Author: artofthecartoon

Chambre 217

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Chambre 217/ dir. Vincent Desbiens/ canada/ 2009

Here’s a film that caught my eye about a week ago. The 2D animation is beautiful to look at. Everything seems to have a nice progression to it as well. Director Vincent Desbiens art style works perfectly with this animated piece. In fact, it reminds of the bold days of MTV, when they used to show cutting edge animation on their Liquid Television series…aww memories.

It’s a fun look into the mind of the man inside chambre 217. My only critcism (its a criticism I have of alot of animated pieces), is that I wish there was more of a message and substance to the film. But I can’t really ask for that in every animated piece… can I?

But it’s definately eye candy though!

Rhythm Heaven (video game)

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Rhythm Heaven/ Nintendo DS/ 2009

rhythmheavenI like to think of myself as a gamer, but between work, school, runnning, training and working out, other things art related, and kickin it with the homies, I haven’t sat down and played a game in months. Gone are the days when I could spend hours gaining experience points in Final Fantasy VI, Secret of Mana, or Chrono Trigger, or spend quality time trying to beat Dr. Wily, Metal Gear, or whatever video game villain you want to throw in.

That’s why I am more inclined to play games that are in small doses, and Rhythm Heaven is perfect for me. I can play it for 5 minutes and be alright with it if I wanted to, I can’t say the same for a game like Resident Evil 5.

Rhythm Heaven is the english version of Rhythm Tengoku which was a popular DS game in Japan. The premise is simple, in each of the many mini-games you either flick, tap, hold or slide to the rhythm of the beat. The more on rhythm, the better you do. Just like I said on my twitter, this game taught me that I have no rhythm. I don’t want to get into a full review because IGN does it so much better:

I just want to add that I am a big fan of the art and animation style of this game. Yes, it is very simplistic, but the art and animation get their point across and to me seem very polished. The style also works very well with the great soundtrack that was produced by Tsunku, who is a prolific Japanese record producer. I know that my big dream is to make animated films, but after playing this quirky little game, I wouldn’t mind trying my hand at video game animation.

BTW, I still have NO rhythm…

Bootleg Classics: Speedy Gonzales (film)

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Some of my favorite cartoons while growing up were Transformers, He-Man, ThunderCats, and Ninja Turtles. I even enjoyed watching Jem, Strawberry Shortcake, and Rainbow Brite with my older sister. But between those shows there were always several Looney Tunes shorts to fill out the Saturday Morning Cartoon lineup. Of all the Looney Tunes characters, there was one that resonated with me the most.  That would be the one “brown” Looney Tune character out of the whole bunch, Speedy Gonzales.  This Bootleg Classic is the best of the Speedy Gonzales shorts, and the Academy Award win proves that.

Speedy Gonzales/ dir. Friz Freleng/ 1955

speedy_gonzales_titlesBackground:

From 1930 – 1969, Warner Bros. had a cartoon series called Looney Tunes, that consisted of animated shorts that showed at movie theaters.  These animated shorts featured the popular characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Taz, Wile E. Coyote, the Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite San, Pepe Le Pew, and many others. The Speedy Gonzales short featured the newly redesigned Speedy Gonzales, and was the first meeting between Speedy and Sylvester the Cat.

The Film:

There are a group of mice who are starving and are trying to get cheese from the AJAX cheese factory. The only problem is that there is a cat, Sylvester, who is gurading the the factory and the cheese. Other mice have attempted to get past Sylvester and get the cheese, but all of them have been eaten and died in the process.

Then one of the mice has a  brilliant idea to enlist the services of “the fastest mouse in all Mexico” Speedy Gonzales. After telling their plight to Speedy, Speedy agrees to help.speedy_gonzales2

Then some hilarious confrontations between Speedy and Sylvester occur, with Speedy always ending up the victor. Eventually, Sylvester decides to blow up the whole factory so nobody will get the cheese, but the plan backfires as all the cheese lands near the hungry mice.

Speedy then says “I like this pussycat fellow; he’s silly!” and the short ends.

To watch this Academy Award winning short and find out WHY it is a Bootleg Classic, hit the jump…

Continue reading →

Azeem “Latin Revenge” Music Video

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You know how youtube has those “featured videos” up on their homepage. That’s how I found this:

“Latin Revenge”/ Azeem/ 2009/ beats by DJ Zeph/ dir. Ben Stokes

Can’t say that I’m really digging the song…or the beats. It works tho… in fact I thinks its growing on me. I have to say the animation is a little jarring (apparently made with After Effects) but what can you expect when you animate cut-out snapshots. HOWEVER, there is sooo much to look at (hold up was that Darth Vader!?), that I can’t help but be transfixed to the screen.  It has that South Park vibe too. And it has a nice progression to it and I think I can safely say no current music video out there looks like this, so good work on the originality.  And I believe those are actual streets, so if you live in the Mission District of San Francisco, stand up! 

BTW, who is this Azeem dude? Has anyone ever heard of this guy before?

