Animated Films

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Lino · #26 Post by **Lino** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 6:00 am

I'm wiling to forgive Sony's inepcy on the DVD market because I've just found out that at the end of next January they will be releasing one of my favorite animation features ever: the claymation classic The Adventures of Mark Twain by Will Vinton. Thank you Sony!

Last Saturday, I sat down to watch for the first time the british animation classic based on a Raymond Briggs book, When the Wind Blows.

I tell you, if you ever want to scare a child out of their wits, this is it! Nuclear bombing as the main theme for an animation feature? Ok...

Now, I'm not telling the film is bad, in fact it is extremely good and I even consider it appropriate to show it in classes but boy, is it depressing! The only characters in it are a pair of retired old people that one day while eating, hear on the radio that a war is imminent. And not before long, an enemy attack blows the whole country to smithereens. The both of them are among the few (or only) survivors.

It's definitely an alert parable that really strikes a nerve. It's also one of the most brilliantly written films ever (animation and live-action included). Do check it out if you can but whatever you do, don't watch this at Christmas: IMDb - Amazon.uk

colinr0380 · #27 Post by **colinr0380** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:39 am

Annie Mall wrote:I tell you, if you ever want to scare a child out of their wits, this is it! Nuclear bombing as the main theme for an animation feature? Ok...

I actually recorded this off the television in the early 90s and the tape ran out just at the part where the old man has the flashback to being on the firetruck ladders during the blitz, which is just before the film goes into its final section. It's not a film thats often shown so while I was told it ended sadly my copy always ended on a high note! I guess that proves the theory that it is very important where you end a film!

There was a copy of the graphic novel in my school library so I read that to see the ending. I think this shows that the librarians at my school didn't really read the books they bought - it was together with the other Raymond Briggs such as The Snowman and Father Christmas!

I remember liking the book as much as the film as there was something extremely disturbing about flicking back and forth through the pages and seeing brief glimpses of the end during the early scene or of the life before the bomb while approaching the end. Flicking back and forth also showed more drastically the characters getting sicker.

Also in the book during the early scenes you have the normal frames of graphic novels (I can't remember for sure but around twelve to a page or so) and then one huge double page of the cutaways to the sub or the missile silos. A very effective use of the page, as well as the frames slowly swimming back into focus after the blast.

I really like the film as well - I like the combination of cell drawn characters and their real surroundings, in a way it makes the animated characters seem even more fragile. I also think the title tune is perhaps my absolute favourite Bowie song.

A very harrowing piece of work and perhaps one made much more by being so well made and having such nice characters who have to die for others mistakes, while living by a set of values that have completely changed on them. In a similar way to Straw Dogs I find myself drawn more and more to the opening scenes which are stating the themes and futility in a more understated way before we are bashed senseless by the apocalypse, and also the way in which it will take more than a nuclear bomb to stop the old lady trying to clean up and fix tea! I guess it is a similar set of circumstances that the couple were living under as they were before the bomb - then they were following the government guidance as gospel and afterwards waiting confidently for help to come.

It is a piece of work I've always connected with James Herbert, since I was reading most of his books at around that time and especially his final book in the 'Rats' trilogy called Domain written at around the same time as When The Wind Blows (in 1984) but dealing with nuclear war in an action adventure style.

It wasn't until 1998 that I finally got to see the rest of the film (and it was shown at Christmas that year at about 2.30 in the morning!) and found the way the film very moving in the way it handled the ending of the couple 'in the sack' together, so to speak!

Fletch F. Fletch · #28 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:23 pm

Has anyone picked up/checked out the new Aeon Flux box set? I finally took a look at it last weekend and it was nice trip down memory lane to the early to mid '90s when MTV actually had some interesting programming on their channels.

