’s appeal in the West, the pro-
human and is clearly answered. higher belief that the spirit or soul ducers commissioned Brian Eno
When cyborgs begin wanting a does exist outside the human and U2 to contribute a tune
destiny and, more important, body that confines it, of reincar- which turns up over the end
want to make the decisions that credit crawl. The original sound-
will create their destinies, the track was composed and per-
desire to be held or kissed or formed by Kenji Kawai. And I rec-
loved is not one of them. And ommend you purchase the CD—
that is what being human is about. pricey since it is an import, but
Clearly to have the ability to what a treat. Throughout the film
jump 50 floors above the there are transitional scenes that
ground, become invisible and are several minutes long and
have a perfect body that only re- linger on: rain falling on city
quires yearly tune ups is attrac- streets or a passing barge float-
tive. But if tenderness through ing a consumer product adver-
the grasp of a baby’s tiny fingers tisement or naked mannequins
cannot be experienced, I’d rather waiting to be dressed in a show-
expire with the dinosaurs than room window. Over these visu-
trade my human shell for one als pound the eerie percussion
made by MegaTech, with a cor- and meditative synthesized key-
porate logo etched under the boards that inspire you to sit back
foot and a warranty. Shirow and and float away as you are lured
Oshii do suggest that the cyborgs into a cinematic hallucinogenic.
of Ghost have feelings and de- Here the use of traditional native
The surreal vision of director,
sires. They can be subtly caring Masamune Shirow. music is embraced and the orig-
and have pure feelings of dedi- © Manga Entertainment inal soundtrack features 11 tracks
cation and devotion. They have that echo a spiritual and tran-
transcended the complexities of nation and the hope of an after- scendental awareness or desire.
human needs and self-gratifica- life. Many of the same themes are Interestingly the Eno/U2 cut does
tion. Yes, it is true that the cy- found throughout history, espe- not appear on the Japanese
borgs want, but they were origi- cially in Egypt during the age of soundtrack.
nally created to perform so the the Pharaohs.
hybrid would be a new species Not surprisingly the trans- The Puppet Master
of individual, one that cannot lation of Ghost into the English For clarity sake, ‘Ghost’ is the
succumb to emotional manipu- language version is very ade- term used for the stored mem-
lation. quate. There are a few voices that ories, real and manufactured,
During the final scene, sound remarkably like Don Knotts that are placed in cyborg machin-
39
the Security Police get in- cyborgs in Ghost are tormented

volved with Motoko tak- about their destinies, so humans
ing the lead. face the same predicament. If we
In the end, all the are in fact masters of our own
characters fighting each destiny, why are there so many
other, or fighting to de- lost souls struggling to find their
feat the presumed ene- way amidst a sea of limitations?
my, were all puppets
under the Puppet Mas-
ter. The program manip-
ulated its way through
The birth of Motoko—Ghost in the Shell various individuals one at
a time until the final out-
ery to make them more human. come was achieved. When the
‘Shell’ are the bodies the machin- merging of The Puppet Master
ery are housed in. The main plot and Motoko is completed, the
is about a program titled 2501 new individual stands overlook- John R. Dilworth is a New York
“The Puppet Master” designed to ing a huge metropolis like a virus
hack into foreign network sys- about to be released into a com-
based independent filmmaker
tems for the use of manipulation puter hard drive and all hard whose recent short animated
for economic or military advan- drives connected to it. film, The Chicken From Outer
tage. When the program begins It is a not too happy an end- Space, was nominated for an
to develop its own sense of self, ing. The evolution of man rests
it designs a hugely elaborate plan in man’s ability to overcome limi-
Academy Award.
to free itself from its originators tations. And the survival of man
and create a new, more ad- rests in man’s ability to limit his
vanced species that do not hunger for evolution. It is a
require any human limitations genetic program for man to
ultimately. When the agency move forward. But whether tech-
responsible for the Puppet Master nology holds the key to the
tries to retrieve the wayward pro- future of man, the question
gram by any means necessary, remains to what outcome. As the
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40
Independents on the Shore!!

