Growing up, my favorite cartoon on television was PBS’s Arthur. It began my morning before school, and was normally on when I came home in the afternoon. I loved it so much in elementary school that I even dressed up as Arthur for Halloween in 1998. When I was young, Arthur to me was a cartoon I adored, but looking back since, I see it combined elements of childhood entertainment with some areas of learning and social issues as well.

The episode below is from season 14. Titled “The Wheel Deal” it shows Alan, better known to his friends as The Brain, undergoing a leg injury prior to the start of a basketball tournament.

It was amazing to see Lydia as a girl with a disability who is not only portrays as someone with intelligence, but also athletic ability. As she states in the episode, “I was born without the use of my legs, not my brain.” This episode not only revealed that people in wheelchairs can be just as successful if nor more successful than other, but also showed some of the setbacks people in wheelchairs have to undergo on a daily basis. These can include simple tasks such as getting off curbs and entering shops that are not wheelchair accessible.

A few years ago, Arthur held a special promotion for children to create their own character. I became aware of this due to my brother, Shane, who was in elementary school at the time. Because of his same love of the program as I had, he decided to enter the contest. What more, he decided to create a character based on me, in the animal form of a dwarf giraffe. A few weeks after entering the contest, my brother received a letter and an award signed by Marc Brown congratulating him on being a finalist in the contest. Click the link to see a little more about the contest and the other winners. http://specialchildren.about.com/od/inthecommunity/p/arthurcontest.htm

Programs like Arthur and other modern cartoons seem to found the ability to create an entertaining and sometimes humorous, while having a message or value laid underneath. I, for one, applaud their mission to combine the two facets into an award-winning program.

Week 10:

http://histofanimation.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/a-twist-on-a-fairytale-in-disney-pixars-up-post-10/

http://histofanimation.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/satire-in-animation-post-11/

Week 11:

http://jcampione.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/post-11-donalds-crime/

http://capgmu2012.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/blog-11-animation-through-another-persons-eyes/

Week 12:

http://andrewmclarty91.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/final-blog-post-importance-of-adorable-animals-in-disney/

http://histofanimation.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/final-blog/

As we close out our time here, blogging about the ins and out of various aspects of animation, I thought it would be appropriate to predict where it is headed in the future. While there have been successful feature films still produced today, there is a large chance that short films and independent films will begin to thrive on a new medium, the internet.

Recently, I viewed this short animation clip on a website. I was astounded at the simplicity of the short, but also the awesomeness of the animation itself.

This clip led me to wonder what road animation is heading in the near future. Throughout the past semester, movies, both in short and long feature version have been viewed that have been produced in recent years. The Academy Awards even has two categories for both types of films, and both winners this year were well-deserved, in my opinion. What I prognosticate is that short animations, like the one above, and longer ones may no longer have to be subject to theater-style viewing. If more and more individuals and creators are putting their works online on sites like YouTube and others, and such videos receive accolade, or go viral, should they be subject to awards such as the Oscar or Golden Globe?

Animation is a medium that can be enjoyed by all ages, and then enjoyed again. I doubt whatever screen it appears on, be it a movie screen, television screen, or computer monitor will in any way, shape, or form hinder its existence.

When I was four years old, I got to go to Walt Disney World in Florida for the first time. While riding “It’s a Small World” and Dumbo were highly remembered, the highlight bar none of the trip was the meet and greets with the Disney character mascots. It was amazing as a young child to see these animated people on a screen come to life, showing a new dimension of animation in a life-like form.

Looking back on my trips that followed to Walt Disney World, none seemed to capture the awe and imagination of the first. To this day, I remember having my autograph book in hand waiting in long lines to get autographs from such characters as Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Chip and Dale. While I do think that past and future generations still get some of the same excitement of Disney as I did, I believe my-age generation got more, growing up with characters from “The Disney Renaissance.” The ability to see such idols as Ariel, Simba, Belle, and Aladdin really gave a connection from the silver screen to real life.

Call it great marketing or child-like wishes, but Disney as always for me exceeded the mark on capturing the dreams of every young child. I still have my autograph book today and treasure it as much as I did then. To me, the autograph of a Disney character equals that of an athlete or movie star; the ability to meet, shake hands, or get a hug from a childhood idol is priceless.

What are your thoughts? Did any of you get to travel down to Orlando (or Anaheim) to meet Disney characters? Or did you have another moment in your childhood when you met someone you idolized?

 

 

In television, a spin-off is a show that takes supporting characters from a successful program and puts them in a leading role of a program all their own. Shows such as “The Jeffersons”, “Melrose Place”, “Angel”, and “Frasier” all had a character or two in a supporting role, and such character became so successful that the creators and producers decided to give them their own show. There have been numerous examples of hit prime-time television programs that were spun-off into less than successful animation shows.

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the three major television networks, CBS, ABC, and NBC, began taking culturally popular programs that aired in prime-time and creating animated versions of the shows. Such programs that became animated included The Addams Family, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, The Partridge Family, and The Lon Ranger. Below is a clip from the animated version of the Brady Bunch, the Brady Kids.

While this program was part of a laid-back Saturday morning cartoon, it showed some important characteristics that shows could give to a young-adult and child audience. These included: the importance trying to be smart, the ability for girls to participate in athletics, and a female in a strong-powered role. With the inclusion of Wonder Woman in the episode, the network could not only gain more household viewers for The Brady Bunch, but could also see a rise in ratings for Wonder Woman as well.