The animation style is very comic book-esque and at times, it resembles something you might find in the pages of Heavy Metal magazine. My favorites are the pilot and the short films which are also very cinematic (even more so than the series) with all of the stories told visually and with no dialogue. It really pushed the envelope in terms of content and structure. For example, watching the pilot the first segment just has wall-to-wall carnage as Aeon wipes out tons of soldiers and then the next segment starts off from one of the dying soldiers POV and we step back and see the devestating after effects: piles of dead bodies lying in pools of blood. I also thought it was interesting how Aeon died at the end of every segment and the short films almost become a guessing game at how and when she's going to die.

All of the episodes have been digitally remastered and they have never looked or sounded better. The colours are much more vibrant and the animation style more clearly defined with shadows fleshed out creating an even more cinematic vibe. I had forgotten how good this show was and it makes me dread the upcoming live-action movie from what I've seen in the trailers and the rumors that it won't be nearly as violent or intricately plotted.

Cobalt60 · #29 Post by **Cobalt60** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 6:20 pm

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:Has anyone picked up/checked out the new Aeon Flux box set? I finally took a look at it last weekend and it was nice trip down memory lane to the early to mid '90s when MTV actually had some interesting programming on their channels.

The animation style is very comic book-esque and at times, it resembles something you might find in the pages of Heavy Metal magazine. My favorites are the pilot and the short films which are also very cinematic (even more so than the series) with all of the stories told visually and with no dialogue. It really pushed the envelope in terms of content and structure. For example, watching the pilot the first segment just has wall-to-wall carnage as Aeon wipes out tons of soldiers and then the next segment starts off from one of the dying soldiers POV and we step back and see the devestating after effects: piles of dead bodies lying in pools of blood. I also thought it was interesting how Aeon died at the end of every segment and the short films almost become a guessing game at how and when she's going to die.

All of the episodes have been digitally remastered and they have never looked or sounded better. The colours are much more vibrant and the animation style more clearly defined with shadows fleshed out creating an even more cinematic vibe. I had forgotten how good this show was and it makes me dread the upcoming live-action movie from what I've seen in the trailers and the rumors that it won't be nearly as violent or intricately plotted.

I agree about Aeon Flux, it was amazing. I have a very old VHS of Liquid Television episodes that I taped off TV and I have Vol 1 of the Aeon Flux VHS which has all the old shorts. I pretty much lost interest in the show once they went to a half hour and started talking. I much preferred the shorts, they where a lot more fun. I do not hold out much hope for the film.

Lino · #30 Post by **Lino** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:34 pm

Fans of Ivo Caprino rejoice! A DVD Boxset containing practically all his works has been produced in his native country - Norway - and is totally English friendly. There are 8 discs in total with a bounty of extra features to keep you ocupied all year long! Follow this link for a look at the trailer for the set and explore the site for more info on how to order it.

J Wilson · #31 Post by **J Wilson** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:50 pm

The Caprino set looks interesting, but the review they posted notes that these were all cropped from 4:3 to 16:9 because 16:9 is the future and no one wants to watch 4:3 anymore, essentially. That's kinda dumb.

dx23 · #32 Post by **dx23** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 9:52 pm

Long, but very interesting article from FilmThreat.com about Song of the South and its history.

Lino · #33 Post by **Lino** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:06 am

Annie Mall wrote:I'm wiling to forgive Sony's inepcy on the DVD market because I've just found out that at the end of next January they will be releasing one of my favorite animation features ever: the claymation classic The Adventures of Mark Twain by Will Vinton. Thank you Sony!

Here is the first review!

dx23 · #34 Post by **dx23** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 5:54 pm

This is kind of an odd story, since it has to do mostly about sports, but it has an interesting twist. Today, football announcer Al Michales and his contract were traded from NBC Universal to ABC for "Oswald", a cartoon character that Walt Disney created before Mickey Mouse. Has anybody heard, read or seen anything related about this Disney character? According to the story, Oswald was created in the 1920's, and Universal owned the rights of the character, so most likely any type of film with this character appearing will not be in the best of shapes. More of the story here.