compiled by Frankie Kowalski
It takes unique talent, persis- the right importance to the artis- Funniest cartoon:
tence, and lots of creative confi- tic ideas, never forgetting the com- King Size Canary by Tex Avery
dence to be an independent film- mercial side of the matter. Best timing ever:
maker in today’s animation global Sometimes it is exhausting to cre- One Froggy Evening by Chuck
market, especially in the feature ate under these conditions, be- Jones
film arena. cause you are directly involved
Bill Plympton’s top 10 picks ...
I had a chance to catch up artistically and financially, but the
with some of the best for this liberty of action you have is abso- 1. This Is Spinal Tap by Rob
month’s island retreat—Bruno lutely invaluable”. Reiner
Bozetto (Allegro Non Troppo), 2. Arsenic & Old Lace by Frank
Richard William’s top 10 picks ...
Richard Williams (The Thief and the Capra
Cobbler [Arabian Knight]), R.O. 3. It’s A Wonderful Life by
1. Rashomon by Akira Frank Capra
Blechman (L’Histoire du Soldat ) Kurosawa
and Bill Plympton (The Tune). 4. Dr. Strangelove by Stanley
2. Seven Samurai by Akira Kubrick
Kurosawa
Bruno Bozetto’s top 10 picks if 5. Baby Doll by Elia Kazan
3. Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa 6. The Producers by Mel
stranded on a desert island...
4. Yojimbo by Akira Kurosawa Brooks
“Personally, if I were stranded
5. High and Low by Akira 7. Reservoir Dogs by Quentin
on a desert island I prefer taking
Kurosawa
Sharon Stone rather than 10 films.” Tarentino
6. The Quiet Duel Akira 8. Akira by Mamoru Oshii &
Kurasawa
1. 8 1/2 by Frederico Fellini Katsuhiro Otomo
7. Snow White and the Seven 9. The Beast of the City by
2. Fantasia by Walt Disney Dwarfs by Walt Disney
3. Stagecoach by John Ford Charles Brabin
8. Dumbo by Walt Disney 10. The Tune by yours truly
4. The Gold Rush by Charlie 9. City Lights by Charlie
Chaplin Chaplin “This is probably a very incom-
5. Amarcord by Fredercio 10. Babe by Chris Noonan plete list since 1) I haven’t seen
Fellini
many films in the past several
6. Mr. Hulot’s Holidays by years and 2) I don’t remember
JacquesTati the names of some favorites
7. Bambi by Walt Disney (such as a Canadian film which
8. Star Wars by George came and went like a meteor. I
Lucas saw it in The New York Film Fes-
9. The Shining by Stanley tival several years ago, and it
Kubrick never found distribution. The
10. Dances with Wolves by Subject matter? A Canadian
Kevin Costner woman impregnated by an
Italian tomato—I’m not making
“Working on an independent Bruno Bozetto’s Allegro Non Troppo this up!) Anyway, here’s my
production taught me to give incomplete list... ”
41
R. O. Blechman’s top 10 picks ...
1. Citizen Kane by Orson