With a few exceptions, I doubt this formula would be as successful in today’s prime-time lineup as in the 1960’s and 1970’s. While an animated version of hit sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother and The Office could gain viewership with a more adult audience, it would have little to no appeal to a younger generation. This inability, I think also reveals a problem with prime-time television. while animated shows such as The Simpsons and Family Guy are readily available, there are little to no programs that are family-viewable and can also relate to a younger audience. Hopefully, television spin-off animation will make a comeback in the future, because I think it is not only great PR for prime-time programming already on a network’s lineup, but is feel-good television that can be watched by all.

Week 6:

http://jcampione.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/post-6-why-does-hercules-get-a-bad-rap/

http://crober12.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/bobs-burgers-lobsterfest/#comments

Week 7:

http://shanekropp.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/post-7-give-9-a-chance/

http://scottmarkley.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-7-puss-in-boots.html#comment-form

Week 8:

http://jcampione.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/the-accuracy-of-disney-movies/#comment-36

http://capgmu2012.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/blog-9-depiction-of-latinos-in-cartoons/

Week 9:

http://jhogeland.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/9-why-mice/#comment-26

http://histofanimation.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/a-twist-on-a-fairytale-in-disney-pixars-up-post-10/#comments

For HIST 389, History of Animation, one assignment to be completed is an actual animation. Due to my lack/absence of drawing and artistic skill, I elected to write a short script.

Enjoy!

the-american-reunion

When I was growing up, there was no other cartoon I loved watching more than Arthur. I watched it in the morning before I went to school and sometimes when I came home. I even dressed up as the title character for one Halloween! At the time, Arthur was just another morning cartoon to enjoy, but looking back, I see that it combined elements of entertainment with some social learning areas as well.

The episode below is from season 14. Titled “The Wheel Deal” it shows Alan, better known as The Brain, undergoing a leg injury prior to the start of a basketball tournament.

It was amazing to see Lydia as someone with a disability who was not only shown as an intelligent individual, but also athletically apt as well. As she states in the clip “I was born without the use of my legs, not my brain.” Not only did this episode reveal that people in wheelchairs can be as successful as others, but it also showed some of the setbacks people in wheelchairs have to undergo daily. These include simple tasks such as getting off curbs and entering shops that are not wheelchair accessible.

Programs like Arthur and others in the modern era have found a knack in producing funny and entertaining shows for children with a message or value laid underneath. I applaud their mission to combine the two facets into an award-winning program.

In recent years, Pixar’s animated films have gotten some A-list celebrities to be the voices behind their characters. Who could forget Tom Hanks and Tim Allen’s voices in Toy Story as Woody and Buzz Lightyear respectively? Or Billy Crystal and John Goodman’s lead roles in Monsters Inc. as Sully and Mike? While the rule of thumb that great writing is the key to a film’s success, sometimes a greater voice behind the writing in an animated feature can create everlasting memorable characters.

While Disney’s feature-length animation history dates back to the late 1930s, this post will specify more directly on voices of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, during most of the “Disney Renaissance.” To me, one of the first films that successfully combined A-list actors into a successful film is 1988’s “Oliver and Company.” One of the leading characters in the film is a dog named Dodger, voiced by legendary musician Billy Joel. Songs have been a part of Disney films since day one, but I think the inclusion of a singer in an acting role raises the bar to successful music in film.

 

Another film combining successful actors into a Disney animated feature was The Rescuers Down Under in 1990. It may seem surprising to hear, but some of the actors in the film include famous names as Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, John Candy, and George S. Scott. In 1991, Beauty and the Beast consisted of such famous actors as Jerry Orbach (Lumiere) and Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts).

To me, the quintessential film that combined top-of-the-line celebrities into a phenomenal success at the box office was “The Lion King.” If a live-action movie in the mid-1990s consisted of a cast with such members as Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Robert Guillaime, Rowan Atkinson, and Whoopi Goldberg, it could probably be considered as Best Picture of the year at the Oscars; yet it only received awards for Tim Rice and Elton John’s music.

 

Writing may create an animated feature, but the voice of the real-life people behind the characters bring the film to life, and hopefully films of the future will be as memorable with their characters as those of the past.

Pop Quiz: What is the longest running animated television series? If you guessed, Unser Sandmännchen from East Germany, you would be correct! The program has been on the air since 1959 and has over 8,000 episodes completed. Just as a reference, The Flinstones completed 166 episodes and The Bugs Bunny Show ran 1,040 shows. The program combined some awe-inspiring animation with a use of propaganda for war-torn East Germany.

 

 

The program was intended to be a pre-bedtime show that children could view before heading off to sleep. The lyrics of the show, when translated to English even invoke a sense of sleepiness and bedtime:

Sandman, dear Sandman, it’s not yet time!

First we’ll watch the evening’s greeting before every child must go to bed.

Surely, you have time for that.

 

In addition to the animations being suited for young children prior to bed, it has been said that the animations were a form of propaganda aimed at the youngsters. Through the use of magical machines and devices, the animators could portray East Germany, and the Soviet Union state as the most powerful and advanced of its time. While this episode does not fully express the high state of being of the East Germans, it was interesting to see that other countries used animations to promote their state of being, similar to the United States using recruitment cartoons during the World War II era.