Self Reflexivity, Modernism, and the American Cartoon

While reading Norman M. Klein's Seven Minutes: The Life and Death of the American Animated Cartoon, one aspect that was fascinating was Klein's relations between the modern constructs of painting and the advent of modern American animation. The major characteristic that makes both a painting and an animation modern is self-reflexivity (as seen in the 1863 painting Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe (The Picnic) by Edouard Manet--pictured at the beginning of this post). There is a self-reflexivity of medium in the sense that both the limitations and boundlessness of the medium are reflected and made aware to the viewer. The artist always returns to the specific tendencies of the medium in order to communicate the narrative. Klein states:

"Truth to materials is also amounted toa simple act of isolation. Locate a device that is essential to your medium, like the texture of paint, then isolate it. Keep the device quarantined from the standard vocabulary in the art-form. Eventually, after a great deal of work, the device replaces the vocabulary altogether and becomes the entire piece." ( Klein 169)

Looking at pieces like Bobe Canon's Gerald McBoing Boing (1951), and the piece One Froggy Evening (1943) by Chuck Jones, one can see that there is a concern to design and consideration to medium. There is a self-reflexivity of the medium that makes us not only aware of the constraints of the work as an animation, but also, we are made aware of its limitless in content and form because of its dedication to its medium.


References:

Seven Minutes: The Life and Death of the American Cartoon by Norman M. Klein

|| Post by: Stephanie Clark ||

Disney World

Both Warner Brothers and Disney are incredible forces in film. Perspective on the origins and development of these major studios is incredible. Disney's successive failures before professional success. The bouts with Disney and his employes to the crossovers of staff to Warner Brothers. Considering the volume of internal drama its remarkable the amount of work that was produced, the stability of the studios and the quality of the work composed. Its Hard think of small animation studios emerging in the same fashion in contemporary market. In fact it makes me worried for the sake of independents, start ups and even other semi large organizations. For example Marvel Entertainment is now owned by Disney, and Warner Brothers controls the licenses of DC comics. These are not small studios, these are large corporate identities that have been absorbed by if you can imaging even larger identities. Obviously its a great thing that these franchises were saved from possible fiscal doom. However the more identities the larger companies are able to house under their umbrella, the more a general standard is created, the stronger this standard is the more difficult it becomes to break through.

In some cases independents and smaller studios are forced to work in the stylistic parameters set by these larger studios based on demand for similar work. The problem with this is that truly experimental works may not flourish do to lack of financial support or commercial demand, or worse yet, be consolidated by these umbrella corporations. I don't want to ramble about big corporations, there is a place for them. Seeing these mega studios meager beginnings offers a great deal of insight into the incredible difficulties and relentless will of the humans who procured them. However culture and capitalism has evolved well beyond what anyone would have imagined in the thirties and it worries me the fate of young animators intellectual properties, the currents of creative thought and the influence these corporations have over their germination and maturation.

(>.<) tim

The Art of Going Off-Model

Okay, so, I was going to start off by linking to an old post from John K.'s blog (the creator of Ren and Stimpy, the Ripping Friends, George Liquor, and renowned misogynist/bitter has-been), but not only can I not find the post, looking through all his remaining posts about Bugs Bunny it became evident I wasn't going to find anything nearly as relevant to the topic I wanted to touch on. It was basically this- in old cartoons (in this case, the Bugs Bunny short Hair-Raising Hare, directed by Chuck Jones) there is often a head animator and then various other animators working off storyboards, doing in-betweens and generally going off model. While the overall feel is concrete and even, when looked at carefully, you can clearly see the little differences and model changes in Bugs from sequence to sequence-- from controlled and well animated, to loose and slightly more amateurish.