Welles
2. Breathless by Jean-Luc
Godard
3. Hate by Mathieu Kassovitz
4. LaAmercia by Gianni Amelio
5. Woman in the Dunes
(Suma no Onna) by Hiroshi
Teshigahara (after all, I am
on a desert island so I’d like
the company.)
6. A Sort of Autobiography by
Akira Kurosawa
7. The Magic Mountain by
Thomas Mann (It’s set in
Switzerland, so that’s nice
for desert reading)
8. War and Peace by
LeoTolstoy (The Simon &
Schuster edition because it
has a separate glossary of
characters.) Serigraph poster done by Blechman for exhibition
9. Ulysses by James Joyce at Gallery Bartsch and Chariau, Munich.
(because I never finished it). © R. O. Blechman
10. The Idiot by Feodor
Dostoyevsky (I read it years
ago and loved it.)
42
The Third Oslo Animation Festival:A sage well. Only one entry seemed to ing, in terms of both style and idea. “We
Special Report by the Festival’s Vibeke combine all that is necessary to make a think the Lumière Brothers would be
Christensen. The Nordic Animation com- strong enough statement, i.e., Linetest, happy with this film.”
petition, held April 25-28, 1996, was which they felt combined a good idea
attended by over 3,000 people, with over with good execution. The jury felt it was Audience Prize: Narverfredag (Friday
800 coming to a special children’s day beautifully timed, had good animation, Night Fever) (Christopher Nielsen,
featuring screenings and workshops. For and worked excellently as an informative Norway).
the first time, the Festival included a com- commercial using a style that will appeal The following films received special
petition category for Nordic and Baltic to a certain segment of the population, mention in Marv Newland’s summary
countries, and included 45 films. The and a situation that clearly illustrates the from the Jury: Leikr (Journey Towards
members of our jury were: Paul Driessen intended message. Light) (Runi Langum, Norway), Mons the
from the Netherlands, Marv Newland Cat (Piotr Sapegin, Norway) and
from Canada, Bettina Bjrnberg Best First Film: Daughter of the Sun (Anita Killi, Norway).
from Finland, Abby Terkuhle Processor (Jan Otto
from USA, Alexander Ertesvg, Norway). The Film Roman to Go Public. The North
Tatarsky from Russia jury greatly appreci- Hollywood-based studio, best known for
and Turid Versveen ated seeing an its work on such TV shows as Garfield &
from Norway. The prize experimental film as Friends, The Simpsons and The Critic,
winners were: a debut film. They announced that it will soon be making its
mentioned that this is initial public stock offering of 3.6 million
Special Jury Prize: Little the stage where an artist shares, with existing shareholders possibly
Lilly (Mati Kutt, Estonia). The should be experimenting, selling an additional 185,000 shares. The
prize was given for the film’s in order to find his or her company, founded by former Bill Melendez
beautiful, inventive and sur- own style. They also director Phil Roman in 1984, thus joins such
real imagery, as well as its acknowledged the impor- other North American independent ani-
painterly, strong visual style. tance of this stage, in that animation houses as Nelvana and Cinar in
The jury liked its combination of mators eventually must take things going public.
background and foreground. They felt its like clients and money into considera-
mood was striking and was personal and tion. They chose Processor because it Disney and McDonald’s Finalize Cross-
showed a unique point of view. They shows that the artist has a great under- Promotional Agreement. The Walt
commented on the original storytelling standing of film, and explores in a simple Disney Company and the McDonald’s
by noting that, the film has a unique and way the possibilities of the medium. The Corporation announced the decade-long
individual narrative structure. It uses a film is a good combination of video tech- agreement, which makes the internation-
fractured structure, yet tells its story well. nology and old fashioned materials, i.e., al restaurant chain Disney’s primary pro-
The jury also pointed out that it was not paper. The jury also remarked that the motional partners. As a result, McDonald’s
dependent on dialogue to tell its story, sound and image were well put togeth- will have exclusive rights to include toys
and that the visuals alone communicated er, that they seemed “made for each from the latest Disney films, videos and TV
everything clearly. other.” They felt it was obvious the artist shows in their kids meals. For the past few
had a vision of what he wanted to do, years, the rival Burger King chain had great-
Best Commercial: Linetest (Jonas and used simple technology to create it. ly expanded its market share through its tie
Dalbeck/Stig Bergquist, Sweden). In eval- The jury noted that it was a brave and ins with such Disney blockbusters as The
uating this category, the jury was initial- successful experiment, that showed an Lion King, Pocahontas and the upcoming
ly undecided regarding the criteria for a understanding of the arts and of film. The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
prize winning commercial. Should the
idea be considered at all?... or only the Grand Prize: 1895 (Priit Pärn/Janno Japan’s Gaga Communications Enters
execution (or animation), since the ideas Poldma, Estonia). First of all, the jury Feature Animation. The film, The Voltage
in this case often are dictated by someone unanimously felt that this was the obvious Fighters “Gowcaizer,” is based on the pop-
