Pop Cultural Literacy 101: Summer Screening Series At Woodbury

Spike Jones and Doodles Weaver
Spike Jones: Clink, Clink Another Drink
Spike Jones: Pass The Biscuits Mirandy
Doodles Weaver: A Day With Doodles
I've written before about the creative explosion in the arts that occurred around the first half of the 20th century. It always surprises me when I meet a college student who is studying animation who doesn't know anything about the music that came before the Beatles or movies before Star Wars. This Summer, thanks to Woodbury University and the Walter Lantz Foundation, I have a chance to share the work of some of the most amazing entertainers who ever lived with a new generation of artists.


Maria Callas
Maria Callas: Habanera From Bizet's Carmen
The Golden Age animators knew and loved these performers. They studied them and incorporated elements of their style and caricatures of them into their cartoons. There is a lot to learn from this old stuff. The first thing you will learn is that it is surprisingly skillful and entertaining. Isn't that something you want your animation to be?


Buck Owens
Buck Owens: I've Got A Tiger By The Tail
Buck Owens: Foolin' Around
Another thing you'll discover is that the music of the 20th century is unbelievably diverse. Today, we have a million names to describe basically the same type of music. Back then, the names defined a myriad of sounds... country, opera, jazz, folk, blues, rock and roll... more kinds of music than existed in any other time period. We'll sample a little bit of this ocean of great stuff in a series of screenings this Summer at Woodbury.


Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway: The Reefer Man
Cab Calloway: Minnie the Moocher
In this post, I've given you an idea of the musical performers you'll discover at these screenings, but there's much more... rare examples of dance, comedy, drama... all kinds of entertainment that directly applies to your work as an animator... up on the big screen the way they were intended to be seen. I'll tell you more as the time gets nearer. Mark these dates down on your calendar, and plan to attend. It's FREE to students, the animation community and the general public courtesy of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, Woodbury University and the Walter Lantz Foundation.


Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters: Hoochie Coochie Man
Muddy Waters: I Can't Be Satisfied
Pop Cultural Literacy 101
A Series of Summer Screenings
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Friday, August 14th, 2009
September Date To Be Announced
Short Subjects Start At 7pm, The Feature Film Starts At 8:30.
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)


Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck: Take The A Train
Dave Brubeck: It's A Raggy Waltz

See you at Woodbury this Summer!

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
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Welcome Danny Young

Danny Young, a technical animator at Rhythm & Hues, has become a familiar face volunteering at the Animation Archive and ASIFA events. Last night, the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood appointed him to join them on the Board. Danny will be representing ASIFA-Hollywood to the video game industry. Well deserved. Congratulations, Danny!


Henry Selick with Danny Young at the Annie Awards

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MAY 21: Little Mermaid Reunion

ASIFA-Hollywood Proudly Presents
The Little Mermaid Twentieth Anniversary Reunion
Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium
Woodbury University
7500 Glenoaks Bl, Burbank, California
Thursday, May 21, 2009 7-10 PM


Special guests for the panels will include the film's writers and directors John Musker & Ron Clements, animators Andreas Deja (King Triton), Mark Henn (Ariel), Duncan Marjoribanks (Sebastian), Reuben Aquino (Ursula) and Tina Price (CAPS system and early CGI). The panel will be moderated by animator Tom Sito.

Reservations are not required for this event. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of ASIFA-Hollywood and students of Woodbury admitted free; non-members $10. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Parking is free. Woodbury University is located at 7500 Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91510-7846.

Proceeds from this program will benefit the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.

This event is made possible by a generous grant from the Walter Lantz Foundation

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Screening: Battle for Terra

ASIFA-Hollywood invites members and a guest to a special screening of...

BATTLE FOR TERRA
Thursday, April 30, 2009 7:30pm
Arclight Hollywood Cinema
6360 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

MEMBERS ONLY. Q & A with Director Aristomenis Tsirbas immediately following the screening. The deadline to RSVP is Monday, April 27, 2009. Members, see your email box for RSVP info.

ABOUT THE FILM

When the peaceful inhabitants of the beautiful planet Terra come under attack from the last surviving members of humanity adrift in an aging spaceship, the stage is set for an all-out war between the two races for control of the planet. But will an unlikely friendship between a rebellious young Terrian (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) and an injured human pilot (Luke Wilson) somehow convince their leaders that war is not the answer?

A CG-animated science fiction action adventure, Battle for Terra is directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas (The Freak, Terra) from a screenplay by Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Jungle Book 2) and Tsirbas. The film is voiced by an all-star cast including Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, Brian Cox, David Cross, Justin Long, Amanda Peet, Dennis Quaid, Chris Evans, James Garner, Danny Glover and more. The film is produced by Keith Calder, Ryan Colucci, Dane Allan Smith and Jessica Wu, with original music by Abel Korzeniowski. The film's editors are J. Kathleen Gibson and Jim May.

Living in perfect harmony in gravity-defying cities above the clouds, the inhabitants of the planet Terra are complete strangers to war. So when Terra is invaded by human beings fleeing a civil war and environmental catastrophe, many of the Terrians at first welcome the invaders as gods. Only the feisty young Mala (Evan Rachel Wood) fights back, luring one of the invading spacecrafts to destruction after her father is abducted, then rescuing its pilot- a human named Jim (Luke Wilson).

In return for saving his life, Jim promises to help Mala find her father, taking her on a perilous journey to the Ark- the humans' aging mother ship. Along the way, Mala and Jim learn that their people really aren't so different from one another. But with the Earthforce army poised to invade Terra and render it uninhabitable for Terrians, Mala and Jim must find a way to help the two races coexist- before it's too late.

