ANIM223 – HISTORY OF ANIMATION – FALL 2019

Puppet animation is developed from object animation. Instead of using objects, it uses puppets. Puppet animation is a kind of development to stop motion animation, not to introduce puppets in different frames, but because puppets have human qualities, so directors can move puppets more freely and show different actions more easily It works by taking pictures and moving puppets in different frames.

The Hand is a 1965 Czechoslovak stop motion puppet animation film directed by Jiří Trnka. The plot is about when a craftsman in the industry of making flowerpots devotes himself to his work, he is forced to make a statue for a huge hand. The craftsman refuses to obey the orders and drives the hand out of the door. However, this hand cannot be driven away. It is everywhere. In addition to the doors and windows, it can also convey the orders by telephone, television and newspaper. In the end, the artisan gave in, but he had to be strictly controlled to work in a huge cage, and once he stepped into the cage, he could not get out.

The fate of craftsmen and various suggestive performances of the hand. The conflict between power and individual is sharp and oppressive in the narrow space. Although the scene and puppet expression are not rich, the puppet’s action performance is excellent. Whether it’s the quick broom or the flustered little movements. In the same way, the performance of the hand is also indispensable. The slightly delicate movements and the conversion of black and white gloves make the negative role full of vitality.

The mastery of lens, lighting and splicing control in many roles reflects the director’s superb skill level.

Tango is a kind of weird dance. The dancers don’t always face each other, but show their absent mindedness and lack of eye contact. Both sides are dancing while maintaining an independent posture. It is said that tango was originally a secret dance between lovers, that is to say, it is an ambiguous way of expression. There is another kind of indistinct connection between dancers outside the dance, which is exactly the metaphor of this film.

The film juxtaposes the scenes of life in the same space at different times. In each individual scene, each person goes his own way, which is consistent with other scenes. Seemingly chaotic but orderly, this juxtaposition produces a kind of rhythm, just like the superposition of different musical instruments and melodies in music, just like the juxtaposition of different dancers’ body language. As a scene or individual, it appears in the deliberately created time sequence, from single to numerous, from simple to complex, which has formed an ambiguous image language.

From the perspective of lens language, the film is shot with a single lens and there is no story. But the live action film won the Academy Award for best animated short film in 1982. For a short film that has neither camera language nor narrative method, it really pursues a new sense of form. Compared with the sense of lens that the real film is good at, the sense of form is just the strength of animation. Because animation is not limited by the camera, so the creation of the picture can be as free as painting, and this film just gives up the sense of lens that the real film is good at, and uses the special effects in the later period to create a unique form that is no less than animation, and plays the advantages of animation to the fullest.

Harpya is a 1979 short Belgian animated film written and directed by Raoul Servais. This is a purely technical experiment, the first attempt to combine real images with animation, the results are very satisfactory. The audience was shocked, but also alarmed. He uses a 35mm camera to shoot, and all the things that don’t need to be exposed are covered with black velvet, which is very complicated and cumbersome.

Harpy is a banshee with the body and head of an eagle in Greek mythology. Its general image is fierce and aggressive. I feel that harpy symbolizes women and food symbolizes desire in the film. The reincarnation of the ending is that different men fall into the trap again and again.

The first scene in which harpy meets a man is when a man hears a scream and saves harpy. It’s a position of weakness for harpy. But when the man saw her whole face again, he didn’t regard her as a monster, instead, he felt novel, beautiful and even awed (the man took off his hat in front of her). Standing under the fountain, harpy is more like a goddess than a monster.

When harpy first came to the man’s house, she was like a pet until she showed that she controlled the man’s life. Several times in the film, it shows how harpy gobbles: the shape of a woman, the behavior of a raptor. Every time a man wants to eat something, he will appear. Robbing and eating food is robbing and containment. Cutting off a man’s lower body is a metaphor for depriving him of his freedom.

The image design of harpy is also interesting. She’s bald. Maybe the director wants to make this image weird. I really like the combination of real people and animation.

All the featured films presented in class was really heavy content. All had a story or message to address, not typical ones that we’ve addressed so far in class. When one imagines the term “animation”, we think of cartoons, bouncy characters and what not. Directing away from some animations, such as the ones presented, to be heavy political and social problems that should be addressed. I’m talking about A is for Autism(1992) by Tim Webb, I Met the Walrus (2007) by Josh Raskin, and Ryan (2004) by Chris Landreth. I thought they were very different to the usual films we’ve watched in the past classes. A is for Autism and I Met the Walrus was really interesting in the fact the artists used the aids of children to produce these films. An outlook from a child, that could be so innocent and yet address the real problems that is faced.

Of course there were some films that were less heavy and were more playful. I quite enjoyed Subconscious Password by Chris Landreth. I thought the whole concept of the film was relatable. I as the audience can put myself in his shoes, where there was a time where i don’t remember people’s names on a daily. Although my thought process is not as complex or vibrant as the artist’s, i can see the amusement behind them.

Japanese animation  is such a big part of my childhood. I can’t remember which one is the first Japanese animation I watched when I was young . But I remember I love Ghibli animation so much. Especially, Totoro and the cartoon of Osamu Tezuka. 

The animations of Osamu Tezuka are part of the childhood of me and people who grow up in 50s-90s. I am not sure do the children these days now know the Astro Boy and Black Jack or not , but those characters are for true that they are one of the signature of Japanese animation. Personally, I like the cartoon of Black Jack the most , in my memory he is the character who is very knowledgeable and kind although he personality is a bit odd however he will help everyone who need help even the person doesn’t have money to pay him. Each story is very meaningful each episode points out different meaning.

Lily Lai