other than the artist. They felt that most and easy choice as best film—the film ular computer game released last fall by
of the commercials included in the com- stands in a class by itself, noting its orig- Techno Japan. Gaga, which produces films
petition category were too convention- inality, good design, strong style and its for both the theatrical and home video mar-
al; they noted that although they felt that joining of powerful images with humor. kets, will utilize its “its expanded mixed-
they were well produced and technical- They praised the fact that the film media release pattern” for Gowcaizer.
ly well done, but that they did not nec- demands something from its audience.
essarily communicate a product or mes- It is complex in what it is communicat- Engage Signs Exclusive Content Deal
43
With Interworld Productions. Engage see what was so special about Mario run- really putting the interactive in the inter-
Games Online has announced that it has ning at high speed through a rather prim- active.”
entered into an agreement with itive 3D environment. But then again, the DVD (Digital Video Disk) was also on
Interworld Productions to distribute the game’s the thing and with memories of a lot of people’s mind, although it could
company’s “online multi-player games.” what Welltris did to my carpal tunnel syn- only be sampled in a small aerie in the
The first two titles to be released under drome, I was not about to tempt fate. Philips Media booth. This, if you haven’t
the agreement will be Rolemaster: (The Beavis and Butt-Head CD-ROM, at heard, is designed to be a replacement
Megaßstorm (based on the series created the Viacom New Media booth, with for CDs, CD-ROMs and laserdiscs. With at
by “paper game publisher” Iron Crown Beavis (or is it Butt-Head) lobbing glob- least four times the capacity of CD-ROMs,
Enterprises) and Splatterball (a version of ules of saliva off the roof of their high it is also being hailed as a replacement
Paintball). The games, which will be avail- school was more my style.) Anyway, why for video tape in the home video market.
able on Windows 95, will accommodate be a spoilsport and let Nintendo and the More than one wag suggested that, as far
up to 40 and 20 players respectively. twilight of cartridge game systems have as the game market goes, it was strictly an
its due. interim technology, given the thrust of
Shadbolt’s Paintings Are Touched Also creating some buzz, this time the industry to multiplayer online games.
Alive by Vancouver Animator: Film- among animation types, was the preview The only thing holding it back, it is said,
maker Stephen Arthur has animated a of the clay animated CD-ROM, The is a lack of “bandwidth.”
series of 30 paintings by 87-year-old Neverhood Chronicles (Neverhood), While new online, multiplayer games
Canadian painter Jack Shadbolt in a short created by Douglas TenNapel, to be one are already beginning to proliferate, I
film titledTouched Alive:The Masque of of the first releases from DreamWorks somehow do not think that the onset of
Desire and Doom. While Shadbolt is crit- Interactive. TenNapel, whose previous larger capacity cable modems (or what-
ical of popular animation, he has entrust- games include Genesis J-Park and Ren ever) will obviate the need for devices like
ed Arthur to do “a serious and original and Stimpy’s Invention, is perhaps best DVD players. All the hype surrounding
job” of his paintings. Arthur, who used a known as being the creator of the the online gaming concept is one of
“consumer-level personal computer” to Earthworm Jim character. The latter was those ideas which, like the 500 channel
make the film, holds graduate degrees in spun off into a animated TV series pro- cable systems popular a few years back,
both film production and brain physiolo- duced by Universal Cartoon Studios for seems just a bit overblown and perhaps
gy. the WB Kids. Given DreamWorks’ strong a bit premature.
commitment to traditional animation, it —Harvey Deneroff
E3: NEWS AND COMMENTARY may very well also get serious consider-
Some Thoughts on E3: The second edi- ation for making the jump from Windows E3 Announcements ... Not surprising-
tion of E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 95 to the boob tube. ly, there were a whole slew of new titles
the major video/computer game expo Our resident animator, Wendy announced at E3, including the de
was held in the Los Angeles Convention Jackson, went gaga over the new rigueur online games. What follows is a
Center, May 16-18, 1996. Presented by Simpsons CD-ROM due out at summer’s sampling of some new titles that feature
the Interactive Digital Software Associa- end. She notes that, “It enables you to animation of some sort or another:
tion, the trade show was bursting at its create original animation with all The
seams and often resembled a giant penny Simpsons ‘ characters, with your own sce- Humongous Entertainment, which spe-
arcade, with game freaks grossing out narios. It’s not a game, but it’s real cool. It’s cializes in interactive animation for chil-
on the latest from Nintendo, Sega and dren, unveiled their newest char-
3DO, seemingly oblivious to the fact acter, Pajama Sam, who stars in
that they were supposed to be there No Need to Hide When It’s Dark
on business. Outside., as part of the compa-
ny’s Junior Adventures line of CD-
An instant success in its premiere out- ROMs. Due out in September,
ing last year, it has now outgrown its deals with Sam’s attempts to over-