Cinéslob · #35 Post by **Cinéslob** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 6:45 pm

Although I realise that the names of Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin mean very little around these parts, I was overjoyed to discover the other day that the wonderful Noggin the Nog has been released on DVD, allowing me to revisit my misspent childhood over and over again. Fantastic!

#36 Post by **Jeff** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:30 pm

dx23 wrote:This is kind of an odd story, since it has to do mostly about sports, but it has an interesting twist. Today, football announcer Al Michales and his contract were traded from NBC Universal to ABC for "Oswald", a cartoon character that Walt Disney created before Mickey Mouse. Has anybody heard, read or seen anything related about this Disney character? According to the story, Oswald was created in the 1920's, and Universal owned the rights of the character, so most likely any type of film with this character appearing will not be in the best of shapes.

Yeah, it's pretty funny. I wonder how Michaels feels about being traded for a cartoon rabbit. You can see some pics of Oswald and read Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi's reactions on their blog.

Lino · #37 Post by **Lino** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:16 am

Ok, tell me I'm not imagining things but wasn't there an animation TV series based on those funny little characters created by Mordillo?

I cannot for the life of me find anything online that seems to mention that and I think I'm starting to go bonkers! Tell me it's not so!

Fellini-Hexed · #38 Post by **Fellini-Hexed** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 6:12 pm

I'm guessing you've seen [urlhttp://www.toonarific.com/article.php?id=11]=this site[/url] before, but just in case... it might help on your search.

On another note, this cartoon thread reminded me of a Canadian cartoon from the late 70's called The Secret Railroad. I've done a little fishing online, but can find nothing on DVD or even VHS. This was a wonderful cartoon (though taken in large part from an anime of the time, I've read: sorry, can't remember the anime's title). A young boy named Simon (?)discovers a railroad line in the basement of his apartment building and follows it with Mr. George T. Passenger and his cat. An odd young girl with star-shaped hair (at the time, this character's witchy-ness was unapparent to me: she travelled space and time like the main character and his friends, but she had other powers as well) is always waiting for them at some unplanned destination or other, always in slightly different guise. She was both a nemesis and a friend, if I remember correctly. But much of the show's elements have got a little fuzzy, as you can see (hey, I was like, 10 and stuff). Any information would be much appreciated.

Great thread idea, Annie.

Lino · #39 Post by **Lino** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 6:47 pm

Could any of our German members inform me if this boxset right down here is a sort of compilation of the short features of Lotte Reiniger?

If it is, this will be a no-brainer for me: I've been trying to hunt down Lotte's shorts for ages now.

Anonymous · #40 Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:29 pm

Fellini-Hexed wrote:This was a wonderful cartoon (though taken in large part from an anime of the time, I've read: sorry, can't remember the anime's title).

sounds vaguely reminiscent of Night on the Galactic Railroad, but that was made in the 80s...probably Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999?

Fellini-Hexed · #41 Post by **Fellini-Hexed** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:21 am

probably Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999?

Possibly. There was a jpeg of said anime that featured a woman with long silver hair in a much longer black gown, and a dwarfish, rotund creature in an enormously wide-brimmed hat. Am I on the right track (sorry), rq?

Thanks for the response, either way.

solaris72 · #42 Post by **solaris72** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:46 pm

Fellini-Hexed wrote:On another note, this cartoon thread reminded me of a Canadian cartoon from the late 70's called The Secret Railroad. I've done a little fishing online, but can find nothing on DVD or even VHS.

It sounds like it's based on similar source material to Galaxy Express 999, which is based on a graphic novel series, which itself is based on a Japanese book titled "Night of the Milky Way Railroad" which sounds like it's a lot closer to what you're describing (there's actually a lot of Japanese animation that features a train flying through space).
In any event, here is a link with some information on what I think is the "The Secret Railroad" that you're describing. Other than that, I mainly only found others like you, who were trying to find it on DVD or VHS but without success.

