Blog #4

Spanish Animation

I thought it would be interesting to see what the rest of the world is doing with animation as we travel through history of animation, mainly in the United States. I recently went to Spain and I thought it would be interesting to find a Spanish animated cartoon and see how it relates to ones we have here. While in Spain there were not many cartoons on the television and the movies that were animated in the theatres were movies from here in English as well with Spanish subtitles. Spanish animations tend to be used more for teachings instead of entertainment.
After searching online, for numerous hours, I was only able to find Spanish animation that are geared towards teaching children and adults the Spanish language. Perhaps it is because I am searching online in America, but I do not think it really matters. The animations are very similar to ones you would see on the computer. They are not as developed and detailed as ones you would watch on TV. The characters are very simple with simple features. In one animations about mananitas ( little mountains) the mountains were simple like a kindergarten drew them. Just three green lumps. The people were similar to stick figures but with clothes on. It looked like a 5th graders drawing had come to life. This animation was used to teach Spanish but it also told a story. It was teaching by telling a story and not by helping the children or adults to speak the language.
Another animation that was completely geared toward learning how to speak the language did not have many characters and did not tell a story. The character in the animation was like a teacher but was only a head figure. The features of the person were very detailed but still looked as if a young adult or new art student drew them. The person also looked futuristic. The colors used for the lips were very interesting and seemed to contrast the color of the skin. I found this to be very interesting because I feel as if there are not many futuristic animations for children or animations with futuristic characters and not just ABOUT the future. (futurama does not count in my book as a good animation for children)
I was not very impressed with the Spanish animations. However in another article that I did read it said how some of the western countries are more advanced in this art and that other countries, including Spain, are now starting to get the ball moving. They have recently agreed to merge two companies that are going to work on animations. However the Spanish animations I did watch were very interesting and although I already know a lot of Spanish it was a good way to brush up on some things I had forgotten!