L.A. venue, and will be moving on to come his fear of the dark. The
Atlanta, which boasts larger facilities. company also launched its Junior
While some game/interactive pro- Arcade line of “nonviolent” action
ducers may be less than happy with games for youngsters, including
the move away from Hollywood, one Putt-Putt and Pep’s Balloon-O-
supposes this is the price of success. Rama., Putt and Pep’s Dog on a
For many, the big news was the long Stick, Freddi Fish and Luther’s
awaited debut of Nintendo’s new Water Worries and Freddi Fish
64 bit cartridge game system and Luther’s Maze Madness,
(Nintendo 64) and of new games which are all due out later this
such as Star Wars: Shadows of the year.
Empire, along with Super Mario 64. Pajama Sam’s room in No Need
The latter really seemed to impress To Hide When Its Dark Outside Microsoft, which was crowing
many visitors, though I really couldn’t © Humongous Entertainment about how its Windows 95 oper-
44
ating system is becoming “the gaming series (Command & Conquer: Red Alert ) a maze of obstacles; Time Commando,
platform choice for 1996,” previewed sev- and the Lands of Lore: adventure/role where players become virus extermina-
eral games at E3. These included: Deadly playing games (Lands of Lore: Guardians tors thrown into a time warp caused by
Tide (a futuristic, “high-speed underwa- of Destiny ). For children, Virgin showed a computer virus; and The Elk Moon
ter action-thriller” developed by Rainbow the latest of the Spot video games based Murder, a detective story set in Santa Fe,
Studios and TRG3, featuring 3-D graph- on the popular children’s books, Spot New Mexico.
ics); developer Terminal Reality has come Goes to Hollywood.
up with Hellbender (a sci-fi shoot-em-up Activision said it had signed a repre- Former Don Bluth animator Dan Kuenster
between “the evil Bion aggressors and sentation agreement for its best-selling gets credit for strutting his stuff in The
The Coalition of Independent Planets) and Pitfall franchise with The Rothman Agency Great Math Adventure starring Howie
Monster Track Madness (a truck-racing for developing possible television, video Mandel, the latest in the Lil’ Howie’s Fun
simulation); and The Condemned (a House series from 7th Level.
futuristic TV game show from Gray Mandel as usual provides the voice
Matter, where prisoners battle each of Lil’ Howie and gets producer cred-
other for freedom). It will also be it. Also previewed was The Universe
releasing the newest installment of According to Virgil, which features
its Magic School Bus series done with Charles Fleischer (the voice of Roger
Scholastic, The Magic Schoolbus Rabbit) as a German scientist who
Explores Inside the Earth. In addition, goes over volumes of information
Microsoft will be coming out with a specifically from the Columbia
PC version of GEX, the comic con- Encyclopedia, and Cold Blooded, an
sole game, and Microsoft Flight action-adventure game about half-
Simulator for Windows 95, the mutilated universe threatened by a
newest incarnation of the classic sim- tug-of-war between warring gods.
ulation game. Dr. Suess’ widow (Audrey Geisel) was
Cold Blooded present at the Living Books booth
Philips Media, fresh from its © 7th Level to give a send off to the interactive
announcement “to jointly develop version of her husband’s Green Eggs
and market CD-ROM software titles for and comic book projects, though it ini- and Ham:, which is slated for an early fall
children” with the Children’s Television tially intends to focus its efforts on get- release. ... Bullfrog Productions pre-
Workshop, took the opportunity to ting an animated TV series off the ground. viewed Dungeon Keeper, where players
show off Down in the Dumps, which was In the meantime, it showcased a bunch assume the role of the sinister title char-
developed by France’s HaïKu Studios. of new game titles at E3, including: acter, who is presented their version of a
The London Effects and Animation Award Hyperblade, a real time, multiplayer item “360 degree fully-rotational, texture
nominee attempts to mix adult humor that features futuristic versions of such mapped” environment. ... Finally, while
and slapstick with the game play, which sports as hockey, lacrosse and speed skat- MGM Interactive was showing off its
involves a family of eccentric, thumb-sized ing; Interstate ‘76, a combat simulation Babes in Toyland CD-ROM (based on its
extraterrestrials who land in “a stinking game where players face off against a upcoming direct-to-video feature), Disney
dump” on planet Earth. gang of auto mercenaries; Blast Chamber, Interactive was doing the same for its
where players must stay one step ahead Disney’s Animated Storybook, The
Virgin Interactive Entertain-ment, of their opponents maneuvering through Hunchback of Notre Dame and Disney
noted for such CD-ROM classics Activity Center, Toy Story.
as The 7th Guest, previewed a
number of titles for a variety of
platforms. Very prominently dis-
played was Toonstruck, a CD-
ROM game combining live-action
and animation from its Burst divi-
sion; it stars Christopher Lloyd (as
an animator on the Saturday
morning Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun
Show) and the voice talents of
Dan Castallanetta, Tim Curry,
David Ogden Stiers and Dom
DeLuise. In the action adventure
category, it showed off Heart of
Darkness, from Paris-based
Amazing Studio, as well as new
Virgil Reality - The Study
entries in the Command &
© 7th Level
Conquer real-time strategy game
45
Animation World Magazine