85 min. / PG / In RealD 3D
http://www.battleforterra.com
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Animation Salon: SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT! March 21

Woodbury University has graciously invited ASIFA-Hollywood to host events at their newly opened Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium. These events are free and open to the animation community.

AN ANIMATION SALON
Saturday, March 21st, 2009 7:30pm
Admission FREE
Woodbury University
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510


Jean Francois de Troy, "Reading from Moliere" 1728
On Saturday, March 21st at 7:30pm, we will be holding an Animation Salon to encourage animated filmmakers to...

SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!
Yesterday at Animation Nation, Don Bluth asked, "How did traditional animation come to be viewed by almost every American household as children's entertainment?"

It's a good question... one that we will be discussing this Saturday March 21st at 7:30pm at Woodbury University.

Animation didn't start out as a vehicle for fairy tales and trite moral platitudes. Pioneers like Winsor McCay saw animation as an outgrowth of print cartooning, a powerful medium for challenging social comment going all the way back to Thomas Nast.

In the years since McCay, animation has proven itself to be effective for education and persuasion. Animated propaganda films helped to win World War II, and animated commercials have sold billions of dollars worth of products.


In some countries, animation is a powerful tool of persuasion and enlightenment. Even though animation is by its very nature collaborative, some filmmakers have been able to use it as a medium of personal expression.

Why has it come to be perceived as children's entertainment then?

Not that children's entertainment is necessarily a bad thing. There have been animators who have pushed the envelope to create kids' TV that not only entertains, but has something interesting to say as well. But on the whole, animation that has a point is the exception, not the rule.

This Saturday, we will be screening some examples of animated films that successfully merge entertainment with meaningful comment on life and the world around us.

Some of them take a wide ranging view, tackling immense subjects...

...Others take the opposite approach, using a small scale to make a large point. Both are valid.

But when it comes to feature animation, films with something to say are as rare as hen's teeth. Sprinkled in amongst the talking dogs and fairy tale princesses are occasional sparks of life. But often those sparks are extinguished before the film even reaches the theater.

For instance, do you know about the hidden link between Disney's Fox and the Hound...

...and Ralph Bakshi's Coonskin?

You'll find out the secret if you attend ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Salon at Woodbury this Saturday night!

Don't miss it!

Here as a little sneak peek is a clip from Bakshi's Coonskin. This sequence was designed by Mark Kausler and animated by Charlie Downs and John Walker. Here is a bit of Mark Kausler's storyboard for the sequence...


And here is the sequence as it appears in the film...

Malcolm the Cockroach
from Ralph Bakshi's "Coonskin" (1975)
(Quicktime 7 / 6.5 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

We'll be discussing and screening examples related to these and many more topics at Woodbury University on March 21st. I hope you can join us.

Animation Salon: SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!
Saturday, March 21st, 2009 7:30pm
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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Animation Salon: Acting For Animation Feb 21st

Woodbury University has graciously invited ASIFA-Hollywood to host events at their newly opened Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium. For the next several months, the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive will be hosting Animation Salons on the third Saturday evening of every month. These events are free and open to the animation community.

AN ANIMATION SALON


Jean Francois de Troy, "Reading from Moliere" 1728
On Saturday, February 21st at 8pm, we will be holding an Animation Salon on the subject of...

Acting For Animation
What is "acting"? What constitutes a well acted performance?



What are the differences between acting for animation and acting in live action?



Are there things that can be done in live action that can't be done effectively in animation?



Are there are other ways to convey mood, emotion and personality besides acting?



What sort of inspiration did golden age animators look to for creating an animated performance? What do these models of pantomime acting have to inform modern animation?

Who was the greatest actor of all time? Was it John Barrymore who received acclaim for his performances in Hamlet and Richard III?



...Or was it the "wascaly wabbit", Bugs Bunny?






Acting For Animation
John Barrymore "Twentieth Century (1934)
Bugs Bunny in "Tortoise Wins By A Hare" (1943)
(Quicktime 7 / 6.7 MB)

PLEASE NOTE The text and media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Blog are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood.

We'll be discussing and screening examples related to these and many more topics at Woodbury University on February 21st. I hope you can join us.

SPECIAL GUEST: EDDIE FITZGERALD


Joining us for this Animation Salon will be cartoonist/story artist Eddie Fitzgerald, the creator of Uncle Eddie's Theory Corner and story artist on Ren & Stimpy. Eddie will be screening one of his favorite films and sharing his theories on acting and building a characterful performance.

Don't miss it!

Animation Salon: Acting For Animation
Saturday, February 21st, 2009 8pm
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)

Thanks
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
.

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Podcast: 36th Annual Annie Awards Segment One

The 36th Annual Annie Awards (Segment One)
(Quicktime 7 / 33.2 megs)

PLEASE NOTE The media files on the ASIFA-Hollywood websites are not to be duplicated, redistributed or hosted on other websites without the prior written permission of the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood. Please link to this web page, not the movie file itself.

For the first time in its 36 year history, the Annie Awards ceremony will be podcast on the internet in its entirety. Today's segment includes Tom Kenny's opening monologue and the award for Best Video Game. Check back every day for another segment!

List of Nominees and Winners
Animation's Big Night: A Backstage Look at the Annie Awards
Join ASIFA-Hollywood and participate in the Annie Awards yourself!
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