This (past 2) Week's Animation Good, Bad, and Ugly

Hello again all you happy people!

This is pretty much how I feel at all times

these days.

So the past two weeks have come and passed, and for the most part, I haven't had too much material to do a good, bad and ugly segment... because, surprisingly, most of the news in the animation sites I peruse is actually pretty exciting. The blue moon must be out on this sunny Thursday.

But all good things are meant to crash and burn, and the news that I've picked up over the past couple of days proves that the industry is no exception to this. With that being said, let's get right down to the nitty gritty!

The Good

So Pixar, amirite?

That's it, guys, that's the end of this part, on to the Bad now.

Pixar, who for the most part has churned out back-to-back hits (and spilled spaghetti on its dress shirt when they released Cars 2... oops) has just released the teaser trailer for a film that I am gleefully anticipating. Next summer, the Pete Doctor-directed film Inside Out is due to be released, and well... just watch the teaser.

News via Cartoon Brew

If you managed to push past the unnecessarily long montage of its previous films (which, funny enough, did not feature Cars 2), than good job. I want to discuss the things that I saw after the montage, and more importantly, the things that I've gathered thus far regarding the film. For one, it's supposed to be a fusion of 2D and 3D which... my god. Since Day and Night debuted, I expect big, great things. For another, Lewis Black as the voice of Anger. Ohhhh, Pixar, you must be probing my brain for the things that I want out of a great movie. Suffice to say, I'm excited about this movie. You did it again, Pixar. Also, don't just gloss over where it says "Lewis Black" like I didn't link you to a very informative video - click that thing, and educate yourself.

The Bad

... Angry Birds? reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeAalleeee?

Rio 3...? Via Us Magazine

If you've been living under a rock since 2010, Angry Birds is... was... the super-popular phone game promoting the sale of bacon, because pigs are evil. I say "was" because, if you have been looking over at the phone  of the person sitting next to you on the city bus lately, odds are they haven't been playing Angry Birds much, anymore. Because it lost its popularity around the time that the majority of the people reached that level that was specifically designed to piss you off. I guess.

Unless you're Sony. oh... Sony, no... I was just singing your praises 2 weeks ago. Why'd you have to go and do this? Well anyways, Facebook made this shit trend because apparently people on the internet lost their minds over the cast of the movie. Which just goes to show: if you're a movie company, as long as you're pretty sure that thing that was popular 4 years ago will make lots of money and attention on the internet, than to hell with any original ideas. Good job, Sony.

The really, really, REALLY Ugly

By now, I'm sure you've heard of the animated masterpiece released in 2012. You know, the CG work of cinematic genius ten years in the making, starring the world's most popular and familiar names. You know what I'm talking about? Unfortunately for you, the answer is probably "yes."

And the most memorable cast of characters since Snow White and the

Seven Dwarfs.

That's right, Foodfight. And yes, there is a deeper story behind what happened to make this film the gem that it became today, but the fact is that someone in Hollywood still believed in this stinker. Which is a shame, because someone's name is attached to this, for ever. 

:(

The person I'm talking about particularly, and the point I'm trying to get to, is that there's a guy named Larry Kasanoff, he runs a studio named Threshold Entertainment and he really should have shut down this studio and retired, because he seems to have a difficult time differentiating garbage with polish. On that note... Tetris: The Movie!

This is the part where I'm supposed to say, "Just kidding, guys!" but this is a thing that's being made. And guess what, Sci Fi buffs, this one is for you! The cinematic wizard behind the Poop Rat is quoted as saying, "What everyone doesn't know yet is this epic sci-fi story that we're going to tell. That's what's really exciting."

My heart is just racing with anticipation, Larry.

Guys, that's it. That's all that's needed to be said.

Don't forget to follow the Matt's Musings Facebook page so you can keep up to date on the latest of my musings, along with the regular Animation Good, Bad, and Ugly weekly series. And guys, watch Lewis Black. You won't regret it.

