Animators Unearthed This page intentionally left blank Animators Unearthed A Guide to the Best of Contemporary Animation CHRIS ROBINSON 2010 Th e Continuum International Publishing Group Inc 80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038 Th e Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd Th e Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX www.continuumbooks.com Copyright © 2010 by Chris Robinson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers. Adobe Flash® and Maya® are registered trademarks. Th e term ‘Flash animation’ refers to animation created using Adobe Flash®. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Robinson, Chris, 1967- Animators Unearthed : A Guide to the Best of Contemporary Animation / by Chris Robinson. p. cm. ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 8264- 2956- 8 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN- 10: 0- 8264- 2956- 4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Animated fi lms—History and criticism. 2. Animators. I. Title. NC1765.R619 2010 791.43’340922—dc22 2009053738 ISBN: 978- 0- 8264- 2956- 8 Typeset by Pindar NZ, Auckland, New Zealand Printed and bound in the United States of America For Mait Laas and Andrea Stokes, whose soul mates left the earth far too soon. This page intentionally left blank Contents Illustrations ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Skip Battaglia: Skip Man Motion 11 Chapter 2 Aaron Augenblick: Last Exit to Brooklyn 23 Chapter 3 Chris Landreth’s Psychorealism 33 Chapter 4 JibJab: Redefi ning the Toon 47 Chapter 5 PES Play 57 Chapter 6 Patrick Smith’s Twisted Catastrophes 71 Chapter 7 Visions of Joanna Priestley 81 Chapter 8 Barry Purves: Th e Puppetmaster 93 Chapter 9 Michaela Pavlátová’s Carnal Carnival 107 Chapter 10 Th éodore Ushev: Man Called Aerodynamics 119 Chapter 11 Bob Sabiston: Th e Unanimator 133 Chapter 12 Bruce Alcock: Th e Storyteller 147 Chapter 13 Th e Tricks, Flies and Timing of Konstantin Bronzit 157 Chapter 14 Suzan Pitt: Dollhouses, Magic and Sexy Asparagus 165 vii viii Contents Chapter 15 In the Dust and Moonlight of Don Hertzfeldt 179 Chapter 16 Chris Shepherd: Who He Is and What He Wants 191 Chapter 17 Run Wrake Ain’t No Meathead 199 Chapter 18 Th e Dreamworlds of Mait Laas 209 Chapter 19 John Canemaker: Confessions of an Animator 217 Chapter 20 Joanna Quinn: Beryl, Britannia and Bum- Wiping Bears 229 Acknowledgments 241 Illustrations 1 Skip Battaglia: Skip Man Motion Figure 1.1 Skip Battaglia 10 Figure 1.2 Second Nature 10 Figure 1.3 Restlessness 10 2 Aaron Augenblick: Last Exit to Brooklyn Figure 2.1 Aaron Augenblick 22 Figure 2.2 Drunky 22 Figure 2.3 Plugs McGinniss 22 3 Chris Landreth’s Psychorealism Figure 3.1 Chris Landreth 32 Figure 3.2 Ryan 1 32 Figure 3.3 Ryan 2 32 4 JibJab: Redefi ning the Toon Figure 4.1 Evan and Greg Spiridellis 46 Figure 4.2 JibJab: Th e Early Years 46 Figure 4.3 JibJab: Th is Land 46 5 PES Play Figure 5.1 PES on set of Sprint shoot 56 Figure 5.2 Th e Fireplace 56 Figure 5.3 Roof Sex 56 ix x Illustrations 6 Patrick Smith’s Twisted Catastrophes Figure 6.1 Patrick Smith 70 Figure 6.2 Delivery 70 Figure 6.3 Handshake 70 7 Visions of Joanna Priestley Figure 7.1 Joanna Priestley 80 Figure 7.2 Dew 80 Figure 7.3 Voices 80 8 Barry Purves: Th e Puppetmaster Figure 8.1 Barry Purves 92 Figure 8.2 Gilbert and Sullivan 92 Figure 8.3 Achilles 92 9 Michaela Pavlátová’s Carnal Carnival Figure 9.1 Michaela Pavlátová 106 Figure 9.2 Az na veky 106 Figure 9.3 Karneval 106 10 Th éodore Ushev: Man Called Aerodynamics Figure 10.1 Th éodore Ushev 118 Figure 10.2 Sou 118 Figure 10.3 Vertical 118 11 Bob Sabiston: Th e Unanimator Figure 11.1 Bob Sabiston 132 Figure 11.2 Drink Creatures 132 Figure 11.3 Roadhead 132 12 Bruce Alcock: Th e Storyteller Figure 12.1 Bruce Alcock 146 Figure 12.2 Quinte Hotel 146 Illustrations xi Figure 12.3 Vive la Rose 146 13 Th e Tricks, Flies and Timing of Konstantin Bronzit Figure 13.1 Switchcraft 156 Figure 13.2 Th e Round-About 156 Figure 13.3 Die Hard 156 14 Suzan Pitt: Dollhouses, Magic and Sexy Asparagus Figure 14.1 Suzan Pitt 164 Figure 14.2 Woman cursing man 164 Figure 14.3 Doc and girl on horse 164 15 In the Dust and Moonlight of Don Hertzfeldt Figure 15.1 Don Hertzfeldt 178 Figure 15.2 Rejected 178 Figure 15.3 I Am So Proud of You 178 16 Chris Shepherd: Who He Is and What He Wants Figure 16.1 Chris Shepherd 190 Figure 16.2 Dad’s Dead 190 Figure 16.3 Pete 190 17 Run Wrake Ain’t No Meathead Figure 17.1 Run Wrake 198 Figure 17.2 Rabbit 198 Figure 17.3 Th e Control Master 198 18 Th e