This effect can still be seen today in contemporary children's cartoons, most notably (to me) The Marvelous Misadventure of Flapjack, and Adventure Time. The extremely bold outlines and simplistic, clean art allows the most minute changes to design to show, and while this is often done on purpose for comedic effect, sometimes it's just evidence of different artists and animators letting their unique styles show through. This sort of thing was frowned upon for some time, as producers and such considered these little differences to be blemishes on what they perceived to require absolute perfection and attention to detail-- but in effect that mindset may contribute to why flash-made cartoons, which tend to stay on model, come off as cold and sterile.

In the Flapjack episode, "Gone Wishin'", there was especially little done to stay on model from sequence to sequence-- while it was much more noticeable when done this extremely, I still found it promising and charming to see individual animators and artists' styles crop up, rather than the same model Flapjack and K'nuckles in every single episode. I took some screenshots from the episode to show.

-Lily.

Tane?

In a more sound-related post, I was suddenly reminded yesterday of a website a friend of mine made as an experiment of sound, animation, collaboration and interactivity. He took a meaningless word, being TANE, and decided to run with it, asking other artists to contribute to a growing maze of little puzzles, personally mixed music, quirky art and silliness. If you'd like to know who's behind it and all the credits, I suggest you click and find out.

-Lily.

Sitting Ducks: Duck Amuck and Existentialism

In first reading about animation I found it interesting to learn just how much philosophy visually influenced the artistic styles of the animators. Cartoons of the 1950's reflected existential themes through the animators stylistic approach: "empty landscapes" of flat planes and a nigh on minimalist style featuring dark, saturated colors and heavy shadows. Though the landscapes of animations done in this style may have many objects within the visual plane, the setting itself always seems empty and still- unalterable and ultimately false (Paul Wells, "Understanding Animation"). Always the center of attention within these airless settings are a cast absurdist characters- defying physics, logic and reason while maintaining a realism that places them (borderline) in the uncanny valley.

And why wouldn't they be? Animations from the 50's were uncanny. Chuck Jones' "Duck Amuck" epitomizes this, referencing both deconstructivist views in thematic content (obliterating the fourth in both the planes of the relationship of an animation to its animator, and of the animator to his animation), while referencing existential themes of mortality. Chuck Jones treatment of Daffy in this animation is heavily reminiscent of "The Metamorphasis" by Franz Kafka, and Jone's decision to break down both the barrier between veiwer and character, and character and creator, is most certainly a reference to absurdist playwriting, especially "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" by Tom Stoppard.
In fact, Stoppard's 'players' characters are cartoonish in action, and it is perhaps out of literature like this that Chuck Jones' characters, like Daffy Duck, emerge.

~*Katrina*~

Catch Me If You Can

This past week we all watched some prime examples of chase scenes in classic Looney Tunes and Tex Avery cartoons that utilized the chase scene as a crux for gags and emotions. It is not hard to understand why the chase is easily one of the most used gags. From laughing at the constant flummoxing of the dim-witted-single-focus-instigators, to off-kilter genius that is used by the prey to get away it is very hard to find something not to like. What I find fascinating about the video above is the use of the chase to go through multiple mini narratives that are recognizable and familiar to the modern television watching public.

Being a contemporary audience living in a world of technological enlightenment concepts like "undiscovered interior of Africa" are no longer a contemporary thought. The initial use of channel surfing at the beginning is a good replacement for an adventurer looking for the Dodo. Setting the stage for the ensuing chase and chaos it leaves in its wake. The chase is a vehicle for the comedic moments to happen as world colide and not a direct result to try and stanch the agressor. As the chase progresses the mini-narratives start folding into each other. Genres cross and mutate leading into destruction of the whole, which is very different to the classic chase scenes where both the protagonist and antagonist are alive but ego-bruised.

To be honest I have been looking for an excuse to post this, and this seemed like a good enough time as any.
-Ben

Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-... That's all, folks

Porky Pig was designed in 1935 by animator Bob Clampet. Porky the pig had a minor role in the film I Haven't Got a hat. During this time Porky's stutter became famous. The man behind the stutter was Joe Dougherty who actaully had a stuttering problem. The stutter became a nuisance, the production costs of recording became expensive and

would take hours. Mel Blanc took Doughetry's place where he continued using the

stutter. Blanc was the official voice for Porky untill his death in 1989. Porky and

Daffy Duck were soon showcased together. You Ought To Be In Pictures

was the first animation as a duo. Porky Pig was shown on television regularly

in the 1960's. On Saturday afternoons The Porky Pig Show ran from 1964-1967.

