Comments on Mike's Blog and Diana's Blog

Blog # 8

Rocky and Bullwinkle

"Rocky: Do you know what an A-bomb is?Bullwinkle: Certainly. A bomb is what some people call our show." A famous one liner from the show created over 50 years ago. What is so interesting about this line, is the content of information, about a weapon. Well the creation of this show was during the WWII era so the main ideas of many of the sketches were of weapons or militia. There is much we dont know about this show however, but I am willing to share some of my secrets.
The setting for this show was named Frostbite Falls, Minnesota. However fake the place sounds, it really is named after an actual place in Minnesota called International Falls. It is named International because of its location in Minnesota. It is located in the upper northern corner near Canada. The name for Rocky and Bullwinkles place is named frostbite because after one reporter returned from International Falls they claimed it was Icebox America.
If you heard the name Bullwinkle most people would not spell the name as seen on the TV. Im sure if I heard the name i would spell it bullwinkel. However, the writers and creators did this typo on purpose. The moose is named after a man who owned a Ford dealership. He had a big nose and a funny personality so Ward and Anderson thought that would be perfect for the moose.
The accredited executive producer of Rocky and Bullwinkle, doesn't exist. The crew at the studio thought it would be a funny joke if they made up a fake biogrpahy to give reporters when they called the studio. they often sent out the bio for Ponsonby Britt O.B.E. It was embellished with a life filled with adventure and excitement . the plan worked out well and everyone got a laugh out of it.
This show has many undercover secrets that are waiting to be undercovered. It explains a lot about how the show worked and why some things are the way they are.

Blog #7

WWII and Japanese Anime

When I think about animation my mind wanders to Mickey Mouse or new cartoons on nickelodeon. However, the use for animation is not just to entertain little children. Anime can have many uses with serious messages. Japanese Anime attitude and tone has had many inspirtion some dating back to the devestations of World War II. A notable effect of Japan's disastrous defeat appears in the gloom and melancholy that hangs over many films and series and separates them from the sunnier, more optimistic tone of American animation.
A more recent film that shows influence from the second world war is the movie Akira. This movie is about a futuristic, sprawling Neo-Tokyo on the point of collapse, with scientists and the military jockeying over a super-human with exceptional tele-kinetic powers while biker gangs and violence runs rampant on the streets.
A second influence of Japanese's involvement with the war can be seen with the extraordinary weaponry used in the anime. combat robots and other military prostheses that amplify the powers of diminutive characters.
The second World War was not recent for some although it was not that far away either. However, for the effects to be still fueling the Japanese animators mind is mind boggling. How the effect of a war can still be threating to those who suffered on the wrong end of the war and being at a place where war was fought.

Comments

Week one comments:
Comments on Will's Blog and Sarah's Blog

Week two comments:
comments on Mike's Blog
comments on Sana's blog

Week three comments:
my comments on Mike's Blog
I comment on Diane's blog but she removed it.

Here are my comments for Mike's Blog and my comments for Will's Blog

Blog #6

Snow White: The fairest in the land

Snow White was a testimony to Walt Disney's potential. He went against what all the "other" animators were doing. Critics said, " the audience will be blinded" and " No one will watch a cartoon that is so long." No animators had created a full length animated film, which was exactly what Walt Disney did. This film, Walt Disney, was a major step upwards for Disney. After the films release December 21, 1937, the film earned 4.2 million dollars in its first release. It proved that animation could be used not just to amuse but to provoke a far wider range of emotions. Viewers witnessing the "death" scene of Snow White were moved to tears (Walts Masterworks) Snow White conquerred many feats in its years, does it still hold that power for today's youth?

Every little girl at one point in their life wanted to be Cinderella, Snow White, or any Disney princess for that matter. However, watching Snow White today in class i was not as drawn into the story. I was not as impressed with the animation and story as I was 10 years ago. The background, or scences of the film did not look animated. They looked as if I had just drawn them on the television screen. I was not capitvated or engrossed in the film, as if I was running through the trees or singing with the animals.

Maybe because now I am an adult, and I am more educated about the world, I feel as if Snow White was in a way offensive or not suitable for children. I thought the idea of having a huntman bring back Snow White's heart was a harsh way of going about killing her and bringing proof to the Queen. Wouldnt a strand of her hair have done the same thing? I am not sure I would want my children watching such a forward and obscene movie. Another scene with the huntman which was harsh, was when he was about to kill Snow White with a dagger. Hovering above a woman in the woods, does not paint a pretty picture for children to go to sleep thinking about.

Although I just took time and some what bashed one of historys greatest animated films by Walt Disney, the film did hold postive points. For example the cant not sing along songs. When you hear the songs in the film you can not help but sing or whistle along with Snow white and the dwarfs. Snow White was the last major classic film that Disney released to the consumer market on videotape in late 1994! There are other stories about Snow White that were published before Walt Disney's, Grimms Fairy Tales, where disney got the inspiration, as well as a Snow White published in 1898.

Blog # 5

"When Danger calls, help is just one Super away!"

For any of you that have seen the movie, The Incredibles, I feel as if you would have to agree it was a great movie. The images, story, everything was awesome. You felt like you were seeing real people with real problems, yet it was a cartoon! The technology and work that went into making this movie is defintely seen by the final production.

The characters in the movie are entirely human, which is a first for Pixar. The writer-director, Brad Bird had an idea of a cast that did not look plastic or realistic, he wanted his characters directly out of the comic book, yet still looking like people. His technical team accomplished this by creating a program that used light and organic translucent skin that made the characters subtly glow from within (www.pixar.com) The model used for the background characters was named universal man, becuase he was used for everything. He was able to be morphed into children, adults, or senior citizens male or female. Two bigger characters that started out as Universal men were Dash's principle and the Underminer.

Bird was inspired to do this film but his own family, who are not quite superheros but showed some qualities. Bird was faced with being a good parent, especially after the birth of his second son, and being the successful director he wanted to be. The same problem that Mr.Parr faces as being a good parents and a superhero. The houses in the movie are inspired by the 1960's type house. The music is also from the 60's, specifically similar to James Bond.

Although the houses were similar to the 1960s the "bad" guys Mr. Incredible were fighting had out of this world hide outs. The images were outstanding and looked very futuristic. Its amazing how he can bring together so many different ideas from different generations. The concept art which is used to show these were mainly done by Lou Romano, Glenn Kim, and Geefwee Boedoe.

For Pixar the Incredibles did very well. Not only did the movie get good reviews but also did well in the box office. The film won an academy award for best animation, after its 2004 release, and best sound editting. This movie is Pixars second highest grossing movie within the worldwide with $629 million.

Here are my comments for Mike's Blog and Will's Blog