Fellini-Hexed · #43 Post by **Fellini-Hexed** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:57 am

here is a link with some information on what I think is the "The Secret Railroad

Thanks for that! I get the sense that nothing exists on VHS or DVD, and that harassing TVO and/or Global TV here in Canada might be the only way to get things started.

On another note, and I'm not sure if a thread exists for this film or not elsewhere on the Forum, but Ryan is a marvellous film, if you haven't yet seen it. The DVD is distributed by MicrOfilms Inc (www.microfilmsinc.com). It contains two other of Chris Landreth's films, as well as three Ryan Larkin masterpieces and a doc about the meeting between these two filmmakers. All 7 films have English and French subs, and audio commentaries with English and French subs also. Ryan is a fascinating film, though sad as hell, but for me the real kicker is the three Larkin short films, which are magnificent.

Fletch F. Fletch · #44 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 1:40 pm

I stumbled across this amazing site dedicated to the old Fleischer Popeye cartoons.

It gives the whole lowdown on the legal issues of getting them all on DVD, still gallery and you can even watch a few of 'em on streaming RealAudio. Very nice...

ianungstad · #45 Post by **ianungstad** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 10:37 pm

Galaxy Express 999 has been out of print for quite awhile....and it's a pretty nifty little movie. Would like to see one of the anime companies pick it up. (or ECLIPSE should anyone from Criterion be reading)

Not a huge anime fan; but it's probably one of the best that I've seen even with early 80s/late 70s animation and a script that tends to be a tad melodramatic.

For some reason I always remember that line at the end, "Some would say it's only a tear, others would say it was her heart." or something similar.

carax09 · #46 Post by **carax09** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 1:44 am

Hi Annie,

Did you ever get the scoop on that German boxset regarding if/what Reiniger is on it---I'm a big fan of hers too and I'm dying to see more.

Lino · #47 Post by **Lino** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 4:40 am

carax09 wrote:Did you ever get the scoop on that German boxset regarding if/what Reiniger is on it---I'm a big fan of hers too and I'm dying to see more.

Don't know about that box I linked to, but what I do know is that a DVD compilation of more Lotte works is coming out soon.

Nevertheless, that set looks really enticing regardless of it containing Reiniger works or not.

For anyone aware of the whole sordid business concerning Richard William's failed masterpiece, The Thief and the Cobbler, this deserves a standing ovation.

neuro · #48 Post by **neuro** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:50 am

With seemingly little or no regard as to whether or not anyone is listening, John Kricfalusi has been developing his own sort of cartoon theory on his blog. There's some great stuff there, especially since (at least in my experience) it's difficult to find any academic-minded discussion regarding classic Warner Bros. cartoons.

As if that wasn't enough to chew on, there's more of its kind over here, authored by cartoon-buff Thad Komorowski.

Cobalt60 · #49 Post by **Cobalt60** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:39 pm

Annie Mall wrote:For anyone aware of the whole sordid business concerning Richard William's failed masterpiece, The Thief and the Cobbler, this deserves a standing ovation.

Thats an amazingly tragic story and one that I've only heard bits and pieces of over the years. I remember seeing the beaten raped and castrated version when it was originally released in theaters (w/ piratically no advertising). I will defiantly check this new version. This is starting to look like the animation equivalent of "Mr Arkadin". Criterion! Are you listening!?!

BTW the Wiki article is pretty good

Fletch F. Fletch · #50 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 1:29 pm

The Digital Bits a nice review on their site comparing three different DVDs that collect the old Fleischer Superman cartoons from the '40s.

At the bottom of the review is this interesting tidbit o' info:

However, it's worth pointing out that Warner is currently preparing a restoration of the Fleischer Superman shorts from genuinely original film elements, and has plans to release them later this year as part of (or in conjunction with), their Superman Ultimate DVD Collection. If the clips of this restored footage seen in the the new Look, Up in the Sky! documentary are any indication, the quality is going to be absolutely phenomenal.

Yowza! I can't wait... I always loved these animated shorts and it is amazing how influential they have been over the years.