The Oscar Nominees for Best Animated Short Film of 2006 are….
- The Danish Poet (National Film Board of Canada) A Mikrofilm and National Film Board of Canada Production Torill Kove
- Lifted (Buena Vista) A Pixar Animation Studios Production Gary Rydstrom
- The Little Matchgirl (Buena Vista) A Walt Disney Pictures Production Roger Allers and Don Hahn
- Maestro (Szimplafilm) A Kedd Production Geza M. Toth
- No Time for Nuts (20th Century Fox) A Blue Sky Studios Production Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier
All of these films may be sampled at the Oscar Showcase site.
The Danish Poet (National Film Board of Canada) was directed by Torill Kove. The film is narrated by the legendary Liv Ulman. The beautiful, whimsical 2D animation was done by Torill Kove, Astrid A. Aakra and Bjarte Agdestein. A summary of the story from the Norwegian Film Institute is shown below:
Is it possible to trace the chain of events that led to our own birth? Is our existence just coincidence? Do little things matter?
In The Danish Poet the narrator ponders these questions as we embark on a holiday to Norway with Kaspar, a poet whose creative well has run dry. As the story of Kaspar’s quest for inspiration unfolds, it appears that a spell of bad weather, angry dogs, cows that slip form barn planks, careless postmen, hungry goats and other seemingly unrelated factors might play important roles in the big scheme of things after all.
This is Kove’s second Oscar Nomination. Her first nomination was for Min bestemor strøk kongens skjorter (My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts). According to her bio at the Norwegian Film Institute she “also works as a designer, illustrator, animator and scriptwriter”
Lifted is a 5 minute 3D animated movie from Pixar Studios directed by Gary Rydstrom who has a list of credits that reach all the way to the home planet of the alien character in this movie. Lifted is scheduled for theatrical release in the summer of 2007 with Pixar’s full length feature Ratatouille. The film had only one public screening in 2006 at the Chicago Film Festival. This is Rydstrom’s first animated short film for Pixar. From the Laemmle Theatre‘s web site here is a summary of the film:
A bumbling young alien student from a distant world tests the patience of an increasingly weary instructor as he attempts a first-time abduction of a innocently slumbering farmer in Lifted, the comical latest short film from Pixar Animation Studios.
The Little Matchgirl from Disney Studios was directed by Roger Allers and is from a Hans Christian Anderson story. Allers is basically a legend in the industry. Like so many of us who love animation, the bug hit Allers at an early age. He actually “sent off to Disneyland for a do-it-yourself animation kit”. Given that sort of romantic start to a career, perhaps it’s no accident that this film is in the beautiful 2D animation style of the old-time Disney greats combined with the best computer techniques. From the IMDb Movie base here is a summary of the story:
An animated short based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tale about a poor young girl with a burning desire to find comfort and happiness in her life. Desperate to keep warm, the girl lights the matches she sells, and envisions a very different life for herself in the fiery flames filled with images of loving relatives, bountiful food, and a place to call home.
This film was intended to be part of set of shorts to be released for Fantasia/2000 but the project was killed. From VFXWorld:Walt Disney Pictures’ latest animated short, The Little Matchgirl, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Girl with Matchsticks,†marks the end of an era. It’s the last of the shorts highlighting international music spawned by Fantasia/2000, preceded by two Oscar nominees, Destino and Lorenzo, as well as One-By-One. It’s also the last of the works to utilize the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), the first digital ink-and-paint, compositing and rendering program for traditionally animated projects, developed by The Walt Disney Co. and Pixar. Fittingly, the first use of CAPS was on an earlier Andersen adaptation, The Little Mermaid, the feature that sparked the previous renaissance at Disney.
Maestro was directed by Geza M. Toth. Unlike most of the nominated films. Maestro is a 3D animated film and even though we prefer 2D animation, Dimples has to admit that this film is absolutely enchanting. Toth is a Hungarian film director with a fat resume. From Con-Can.com:
Geza M. Toth is a 35 years old hungarian artist, working as an animation filmmaker and lecturer for the Hungarian University of Art and Design (MIE). Created approx. 120 animation signals, commercials and short films. His productions were successfully screened at more than 50 different festivals.
And, finally, the last nominated short animated film is No Time for Nuts directed by Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier and it’s basically an extension of the Ice Age series. The plot summary for this one is short: “Scrat comes across a time machine and is transported to various times all in pursuit of his beloved acorn.”
Dimples wishes all of these great films the best of luck.
The “Mighty B” on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon has released its official 2007/08 list of shows. A new 2D animated cartoon offering will be the “Mighty B” created (concept-wise) and voiced by Amy Poehler from Saturday Night Live. From Starpulse:
“Mighty B,” picked up for 20 episodes, stars Amy Poehler as the voice of Bessie Higgenbottom, the world’s most ambitious and lovably unhinged 10-year-old “Honeybee” scout. As a member of the Honeybees, Bessie wears her uniform every single day, leads her troop with a zeal General Patton would have admired and has earned more Bee Badges than any Honeybee in history. But a bunch of badges still elude her, and Bessie’s not stopping until she has every last one.
The cartoonists collaborating on the concept for “Mighty B” are Cynthia True and Erik Wiese. From Zap2it:
Poehler co-created the cartoon with “The Fairly OddParents” staff writer Cynthia True and the Emmy- and Annie-nominated storyboard artist and writer Erik Wiese.
