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July 5, 2008
  One of the first films that ever screened at Fantasia was the animated adaptation of Katsuhiro's Otomo's Memories, produced by Studio 4°C. Over the years, the studio has produced some notable feature-length narratives and shorts in omnibus films, including but not limited to Cat Soup, The Animatrix, Mind Game, Tekkon Kinkreet, and Batman: Gotham Knight. They have a powerhouse of talent that has allowed them to create some of the most interesting animation anywhere.In Kenji Ishimaru's 2007 interview with studio CEO Eiko Tanaka, she mentions that all of this hard work was to get to one point: to be profitable enough to create what became Genius Party. These seven stories are as distinct as they are breathtaking. Shanghai Dragon, Dethtic4, Limit Cycle and the opening sequence Genius Party (also a self-contained short) are the shorts that are seared into my brain. Almost every short has perfect pacing, a great aesthetic, and an interesting story. The project grew large enough that this is the first of two omnibus films, the other being Genius Party Beyond. I'm looking forward to seeing it. Genius Party plays again on Sunday, July 6th at 1:00pm at Montreal's Fantasia film festival. Previously on fps: 2008 Fantasia Festival Animation Studio 4°C Genius Party Interview: Eiko Tanaka Interview: Masaki Yuasa Labels: anime, features, Masaaki Yuasa, Shinichiro Watanabe, Shoji Kawamori, shorts, Studio 4C July 4, 2008
 If you live in Japan and are tired of using your Nintendo DS for nothing more than playing games, it's time to rejoice. For only $40 (3,980 yen) you can buy yourself a starter kit with adapter, card reader, and a 512MB microSD card that will transform your gaming handheld into an anime paradise! DSvision is marketing the hardware package to support it's new download service, online and available now. 20 minute animated programs sell for $2 (210 yen) and 200 page manga volumes will run you around $3 (315 yen). Image: AM3 Via Wired.com Labels: anime, download, Japan, manga, Nintendo DS July 3, 2008
 I've never been a wild fan of the work of anime director, Mamoru Oshii. Everything he does, no matter the visual spectacle, seems to leave me cold. On the other hand, most films produced by Studio Ghibli, even the much-maligned Gedo Senki (Tales from Earthsea) by Miyazaki-the-younger, warm my heart to some degree. Both camps have always maintained a healthy rivalry, from the days of their first failed collaboration, Anchor to the Ghibli assist on Oshii's Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2, with Miyazaki feeling Oshii's work too philosophical and unsatisfying and Oshii maintaining that everything that leaves the doors of Ghibli is wantonly idealistic and fantastical. Just this week, the website for Oshii's upcoming feature, Sky Crawlers posted some comments from Goro Miyazaki and Anno Hideaki. While Evangelion director, Hideaki gathered favourable quotes from friends, Miyazaki's remarks seem less than complimentary. "Those guys on screen never eat a meal. They only live on liquor and tobacco. No, they didn’t ingest them, but just pretended to be ingesting them. And about sex, they just pretended to be having sex. There wasn't any smell of sweat or sperm. They rode on airplanes and motorbikes. However, all of them seemed like unsubstantial machines on the monitor display. Even those machines seemed to pretend being machines." Via GhibliWorld.com Previously on fps: Miyazaki, Oshii and Anno parody Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Labels: anime, Anno Hideaki, Gedo Senki, Ghost in the Shell, Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Oshii, Sky Crawlers, Studio Ghibli, Tales from Earthsea  Since 2002, fans of Star Wars have been submitting parodies and fan-fiction shorts to MTV Networks' Atom Films in hopes of winning the online comedy-video portal's annual Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge, judged by master Jedi, George Lucas himself. Each year sees a handful of animated efforts amongst scores of live-action shorts starring contest-mandated non-union actors, more often than not garbed in questionable reproductions of the classic films' costumes. Click past the jump to watch one of last years winners, IG-88: The Dancing Robot (pictured above) by the talented illustrator and animator, Anton Bogaty and one of this years contenders of the animated variety, Nerf & Herder in Using the Force by Reynaldo Leon of Puerto Rico. Previously on fps: Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume One Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume Two July 2, 2008