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage

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Since I’m studying to be a character animator, I have begun to observe people and things in a new light. Take for example one of the greatest professional wrestling matches of all-time, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage at Wrestlemania 3. Even though the big match at Wrestlemania 3 that year was the Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant showdown, Steamboat vs. Savage stole the show. It is amazing to watch both The Dragon and Macho Man tell a compelling story with athletic skill and body language only. Watch the 2nd half of this great match here:

Now hit the jump to see my film study of this match…. Continue reading →

SakuraCon 2009

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sakuracon_20091

It was the first time I ever hit up SakuraCon. I meant to do it years ago when I was really into anime, but never got the opportunity. Glad I went this year, as the atmosphere itself is exhilarating and once again I find inspiration to keep on doing what I’m doing. 

I mean look at all this:

cosplay1cosply21

Now times that by 1000. I would say about 60% of the attendees were dressed up  in some way. That’s some dedication.

Oh one note: There is a fine line between between “cute”  and “um no, that shit does not look right on you.” I have to hand it to these cosplayers though, they have that “I don’t give a fuck I’m wearing this” mentality. I think SakuraCon is their safe haven. 

I was at SakuraCon Friday only! If you’re in the Seattle area, it goes on through Sunday. If you do go, can I suggest just chillin in one of the many anime theatres. I watched a lil bit of Giant Robo and Hajime no Ippo, that was great. Or maybe you could visit the classic console games room and play some NES, Sega, or even Atari 2600 games! Lastly I suggest you hit up the Artist’s Alley, one of the more inspiring moments was just watching those artists sketch away, which makes me think I need to get a table for SakuraCon next year. 

Who’s down for next year, SakuraCon 2010?

Review: Tales of the Black Freighter

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Tales of the Black Freighter/ dir. Mike Smith, Daniel DelPurgatorio/ 2009

tales_of_the_black_freighter_dvdHere’s a quote from my review of the Watchmen live-action movie on March 6:

The side stories, “Under the Hood,” “Tales of the Black Freighter,” “New Frontiersman” articles, psychological reports, etc. that were in the comic that seemed like filler, became more appreciated after I saw the movie. These “fillers” served as pillow moments to help you, the reader, understand not only the characters in this world, but also give you an analogy of the choices many of the “heroes” had to make. Their omission from the film was necessary for time (who wants to see a 4 hour movie?), but came at the expense of the flow and rhythm of the narrative.

The “story within the  story” Tales of the Black Freighter was released on DVD on March 24, but it wasn’t until yesterday after watching an episode of Lost (not one of my favorite episodes of the season last night, but still eventful…) that I was able to watch it. Thanks Brett for bringing the DVD. 

Tales of the Black Freighter is a good companion piece to the Watchmen movie. Admittedly it does lose some of its analogous edge since it is a stand alone piece, but unlike the Watchmen movie, which I felt was more of  a supplement to the comic book, Tales of the Black Freighter can actually stand on its own as an animated  short. 

Hit the jump to read the rest of the review (btw, the Under the Hood Documentary is also included in the Tales of Black Freighter DVD, however, I will stick to the animation for this review). Continue reading →

Review: Monsters vs. Aliens 3D

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Monsters vs. Aliens 3D/ dir. Conrad Vernon & Rob Letterman/ 2009

Yesterday was that day in Seattle. The day when the sun came out and it was finally warm enough for folks to be active. It was a good day to be outside,  so I spent the majority of it outside. First at Alki beach, people watching and sketching, then enjoying a nice 8 mile run up Lake Washington blvd, ending with a bbq at a homies’ crib. But before I did all those things, I began my day with a trip to the movie theater to watch  Monsters vs. Aliens 3D.

Suffice to say based on this trailer, I was kinda excited to see this movie:

I actually meant to see it last week, but I had to finish watching a certain memorable anime series…

So what’s the verdict on Dreamworks’ newest animated feature?

A few years back there was another animation studio, I believe the name of that studio was Pixar, they made a movie about monsters as well. Anyway, you should probably stick with the Pixar movie. Hit the jump to read the rest of the review. Continue reading →

Set the VCR: Let’s burn the house down, there’s no turning back

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Tomorrow, or today, err soon ,(April 5 in Japan) a brand new Fullmetal Alchemist series will be launching in Japan. From what I read, it will NOT be a continuation of the series, but a re-boot of the series in order to be more faithful to the manga.

Will it be as successful as the first anime series? We’ll see, but first I wanted to go over one of the many Set the VCR moments from the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime series. 

Fullmetal Alchemist (anime) “Mother” 2003

full-metal-alchemist1

Many of us can think of an event, an occurrence, a decision, or maybe a series of these in our past that drastically changed our lives. A change so dramatic, that we can safely think: “after that, there was no turning back.”  Do you remember any those times? Do you remember the feeling you had when you realized that everything had changed?  Were you confident and sure of your new paradigm? Or were you hesitant, worried, and a bit scared of what would happen next? Remember those feelings and emotions now?

Expressing these feelings and emotions through art is a daunting task for any form of art or media. Get it wrong and your audience will lose interest with the quickness. Get it right, and the skies the limit. 

This is where this next Set the VCR moment comes in: (Hit the jump) Continue reading →