(no subject)
Originally written Sat May 20, 2006
I don't blame you anime fans. I really don't. I blame that hack writers that think by studying a skewed view of anime history they can write things like "Anime is more accepted in society that western animation." There are dozens of countries that make up the West and animation has a nearly 100 year history in many of them. Do you really think they took the time to study the art of Eastern European puppet film and hidden anti-Soviet messages in Russian cartoon shorts and dozens of other equally important elements of Western animation?
Now let's deal with another common misconception. "Western animation is all exactly like American animation." Which of these look like American animation to you?
With 100 years of history and dozens of Western countries I certainly can't give you the entire history. I will, however give you some interesting trivia which relates to Japanese animation.
-According to Hayao Miyzaki, Japanese animation grew out of European animation like the Snow Queen (see 5th picture).
-Japanese animator Isao Takahata, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of Grave of the Fireflies, was inspired to become an animator by a French artist named Paul Grimulate.
-Isao Takahata has also written Japanese adaptations for Kirikou and the Sorceress (second image) and Paul Grimulate's King and Mr. Wonderbird. These movies were released in Japan by Studio Ghibli.
-Japan's most famous stop-motion animator studied in Czeslovakia under Jiri Trnka (first picture). Many stop motion animators believe stop-motion is considered more of a high art form in Eastern Europe. It is true that it grows out of hundreds of years of puppet theater culture and that it is more popular there than in America or Japan.
-You may hear some time that in the early second half of the 20th century there were three (really four) animators from three different countries trying to make intelligent adult animated films. Osuma Tetzuka from Japan, Ralph Baski from America and Halas and Batchelor from England. Halas and Batchelor were making films before the other two, starting with England first animated movie, an adaptation of Geroge Orwell's Animal Farm.
-Not unlike Japan, many Western European countries are very open about nudity and, like Japan, have nudity even in children's film such as Kirikou and the Sorceress (second image).
-Some adult Japanese animated films, such as Jin-oh, have been released at European animation festivals years before being released in Japan.
-In recent years Europe has developed growing renaissance of intelligent adult animated films such as Triplets of Belville, Renaissance (fourth image), Peu[s] de Noir, Princess and Free Jimmy.
I don't blame you anime fans. I really don't. I blame that hack writers that think by studying a skewed view of anime history they can write things like "Anime is more accepted in society that western animation." There are dozens of countries that make up the West and animation has a nearly 100 year history in many of them. Do you really think they took the time to study the art of Eastern European puppet film and hidden anti-Soviet messages in Russian cartoon shorts and dozens of other equally important elements of Western animation?
Now let's deal with another common misconception. "Western animation is all exactly like American animation." Which of these look like American animation to you?
With 100 years of history and dozens of Western countries I certainly can't give you the entire history. I will, however give you some interesting trivia which relates to Japanese animation.
-According to Hayao Miyzaki, Japanese animation grew out of European animation like the Snow Queen (see 5th picture).
-Japanese animator Isao Takahata, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of Grave of the Fireflies, was inspired to become an animator by a French artist named Paul Grimulate.
-Isao Takahata has also written Japanese adaptations for Kirikou and the Sorceress (second image) and Paul Grimulate's King and Mr. Wonderbird. These movies were released in Japan by Studio Ghibli.
-Japan's most famous stop-motion animator studied in Czeslovakia under Jiri Trnka (first picture). Many stop motion animators believe stop-motion is considered more of a high art form in Eastern Europe. It is true that it grows out of hundreds of years of puppet theater culture and that it is more popular there than in America or Japan.
-You may hear some time that in the early second half of the 20th century there were three (really four) animators from three different countries trying to make intelligent adult animated films. Osuma Tetzuka from Japan, Ralph Baski from America and Halas and Batchelor from England. Halas and Batchelor were making films before the other two, starting with England first animated movie, an adaptation of Geroge Orwell's Animal Farm.
-Not unlike Japan, many Western European countries are very open about nudity and, like Japan, have nudity even in children's film such as Kirikou and the Sorceress (second image).
-Some adult Japanese animated films, such as Jin-oh, have been released at European animation festivals years before being released in Japan.
-In recent years Europe has developed growing renaissance of intelligent adult animated films such as Triplets of Belville, Renaissance (fourth image), Peu[s] de Noir, Princess and Free Jimmy.