[tags]2D animation, nickelodeon, mighty b, Amy Poehler, Cynthia True, Erik Wiese[/tags]
Bristol Animation 2006 and Joanna Quinn’s Dog
Our love affair with Joanna Quinn is almost unseemly. We can’t get enough of her drawing. There’s an interesting article in Animation World Magazine on a forum at Bristol where Quinn and her partner, Mills, discuss their work at Beryl Productions. From the Animation World article:
Quinn and Mills were surprisingly frank about their different strengths and weaknesses, and their points of disagreement (Mills, we learned, was particularly disappointed by the “dumpy mongrel” dog who plays a big part in Family Ties).
Dimples hasn’t seen Dreams and Desires – Family Ties and can’t comment on the acting of the “dumpy mongrel”. However, judging from the drawing of the dog shown above, we love him. We’re animal lovers at Dimples and one of us has a dog with that precise exhuberant expression of joy. Joanna Quinn has expertly captured “dog soul” in this drawing.
Read our earlier post on Daniel and Tom’s animation win (T.O.M.) at Bristol 2006 for a comment from Daniel saying that they’re going to be at Sundance along with Joanna Quinn.
[tags]2D animation, Bristol 2006, Joanna Quinn, Beryl Productions[/tags]
Platform International Animation Festival June 2007 Portland Oregon
Just what the world needs; another animation festival. Actually, there’s always room for more and this one promises to be a good one. Sadly, the US of A doesn’t have the greatest animation festivals. In our opinion, the UK and Canada have the best. We’d like to see more and better festivals here. Portland, OR is planning an interesting new festival set to debut in June, 2007. From the organizers’ press release:
Looking to fill the need for a major animation event in the U.S., the PLATFORM International Animation Festival will be a literal platform for artists, innovation, debate and discussion as well as set the stage to explore new developments in animation. The Festival program will feature premieres and retrospectives, exclusive screenings, guest speakers, exhibitions, workshops with leading artists, parties and networking opportunities with industry insiders. The Festival is being solely sponsored by Cartoon Network.
“This is an important period for animation because the rapid growth of technology changes the possibilities of our craft every day,†said Kotlarz, producer of animation projects and former director of animation festivals in Cambridge, Bristol and Cardiff in the UK. “We want animators to be able to find new answers and new opportunities with the best in the industry. Whether the animated submissions are created for theaters, cell phones or for the sides of buildings, if it is brilliant and innovative, we want to show it.â€
PLATFORM represents a brand new breed of festival. Along with being an international competition with cash prizes, the Festival will break boundaries into other art forms including comics, illustration, character and toy design, motion graphics, gallery art and live action cinema.
“In all the talk about this new platform and that new platform, no one is really talking about what makes good content for these areas, or how to grow a generation of creators for these platforms. That’s why Cartoon Network is proud to be the sole sponsor of this important new international festival and competition. PLATFORM will serve as a special place where emerging artists and talents can learn, grow, be inspired and showcase their work,” said Michael Ouweleen, Cartoon Network’s Senior VP, Programming & Development.
That sounds pretty good to Dimples if they can pull it off. Visit the Platform website for more information and for a look at some absolutely great flash animation.
[tags]2D animation, Platform Animation Festival, Cartoon Network[/tags]
Grab Your Popcorn – Disney Cartoons Are Coming Back to the Movies
The best animation has always been cartoon animation. By cartoon animation, Dimples means animated short subjects. Feature length theatrical animation is good but the medium shines in the short subject. The good news in cartoons is that Disney is returning to the short cartoon format. From the International Herald Tribune:
After a hiatus of nearly 50 years, Walt Disney Studios is getting back into the business of producing short cartoons, starting with a Goofy vehicle next year. The studio has released a few shorts in recent years, but they were more artistic exercises than commercial endeavors. The new cartoons, by contrast, spring from an effort by a new leadership team at Pixar Animation Studios, now a Disney unit, to put the company back at the forefront of animation, with a form that it pioneered.
2D animation is definitely making a come-back at Disney under John Lasseter. The new cartoon shorts will be produced by animation vetran Chuck Williams. Why would Disney do this? Because 2D animation is the heart of the art. From the International Herald Tribune:
“They allow you to develop new talent,” Williams said in an interview at the Disney studios. “Shorts are your farm team, where the new directors and art directors are going to come from. Instead of taking a chance on an $80 million feature with a first-time director, art director or head of story, you can spend a fraction of that on a short and see what they can do.”
Sharpen your pencils. Develop character driven stories. 2D animation is still the best.
[tags]2D animation, Disney, cartoons, Goofy, cartoon shorts, John Lasetter, Chuck Williams[/tags]
Krishna Animated Feature – December 2006
There are few cultural mythologies more diverse and more superhero filled than Hinduism. It’s treasure waiting to be mined by the growing Indian animation industry. In December of this year, Aman Khan from Mumbai, is releasing a 95 minute animated feature film on Lord Krishna chronicling his childhood. From The Times of India, Aman Khan describes his film:
“Lord Krishna is one of the most revered avatars and has a colourful image. While the West has made animation films on their super heroes, India has never tapped the wealth of our mythological characters. Lord Krishna has a universal appeal.” This, however, isn’t Khan’s first tryst with animation. “I have done other animation projects on Akbar and Birbal, Vikram and Betal and the Panchatantra series. While making Krishna, I’ve consciously tried to incorporate day-to-day incidents from a child’s life and then narrate the story. That makes it easier for children to understand the moral of each of the tales from Krishna’s life. Though the film will recreate colourful childhood aspects of Krishna stealing butter and winning the heart of people, it doesn’t focus on his romantic side.”
Aman Khan’s young Krishna is a hand-drawn 2D animation. A 3D animated feature on Krishna is planned by another group for 2007.
[tags]2D animation, Indian animation, Mumbai animation, Krishna, Aman Khan, hand-drawn animation[/tags]
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