Dreamworlds of Mait Laas Figure 18.1 Mait Laas 208 Figure 18.2 Päevavalgus 208 Figure 18.3 Th e Way to Nirvana 208 19 John Canemaker: Confessions of an Animator Figure 19.1 John Canemaker 216 xii Illustrations Figure 19.2 Bottom’s Dream 216 Figure 19.3 Th e Moon and The Son 216 20 Joanna Quinn: Beryl, Britannia and Bum- Wiping Bears Figure 20.1 Joanna Quinn 228 Figure 20.2 Beryl and Vince 228 Figure 20.3 Dreams and Desires: Family Tie 228 Introduction The Struggles of Independent Animation I’d like to say that the phrase “animation isn’t just for kids and acne-scarred teens” is a cliché nowadays, but sadly, it isn’t and I’m not entirely confi dent that it ever will be. Like animation, comics have long suffered from the same derogatory label, but in the last few decades have emerged as a more recognizable and popular art form for adults. Given the number of adaptations of adult comics/graphic novels that have been made during the last decade (for example, American Splendour, Ghost World, Watchmen), the fi lm industry has cer- tainly come to this understanding. Even the literary world has accepted comics (with the fancy name “graphic novels”) and many bookstores have even created graphic novel sections. Th at’s quite an achievement for a medium (yes, it’s a medium not a genre) that was previously always viewed as kid fodder. Although independent animation has made major strides in recent years (the recent success of independent/adult animation features like Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir are prime examples), the belief is that animation is still hampered by the “cartoon” and “entertainment” labels. Part of the problem is visibility — or rather, lack thereof. In 1 2 Animators Unearthed the late 1950s, there were already a number of animators mak- ing “art” or “personal” animation, but before I give you a little historical background, perhaps we should go off track a second to explain just what the heck independent- or personal- or art animation is and isn’t. Mainstream animations (often called “cartoons”) are usually made for a market place. Th eir content and style (the overall look) are researched and tailored towards a gender or age group. Th ey’re often genre- based, story/character driven and made as episodes with recurring characters. In fact, the success of these works relies heavily on the viewer connecting with the characters — Th e Simpsons is a prime example of this. Even feature anima- tion fi lms are made with the possibility of sequels (for example, Toy Story). Th ese works are made by studios and created by many artists working under the supervision of a committee of producers and executives. Independent- , art- or personal animation avoids genres and are generally written, animated, directed and designed by a single artist. Th ese fi lms are usually self- contained and often use techniques rarely seen in mainstream animation (for example, cameraless animation — which can involve scratching or paint- ing on fi lm, object animation, paint- on- glass, pixilation — and speeding up or manipulating live- action footage). Th ese fi lms are usually funded, owned and distributed entirely by the animator. Personally, I don’t like borders, so let’s just consider the above as rough guidelines set in erasable ink. Th ere’s a danger when we establish fi rm defi nitions. Th ere are some animation purists who refuse to accept computer as animation, and still more brush off mixed- media works that combine live- action and animation Introduction 3 (oddly enough, these same snots are the fi rst to hail Norman McLaren as the god of art animation even though he frequently fused live- action and animation). Also, let’s be clear that just because a fi lm is independent, it doesn’t mean it’s good, just as mainstream animations are not always bad. Th ere are, for example, many animated music videos and TV commercials that rival any work of art, and some people would also hail a TV series like Th e Simpsons as a work of art in itself. Th ere’s often overlap between these two approaches. If we consider independent animation to be “auteur” driven (that is, every part of the work is made by a single author), what do we do with so- called mainstream animation made by auteurs? Betty Boop (Th e Fleischer brothers), Fritz the Cat (Ralph Bakshi), Ren and Stimpy (John Kricfalusi), and the classic Looney Tunes shorts (made by a team of artists working under the instructions of a studio producer, yet each short bears the distinctive mark of its own director) are just a few examples of this overlap.