 There is a reason Batman has his own label on fps. Besides many of us being big comic fans, many of us are huge fans of the Bat specifically. He has numerous animated interpretations and the notable incarnations in the 90s and 00s have definitely left their mark on (what was) Saturday morning television, cable television, comic book adaptations, and Warner Bros. television animation.So people are a little nervous about an anime version of Batman since Batman: Gotham Knight was announced. I am a huge Batman fan and a huge anime fan, but I won't champion one at the expense of the other. After hearing about the talent behind the series of interrelated shorts, both American and Asian, I was somewhat relieved, but I was also willing to wait for a final verdict once I'd actually seen the shorts. After getting a peek at the soon-to-be released DVD in a theatrical setting gearing up for the 2008 edition of Fantasia, I think people's fears are largely unfounded. Disliking the stories because they use the visual style of anime is just as bad as only liking it because it is anime. What you need to know is the stories are told well. What you need to know is these stories all embody something about the Legend of the Bat and are consistent with the characters that have already been established. It does look great! And the same people that dismiss the anthology because it is anime will probably be the ones who refuse to notice that there are six very distinct visual styles that are employed to tell each story. The level of interestingness does vary depending on the style you are drawn to, but this is also the case of a decades long comic-collector who has some artists they prefer over others. Like these artists, Batman's look changes at the whim of the artists involved. The two stories with styles I found the most recognizable and distinct from the others were produced by Studio 4°C. They were even distinct from each other. Selecting one of these as the first story in the set was a great choice as it breaks conventions of what people consider the "anime style."  There are no spoilers in this entire post. I am not interested in ruining it for anybody, especially the die-hard Batman fans. However, if you are told or read spoilers elsewhere, you will not find out anything new about Batman if you already know his character. You will feel comforted by the way the stories fit easily into the mythos that has already been created from past stories. Just go and watch the stories unfold, and enjoy another glimpse of Batman's early days as he tries to learn the ropes of crimefighting. You can catch a theatrical screening of Batman: Gotham Knight at Montreal's Fantasia festival on Saturday at noon, before it is released on DVD next Tuesday. Previously on fps 2008 Fantasia Festival Animation Batman: Gotham Knight Promo Video Online DC Comics OAVs Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo The End of Justice League Previously on The Critical Eye Batman Animated Batman & Batman Beyond Paul Dini Bruce Timm & Glen Murakami Labels: anime, Batman, border-crossing, comics, DC Comics, Fantasia festival, features, festivals, Madhouse, shorts, Studio 4C The latest gem from anime master, Hayao Miyazaki and the mighty Studio Ghibli is about to be released to the lucky theatre-goers of Japan on July 19th. Trailers for Gake no Ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea) have been released before but have only been screened theatrically - until now! This short glimpse at what industry insider and broadcasting writer Hashimoto Atsushi calls, "...a masterpiece, surely leaving an important thing in your heart after watching!"is enough to make me ravenous for more. Give us a North American release date, Buena Vista! Have mercy! Via GhibliWorld.com Labels: anime, Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, Ponyo, Studio Ghibli  Just a few weeks ago I was in a car with Tee Bosustow, on the way to an interview for his Toon In podcast. We kicked around a few thoughts on different animated productions, and when I mentioned that I really liked Persepolis, he said he wasn't as enthusiastic about the film. "What?!?" I said. "Let me out of the car right now. You know what? Don't even bother stopping. Just slow down and let me jump out." Okay, so maybe that's not exactly how it went down. For that matter, I don't really remember why he didn't like it as much as I did. But at the time his reasoning struck me enough that I recently re-read the comics in anticipation of the DVD release, which I watched not too long ago, along with all the extras. Here are some of the impressions I came away with: It's always kind of funny when you mistakenly get the DVD with Spanish menus. Catherine Deneuve is at the Persepolis press conference at Cannes and doesn't get asked a question? How is that possible? I suspect that Iggy Pop is incapable of sitting in one place for too long without taking his shirt off. Finally, upon rewatching I think that Persepolis is as much a tribute to Marjane Satrapi's grandmother as it is an autobiography. Never mind the bittersweet