He appeared in many other programs like , Porky Pig and Friends , a film shown

in art and college theaters , Porky Pig in Hollywood, later in the 1990's in

Tiny Toon Adventures.

-Arianna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porky_Pig

"Hmm that's funny, just all of a sudden I don't quite feel like myself!"

                                        Clip from "Duck Amuck". Image was taken from www.thelmagazine.com

The classic Daffy Duck episode, “Duck Amuck” is a cartoon both hilarious to cartoon lovers, and terrifying to cartoon ducks! The cartoon originally starts off as a spoof of “The Three Musketeers”, starring Daffy Duck. He lunges into the first scene, with his rapier in hand, and shouts “Stand back Musketeers! They shall sample my blade!” and begins to humorously duel with himself. But SUDDENLY! He finds himself in the middle of a blank page, and gestures for the illustrator to bring the original scenery back. But to Daffy’s discontent, the illustrator doesn’t bring back the original scenery, and instead, throughout the rest of the cartoon, tortures Daffy with a series of scene changes, sound effect alterations, and other various slapstick antics. The cartoon was produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, and directed by Chuck Jones (one of the major cartoonists and directors of the day). Chuck Jones chose this plot revolving around random scene changes, for both comical and philosophical reasons. He wanted to prove a point, that a cartoon character can be recognizable simply by his or her personality, even if their voice, or physical appearance changes. Forty-one years after it’s initial release in 1953, “Duck Amuck” was nominated #2 in the “50 Greatest Cartoons of All Time”.   

-Jon 

"Ain't I a Stinker?"

Chuck Jones is the only director to have three films deemed "culturally significant" by the United States and selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.

Among these films is "Duck Amuck" (among "What's Opera, Doc?" and "One Froggy Evening"). The movie was released in 1953, during what is generally considered Warner Bros.' golden age. And, truly, it is a masterpiece--at least in my book.

In this short, Chuck Jones plays with the very essential elements of an animated cartoon. What distinguishes a character? How does he interact with his space? Can there be a space without a character, and, vice versa, can there be a character without a space?

It seems to me, as a viewer, that Daffy Duck's presence as a character remains in tact from the beginning to the end of the short, despite being erased, redressed, and, generally, driven to his limits.

I also like Jones' touch in even challenging our notion of certain sound effects. For example, when Daffy strums at the guitar, it makes the sound of a machine gun firing.

In breaking the fourth wall, and subverting our expectations of how characters live in an animated feature, Daffy's character becomes more real and believable. Though the backgrounds and spaces and be recreated and modified, our perception of him as a real character is untarnished--perhaps even strengthened. He exists independent of his surroundings. The only thing that might call that into question is the fact there is an animator that created him. But seeing as it is Bugs Bunny at the end of "Duck Amuck," Jones even subverts the authority of the animator--himself.

If you enjoyed the animation vs. animator theme, and you'd like to see Bugs Bunny in the lead role, have a look "Rabbit Rampage", also by Chuck Jones.

--Erik

Dali Tribute

Appropriately set to a song titled "Dali" from Bernard Fevre's 2009 album The Strange New World Of Bernard Fevre, a youtube video plays Warner Bros. 1938 short film Porky in Wackyland and its 1949 color remake Dough for the Do-Do side-by-side to easily compare the changes made. Taking place in a Salvador Dali inspired world, the introduction of color allows for more obvious references to Dali's work in Dough for the Do-Do. The title screen may be the greatest edit to point out the Dali references in the remake. (see above). Melting clocks hang on a clothesline in Dali's signature desolate, mountainous landscape, a drastic change from the black background and animated Porky selling newspapers in the original Porky in Wackyland. Substitutions for objects in the background make the transition from surreal to Dali-esque, for example: giant mushrooms are substituted with rock statues and giant skeletons, an igloo is substituted with a half-buried guitar, and angular sculptures are substituted with more fluid, ambiguous shapes. Dali's famous clocks appear multiple times in the remake in the forms of stop watches, grandfather clocks, and sundials. While the first film may have made suggestions towards Dali's work, the remake seems to be more of a tribute to it.