A quick update from "The Dead"

Hey guys!

I'm not dead D: but things have been insane for me, guys. So... I've started my senior year at SCAD this past week, and uh... oh my god.

"Have mercy on me! I've only been back for a week!"

See, I'm in a particularly crazy situation with my scheduling that pretty much means that I'm doing studio classes for... the rest of the year. Three at a time. Which pretty much means that I'm going to kiss sleep good bye until I graduate. Also, I still have to work.

:(

But I'm not here to make excuses for my inactivity, damn it, I'm here to talk about something with you! So, with that, I want to quickly share with you guys what I consider the good, the bad, and the ugly in animation this week.

The Good:

Skip to 1:57 for the juicy stuff. Article via Cartoon Brew

I don't usually pay too much mind to CG, but Genndy Tartakovsky does it so gooooooooood (go see Hotel Transylvania). And if they stick to this feel for the actual feature, than I am 1000% on board. My favorite part about this test is that Genndy directed the "modernizing" in such a way that is so faithful to the Fleischer Popeye shorts, like... I was speechless. Note to everybody who wants to modernize another classic property: "modernizing" does not mean stuff an hour and a half with modern pop culture references and... dubstep, I guess? I don't know. Either way, take notes from this, all. I'm excited to see where this goes. Also, Popeye translates surprisingly well in CG. Creepily well...

The Bad

Noooooooooooooooooo! Why!? Article via Cartoon Brew

Aaaand we've taken a step back, CG. This is exactly why I don't pay attention to it - this kind of bull(   )t happens when I look. For those of you guys that don't know, Mexican animation house Anima Estudios released what I like to call "a step forward" in 2011: a 2D animated Top Cat movie called... Top Cat. The movie. ...

It wasn't the most beautiful animation ever made by any stretch of the imagination. I mean, I concede (from experience) that there's not a whole heck of a lot that can be done with Flash puppet-style animation, but just look at this.

Oye. Also, some of the character design choices made in this movie

just make me uncomfortable.

Despite that, though, any studio that's willing to re-venture into 2D is okay by my book. And than, they just... gave up? ... why? Anima Estudios, you've disappointed me. I'm going to give this one, and the studio, a pass.

The Ugly

Hands down, this:

Not real. Yet. Unfortunately.

I dabble into Disney World news every now and again, mostly in my inability to afford to be able to go down there myself so I feel the need to make up for that by gawking on the internet. In doing my dreaming, the internet (in typical fashion) turned my dreams into a nightmare when it started talk about Disney looking to shove Frozen in my face every turn I take in the parks (I despise Frozen, but more about that later). A summer event? Okay, that's cool. I can't go in the summer anyway.

Oh, what's that? You want to shut down a 30 year old ride that celebrates the mythos and heritage of a legendary culture in the name of permanently shoving Frozen in my face some more? ... okay. sure. I see. Well, at least it's just a crappy internet rumor.

What's that, Disney? It's not?

You know. But no big deal, you know. Just sayin'.

Aside from spitting on anything that had to do with Walt Disney's vision for Epcot, and the more personal issue that I have with Disney's need to shove Anna, Elsa and Olaf in my face constantly, I believe that this is just bad foresight strategically in the parks. Think about it - how long have even the biggest fads on the internet stayed popular? And I don't mean in the way that they're still being used today... I mean as in, how long has a fad been actually, legitimately popular? To say two years is a stretch, for the most part. 

A note to Disney - I don't know if you'll believe me or not... but Frozen is still an internet fad. And not much else. And, thank goodness, it's starting to go on the decline. So, before you decide that the appropriate reaction to an internet fad is to stomp all over Walt Disney's ideals for his very last dream - and by extension, his grave - to try to make a few more bucks off of Frozen, consider stepping back and thinking about it. Just, do that much.

This doesn't have to be a lesson you need to learn the hard way.

