Walt Disney Animation has always been at the forefront of the animation curve, and nothing says that more than a casual glance at their vast catalog of beloved and award-winning pictures. But while people will forever remember the accomplishments of the Mouse House, and the subsequent laurels and praise, there are many times where the feature is the end product of a lot of trial and error. To make things more clear, many films are the direct result of techniques and methods tested in a variety of the studio’s short films. Furthermore, some now famous directors and luminaries got their start with a trial run – once they showed competency and…
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The 85th Annual Academy Awards – Full Winners List
Last night, the 85th Annual Academy Awards ceremony went off without a hitch and aside from some real shockers (like Ang Lee beating out Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino winning for best screenplay) it was an immensely delightful few hours. Despite what some think about Seth MacFarlane he really brought some life to the evening replete with some crass but still witty jokes, classic zingers, sock puppets as well as song and dance numbers that just made you smile. Like him or not we, and the crowd at the BigFanBoy/GoSeeTalk Oscar screening at The Angelika Film Center Dallas, thought he was a treat. But he was only the first in a…
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Ohhh, Look…John Kahrs' Oscar-Nominated Animated Short 'Paperman' On-Line NOW!!
Apon seeing it for the first time last September, when it was shown at Fantastic Fest of all places, I became a HUGE fan of John Kahrs’ animated short film Paperman. It’s an incredibly sweet, heart-warming short and a throw back to the days of classic Disney animation. Yet what makes Kahrs’ short so unique is that it’s the first project to use this groundbreaking new computer technology. Likened, roughly to rotoscoping, the animators are able to wrap a 2D image/sketch around a dynamic 3D frame giving each pencil stroke and texture incredible depth and a free flowing look. In short, lines stretch and bend organically retaining the character of the animator’s…
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Exclusive: Interview…Disney Animator & ‘Paperman’ Director John Kahrs
Editor’s Note: This interview was held following the animated short film sequence back in September at the 2102 Fantastic Fest. We held on to this to coincide with its screening ahead of Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph which opens Friday November 2nd. Part passion project, part experiment, Disney animator John Kahrs‘ short film Paperman is a wonderful combination of traditional 2D animation and CG. This hybrid style (achieved by creating CG animatics and then laying 2D drawings over those polygons) yields something that has the look of traditional hand drawn animation but moves with the fluidly of CG. Sounds simple but apparently it’s a lot of work. However, looking at the end result, it has the potential to be a…
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[Fantastic Fest Recap]…’Drawn and Quartered: Animated Fantastic Fest Shorts’
One of the many fun and surprising events at the 2012 Fantastic Fest are the three short film sessions. The animated shorts series, humorously titled Drawn & Quartered, was a mixed bag to say the least with wildly diverse mediums and surreal subject matter. Out of the 9 or so shown the following 5 were the real standouts for a variety of reasons…most of which were because they didn’t make the audience feel like they were have a bad acid trip (I’m looking at you Bobby Yeah and Follow the Sun…essh!). ————————————————————————————————————————————————— Attack of the Killer Mutant Chickens – Based in India, Mutant Chickens follows a team of expert chicken hunters dealing with…