1996 - 1997 Calendar
Coming Attractions...
Next month, join us in celebrating the Olympics,
as we look back at the Olympiad of Animation
from the 1984 games and take a look at the production
of The Great Adventures of Izzy, Film Roman’s TV special
featuring the Atlanta Game’s mascot.
Rita Street will profile Sue Loughlin and her new public
service announcement for Amnesty International,
while Jill McGreal will look at John Coates
and his London-based TVC (TV Cartoons),
which is closing after 40 years.
In addition, Giannalberto Bendazzi will help us
celebrate the centennial of Quirino Cristiani,
the Argentine filmmaker who made the world’s
first animated feature back in 1917
Also, William Moritz will take a look at Disney’s
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, while Harvey Deneroff
examines what’s behind all those Hunchback clones
that are popping up at your local video store.
The Spirit of the Olympics (July)
Anime, Anime, Anime—A Worldwide Phenomenon (August)
International Television (September)
Politics & Propaganda (October)
Theme Park Animation (November)
Interactive Animation (December)
Animation Festivals (January ‘97)
International Animation Industry (February '97)
Children & Animation (March '97)
46

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June 1996 Vol. 1, No.

Editor's Notebook: The Independent Spirit and An Invitation by Harvey Deneroff 3

Cover: Self Portrait by Bill Plympton © Bill Plympton 1

I Married A Strange Person

idays off. Third, it’s not his style

Transfixed and Goggle-Eyed

a Keane painting (remember walked stiffly toward the exit,

Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom. A Cachet to Die For

213.468.2554 with 11 fingers on 25 hour days R.O. Blechman pursues a dual

Between Live Action and Animation

Locus of Literary A Dreamlike

of light gives the film

Through the Roof

the front door, he came through

Instinctive Decisions—Dave Borthwick,

came when, “We were faced

Visually Narrative Ideas body expressions to provide for a

action in it. I have a bit of a prob-

Frankie Kowalski is Associate

Don Bluth Goes Independent

The 1970s was a decade in

loved Maurice Ravel’s 1925 opera

definitive book about Lotte Reiniger:

1923-25 1929 Carmen, based on the Bizet

were disconcerting surprises at

The Trance Experience

Ghost in the Shell

character’s unexpectedly de force. I certainly wouldn’t

the Security Police get in- cyborgs in Ghost are tormented

REGISTER with Animation World Network TODAY and

• Receive our biweekly animation News Flash via email

Independents on the Shore!!

R. O. Blechman’s top 10 picks ...

1. Citizen Kane by Orson

Animation World Magazine

The Spirit of the Olympics (July)

Anime, Anime, Anime—A Worldwide Phenomenon (August)

International Television (September)

Politics & Propaganda (October)

Theme Park Animation (November)

Interactive Animation (December)

Animation Festivals (January ‘97)

International Animation Industry (February '97)

Children & Animation (March '97)

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