ending; from the moment the young Marjane opens her mouth to question authority in school, she's negotiating the principles of self-awareness and honesty to oneself that her grandmother taught her against the realities of the world around her. Whether she's telling off members of the Guardians of the Revolution or standing up to French bigots, she's channelling her grandmother; and guess who's the person she goes to whenever she has serious problems, and the first person to bite her head off if that's what she needs? Because of the story's geographic and spiritual location in Iran and the timing of the movie's release, some might consider Persepolis political. Because of the strength and intelligence exhibited by Marjane, her mother and her grandmother, some might consider it feminist. After watching the extras, I don't think Satrapi would agree with either sentiment. Persepolis is the story of ordinary-yet-extraordinary people—we all know folks who fit in that category—in trying circumstances, and the legacy that she carries. Yeah, I'm still on the Persepolis bandwagon. Where to Get It Buy Persepolis books and DVDs from Amazon.com Labels: features, Persepolis July 1, 2008
 "... Max's invention of the rotoscope, the Helen Kane/Betty Boop lawsuit, the animator's strike in 1937, the move of the studio from New York to Miami, and the eventual takeover by Paramout Pictures in the early 1940s."Animation aficionados are encouraged to call into Shokusradio.com, ask questions and chat with these two Fleischer Studio experts! Previously on fps: Labels: Betty Boop, Fleischer Studios, Internet, interviews, podcast, Popeye, radio  It's a week of firsts for this blogger - this is my first post on fps and my first experience with Montreal's famous genre spectacle, the Fantasia Film Festival. Illustrator and fellow fps blogger Matt Forsythe and I attended the press symposium and were treated to a preview of what we can expect from July 3rd-21st. This year's animated offerings feature an unusual and unintentional focus on collaborative efforts and collections of short films, from DC Comics' Batman: Gotham Knight, Studio 4C's aptly named anime extravaganza, Genius Party, and the cutting-edge showcase, Best of Ottawa Animation Festival 2007. There are only two single-narrative feature-length animated presentations in the entire fest - Bill Plympton's poetic, pencil-scratch surrealist vision, Idiots and Angels and John Bergin's bleak, post-apocalyptic fable, From Inside. We'll cover each entry in more detail throughout the festival. Continue past the jump for a full schedule of the animated films screening at Fantasia 2008:  July 4th - 7:30PM - Hall Theatre - Genius Party July 5th - 12:00PM - Hall Theatre - Batman: Gotham Knight July 5th - 1:00PM - J.A. De Seve - Best of Ottawa Animation Festival 2007 July 6th - 1:00PM - Hall Theatre - Genius Party July 7th - 9:45PM - Hall Theatre - Peur (s) Du Noir July 9th - 3:00PM - J.A. De Seve - Peur (s) Du Noir July 9th - 7:30PM - Hall Theatre - Idiots and Angels (Hosted by creator, Bill Plympton) July 12th - 2:40PM - J.A. De Seve - Outer Limits Of Animation 2008 (Shorts from around the globe) July 13th - 9:40PM - J.A. De Seve - From Inside July 14th - 3:00PM - J.A. De Seve - From Inside (Okay, who's the putz that programmed Batman: Gotham Knight to screen at the same time as the Ottawa Festival shorts?! ...sigh... guess I'll have to watch you at home on Blu-ray, Batman...) Tickets go on sale July 2nd at 2PM at the Concordia Hall Theatre (Guy-Concordia Metro) and throughout the Admission Network at $7.50 each. Directions:Hall Theatre - 1455 Maisonneuve O. (Guy Metro) Map and Directions DB Clarke Theatre - 1455 Maisonneuve O. (Guy Metro) Map and Directions J.A. De Seve - 1400 Maisonneuve O. (Guy Metro) Map and Directions Previously on fps: 2007 Fantasia Line-Up Batman: Gotham Knight Online Genius Party Trailers Plymptoons: The Complete Early Works of Bill Plympton Labels: anime, Batman, Bill Plympton, Fantasia festival, festivals, Genius Party, OIAF, Ottawa International Animation Festival, shorts, Studio 4C June 27, 2008
 I hate it—I mean, really hate it—that whenever an animated feature is reviewed, writers feel compelled to mention whether or not kids would like it. It's a testament to the fact that, regardless of what the individual writers, editors or publishers feel, the public at large still can't process the idea that adults might want to watch animated features for themselves. Past responses to this prejudice have included making films that are most definitely not for children, making films that are mainly for kids but include nod-and-wink throwaway gags for adults, and making films that kids and adults can enjoy equally. These have worked to varying degrees, but they all carry with them a fairly standard idea of what children will watch and enjoy. WALL-E is a bit different in