-Melanie-

A brief history of the Warner Brother's and the Looney Tunes

The Warner (Wonskolaser) Brothers, who were born in Poland, started in the movie business by opening a small theater in 1903. Harry (born Hirsch), Albert (born Abraham) and Sam (born Schmuel) called their theater The Cascade, in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Then in 1904, the brothers, now including Jack (born Jacob), started began a a company that distributed films. This soon lead the brothers to Hollywood, where in 1912, they opened the Warner Brother's Studio. Sam and Jack worked in California, producing films, while Harry and Albert kept track of finances in New York. The first film the brother's made was My Four Years In Germany, based of the story by James W. Gerard. In 1923, Harry was given a loan and the brother's opened Warner Brother's Pictures, Incorporated.
The big thing that gave Warner Brother's some buzz was Rin Tin Tin, a dog brought back from a bombed kennel in France, after war. After the first Rin Tin Tin film, the dog became a star and household name. However, Warner Brother's was still not recognized as highly as the brothers wanted. It wasn't until the 1930's that Warner Studio's started using animation to gain an audience. The studio used Herman and Ising Studio's, who had been making Silly Symphonies for Disney. Herman and Ising made a sister series called Merrie Melodies for Warner Brother's. In 1933, Herman and Ising left Leon Schlesinger, who continued the Merrie Melodies alone. Later, Schlesinger was teamed up with Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, Robert (Bob) Clampett and Chuck Jones. This team brought us the Looney Tunes characters we know and love today.
In 1955, the Looney Tunes series was broadcast on television. The short were heavily edited for content. There could be no racial slurs or stereotypes, no violence and no depiction of "questionable items" (such as pills or alcohol). The series ended in 1986, but re-runs of the show were immediately aired in 1987 until 1996, when the movie Space Jam was released. Since then, Looney Tunes has be re-run on several of the networks owed by Warner Brother's Studios, such as Cartoon Network.

Source 1
Looney Tunes Offical Site

|-Kelly-|

What's Up Doc?

The creation of Bugs Bunny stemmed from the Disney character Max Hare, a popular 1930s Disney figure who received an Academy Award in 1934. The first cartoon involving Bugs was a short film directed by Ben Hardaway (who's childhood nickname had been Bugs) and Cal Dalton in 1938 called Porky's Hare Hunt. In this cartoon, Bugs is not afraid of being hunted down, but instead makes a game out of it. In his second cartoon, Prest-O Change-O, he is a magician's rabbit, but the magician is absent from the script.
Soon came Elmer Fudd, to hunt Bugs, appearing in the short, Elmer's Candid Camera. The two are still playing their way through episodes today. The personality that we know as Bugs Bunny originated in the short film Wild Hare, in which Bugs first inquires, "What's up, Doc?" It is in this episode, most experts say that Bugs achieved full character, looking and sounding like he does today. It wasin't until his 7th short that he receive the name Bugs Bunny. By 1941 he had achieved an iconic status, and would go on to be in Loony Tunes and Merry Melodies. In 1942, Bugs received more prominent teeth and a rounder head. He was involved in a US war bonds commercial and a cartoon that is no longer distributed due to improper content. Bugs is still popular today, and claims a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Post by Luke

info: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/52404/the_history_of_bugs_bunny_the_complete_pg2.html?cat=39

image: http://www.toutlecine.com/images/star/0025/00250910-bugs-bunny.html