Don't be like these guys.

Quick post

This is a quick follow up to yesterday's blog entry, where I discussed my desire to bang my head against a table when I read about animation news. Well, last night I found out the direction Universal thinks the industry should be heading...

Watch JonTron's review of this cinematic CG masterpiece if you don't

understand what the problem is here.

Yeah. That.

Anyway, I'll make an actual post later in the day, guys, but right now, I just... why, universal, why...

Animation Critique #1: The Problem with Pitching

Oh hi there!

I don't believe I heard you come in.

If you've read all of my posts up till this point, you might guess that I have a deeply-rooted passion for animation. Perhaps you might have deduced that I aim to make a career out of animation, if you are so clever. So, as I heard from a great leader I had the pleasure to be under while I was in the Army, "Professionals read professional things." As such, I try to keep my thumb on what's going on in the animation industry - for better or, usually, for much much worse.

This is usually what I end up doing when I 

read about that dark, confusing place.

I mentioned in my SCAD retrospective post that I've pretty much came to the conclusion that if I'm going to make animation a career in a fashion that won't make me hate my life 25 hours a day, I'm going to have to go independent. Why? Well, a lot of reasons, but one of the main, telling reasons for my conclusion comes... well, I'll let you listen for yourself. I credit this Cartoon Brew article as where I had originally found this video.

5:28 - 5:54

For the uninitiated, the talented woman speaking in this video is Lauren Faust of Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, most recently My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and nearest and dearest to my heart, Cats Don't Dance fame. Here, she is making a point about the pitching practice that the mainstream television studios are, and probably have been, using. If you missed it, I will quote: "(studios) will really like the stories and really like the characters, but than tell me, 'We don't want shows for girls.' They were attributing the poor performance of the shows to the gender of the target audience instead of the quality of the shows." Hm... maybe this is why most people in their 20's and up will say "Cartoons were better when I was a kid."

Pictured: The creative process studios use to churn out animation.

If you read the original argument, the debate it fires up is the uphill battle for girl-centric animation. To be perfectly honest, I am representing Team Switzerland in that particular fight, because I believe that if you have a good story with good characters, it shouldn't matter if it's girl-centric or boy-centric. Now I know what you're thinking - "But Matt, why than are you inserting your thoughts on this video?" That's a very good question, boys and girls.

The quote I referenced brings up a highly frustrating fact of life if you are a person who wants to bring your animated ideas to the big, small, or mobile screen: you have to march into a big, gray room and throw yourself, and your concept, at the mercy of a board of executives who are less interested in filling their timeslots with entertaining animation that brings something for every viewer to enjoy, and more interested in selling product or filling a demographic need. I don't remember exactly where or when I read this, but I actually read that one of the big studios actually brings in a representative from the merchandise department who can shoot down an idea because it won't sell enough T-shirts or stuffed animals or whatever the hell else.

0:24 - Couldn't have put it better myself, Yogurt.

To sum up my frustrations, what we have here is what's supposed to be an inherently creative industry, full of suits who are more interested in making a buck and satisfying either demographics or advertisers... maybe both... than actually making good, quality animated entertainment. I think that this is part of the reason that many famous figures within the industry have taken to IndieGoGo and Kickstarter with their ideas. After all, on the Internet there aren't any suits standing between them and the people who actually want to see creative work. And personally, I don't want to work myself up the ranks in a studio where I'd be involved with a bunch of films that nobody really wants to make just to have my ideas shot down because they don't match the piece of pie they want to fill their charts with. I don't have the time, money, or patience to do that.

That's about the jist of this post, though, without beating the dead horse for too long. I think I might make this into a "series" of sorts, speaking my mind about the ups and downs of the animation industry in my perspective. Definitely feel free to comment on what you think, I'd love to get some conversation going about this, and I think for the next post, I'll discuss a movement in animation that I'm looking forward to seeing progress, titled "Hullabaloo." Until than! :>