this regard, because it expands the idea of what kids will find entertaining. When Cast Away was released eight years ago, a big deal was made of the fact that there was no dialogue for almost half the movie (in the literal sense; Tom Hanks's character did speak, but no one answered). A similar fuss is being made over the lack of dialogue in WALL-E, but the unspoken question is, will kids be able to sit still for a 103-minute film where the main characters rarely speak? From the reactions of the kids in the audience (especially the ones in the row right behind me) on Wednesday night, the answer is yes. And in the same way that Tom Hanks's acting was credited for making the dialogue-free parts of Cast Away so compelling, the Pixar animators must be given props for the remarkable acting in WALL-E. With one exception, none of the many robot characters in the movie can truly speak, and the two that do (WALL-E and EVE) pretty much only say their names, each other's names, and the word "directive." That means that every robot character has to rely on rigid bodies and eyes (or eye surrogates) to communicate and express emotion. Interestingly, WALL-E himself is among the least flexible of the movie's robots; he has treads instead of feet, a pair of rigid mechanical viewfinders instead of an eye-mimicking LED display, and unbendable arms with three flat "fingers" at the end. In sum, the movie has to be carried by characters that can't speak and are all limited compared to human bodies, and the main character is in some ways the most limited. And it works, thanks to Pixar's careful application of animation's twin traditions of pantomime and bringing inanimate objects to life. There are several references in WALL-E to A113, an in-joke that refers to CalArts's old character animation classroom. In few other films is that gag as relevant as it is in WALL-E; the movie is such an accomplished expression of the pre-digital yet universal art of conveying emotion and story purely through movement that when human characters show up and start talking, they seem clumsy and inelegant in comparison. So, yes, kids will like WALL-E, as will adults. And we have the art of animation to thank for that. Labels: CGI, computer animation, features, Pixar, reviews June 18, 2008
 It's a given that even with such a wealth of animated shorts on the Internet, there's nothing like rubbing shoulders with like-minded people at a film festival. But when it comes to festival compilations on DVD, things get a little trickier. After all, if you're going to watch a bunch of shorts on the small screen, why buy them on DVD when you can probably find many of them, legally or otherwise, online? That question plagues the third iteration of the annual Animation Show DVD release; a quick glance at its contents revealed three shorts that I'd seen online already, and I'm sure most, if not all, of the rest are lurking around somewhere. Ah, but then you wouldn't have the distinct pleasure of watching 103 minutes of some of the best shorts of the past three years by pressing just one button from the comfort of your couch. Really, there isn't a false note here. I've seen Rabbit, City Paradise, Tyger and Learn Self Defense a gazillion times, and cheerfully sat through them from start to finish again. The kaleidoscopic Collision was serviceable and short enough not to be too taxing, and One D entertained me despite its one-note gag, unsurprising animation in-joke and glaring technical inaccuracy. (Hello, these characters are two-dimensional, not one-dimensional. Watch Ladd Ehlinger, Jr.'s interpretation of Flatland to see it done right.) Overall, a nice variety of films in a nice variety of styles. Also, you wouldn't get great extras like an animatic and three video interviews, along with text interviews you can read by putting the DVD into a computer. That's some good bang for the bucks. For all that, though, there are a few things that bother me here. I'm still not sure if I'm keen on the DVDs including a bunch of shorts that weren't screened during the theatrical run. I expect to see shorts on the big screen that I won't see on DVD due to rights issues, but it feels kind of odd that neither medium, by itself, is the complete experience. Most glaring, however, is the inclusion of an eight-minute trailer for MTV's The Maxx, which is stuck in the middle of the festival extras instead of with the MTV trailers. (The Animation Show DVD is distributed by MTV Home Entertainment.) It's strange, because it's not part of the festival content, but its placement implies inclusion in the festival. Er, um, why exactly? It feels like a bit of corporate pimping, which doesn't reflect well on anyone involved. Where to Get It Buy The Animation Show, Vol. 3 on DVD from Amazon.com Labels: Animation Show, festivals, reviews, shorts |
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