Studio Ghibli Love

From Oh-Totoro Tumblr

If there is one animation studio that I have to say is consistently successful in telling stories, it would have to be Studio Ghibli. Unlike animation wizards at Pixar, all of Studio Ghibli's films have cel animation. This is a huge feat and it explains why their releases are so staggered (that and translation for those of us in the states). One of the best aspects of Studio Ghibli is the amount of detail that is paid to simple tasks. I am immediately reminded of watching Chihiro/Sen in Spirited Away putting on her shoes, or tying her hair up with a rubber band. Such a simple thing that is given such detail. Also, if you ever look at the scenes, there is so much attention shown to food preparation and nature.

I tumbled across a great Tumblr that gives some very nice scenes from Studio Ghibli films the gif treatment. It's a nice way to see some of the artwork that makes Ghibli films so special. Check it out »

Burning Hot

Another nice video with fun animation. The paper cut outs are very well done. I love the change from an almost human form to a flickering flame. Very cool. From what I read, it is about spreading happiness.
"Ho-Ho" -this message is boiling hot- from SonyDigital001 on Vimeo.

Out of Sight

Tchaikovsky in a different medium

Tchaikovsky looks like it will be an amazing short. For more about its production, check out Joe Clarke's site.

The Adventures of Tintin come to the big screen

Film Review | Megamind

I am always excited to see cartoon films. If you have read my blog for a while, you'll know that I generally see most animated feature-length films while they are still in theaters. Since Harry Potter and Tangled are coming out later this month, I expected Megamind to be a decent film for a lazy Sunday afternoon to tide me over until these come out. To be honest with you, I am not a huge fan of 3D, so I watched Megamind in good, old-fashioned 2D and I enjoyed the whole thing. Hit the jump for the full review (with spoilers).


Grade: B

Paper Plane

I enjoyed this video by Margherita Premuroso and I hope that you all do as well. If you have time to watch, it's less than a minute.

Paper Plane from Margherita Premuroso on Vimeo.

Dvein

I first discovered Dvein on Behance. Their work is exceptionally well-executed and usually accompanied by excellent music. Their clients include National Geographic and Diesel Jeans. If you have some extra time, I recommend looking at some of their work. They are located in Barcelona, Spain, so much of their work is used to promote motion and animation overseas.

Image via a screenshot of Dvein's website

Stop is go

Stop-motion animation is really amazing. Many works using stop-motion are true creative masterpieces. If you like the medium and the results, check out this video.

Skateboardanimation from Tilles Singer on Vimeo.

Update | Despicable Me

I visited despicable.me and found that the site has been updated. It launches full screen (always annoys me) and has some rather difficult controls (you have to hold down your mouse to move the cursor, kind of weird), but the new trailers are so exciting. I can't wait until July! You can say whatever you want, but an evil genius trying to steal the Moon?—Awesome! Now throw in three girls who see said evil genius as a potential dad and I am ready to get to the theater. Oh, there will be minions too! Did I mention that it's in 3D? Visit the site for more.

Need I say more?

Rapunzel

A while back, I spoke about Disney's film Rapunzel. I believed it would debut in December, but I checked imdb and it is scheduled to release in November during Thanksgiving weekend—similar to The Princess and the Frog, I'm assuming. If you hit the jump, you'll see a few more concept images. I think that Rapunzel will have some spunk, so I'm looking forward to it.

All images are property of Disney

Superpoked!

The best thing about illustration is that people have so many different styles. One studio whose illustration I admire is Poked Studio. Their work is playful yet somewhat creepy and eerie. I like how something that might be "cute" is given a bit of an ominous twist. Hit the jump for some more illustrations and check out their site!

Surprise, surprise! Images from Poked Studio

Drip drip drop

For some reason, the rain always makes me think about Bambi. That's right, the old, Disney cartoon with the ridiculously adorable baby deer that loses his mother and is forced to live with his distant (and random) father. You know what I liked about Bambi—I loved this movie, I used to watch it daily—was the simplicity of it all. Learning words, meeting people, being exposed to the world, losing loved ones, growing up, conflicts with others, falling in love and finding your way. Within 70 minutes, the entire path of life is presented through traditional animation.

However, I was talking about why I think of this film during the rain. I apologize, I was sidetracked momentarily. In one scene, they show a random thunderstorm that scares the bejesus out of Bambi. At this point, some high pitch ladies are singing about an April shower. Beautiful sound, beautiful sound.

Beauty in monogram

This is a nice animation that I saw last year sometime. I just want to show this to anyone who hasn't seen this before. Doesn't it make you think of Fringe?

Dvein for Tocame
by sabotage

Small discovery

So, I'm obviously obsessed with Disney as it is. Now, I've discovered the blogs of people who work at Disney (yay!) This one guy, Eric Tan, has a very impressive blog. If you get a moment, check it out.

Creative flip book animation

Warning: A bit graphic (weapons, fighting and blood). Now that that is over with, the following Flip Book animation by Donato Sansone is very innovative and extremely interesting. Working with such a large space, he made something so intricate and entertaining. The entire work comes full circle. View below.

VIDEOGIOCO by Donato Sansone from Enrico Ascoli - Sound Design on Vimeo.

Sad discovery

When I was in college, I would often check Blue Sky Studios Challenge blog for inspiration. The work was usually top-notch (nice office buzzword for you) and entertaining. Today, when I remembered about the site, I went to visit and discovered that they haven't updated since last Fall. Perhaps because of the release of Blue Sky Studios' recent 3-D film, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, they stopped doing it or because of a general slowdown. Either way, it was a depressing discovery on my part. The employees used to create illustrations based upon random themes. Lots of them were very creative. Check out the past images on the blog—since it's still there. Considering that the idea is really amazing, I'm thinking of starting another blog for themed illustrations. If you have some beginning ideas, comment. I'll do one illustration per week. Expect more coming soon.

Revving up for 2011

According to Empire, Pixar has revealed the plot details for Cars 2, which is set to premier summer, 2011. It seems like it will be a really interesting sequel with lots of action and adventure. The cars will be going all over the world. Lightning McQueen with the rest of his new pit crew (which includes Mater, of course) will be in places like Tokyo, Germany and England. For full information, read the article. With Toy Story 3 coming out next year and Cars 2 the year after, I only wonder if 2012 will lead to a new Incredibles film. I can only hope.

Not quite the whole 9 yards

If you've been reading at newfoundJoye for a while, you'll know that I was looking forward to the animated feature 9. For this reason, I saw it on opening night, 9/9/09 and left feeling very disappointed. First, let me tell you that the animation was spectacular. The detail and sound were so amazing. It seemed like a real place and time. The characters felt real even though they were sock puppets. However, the storyline leaves a lot to be desired. I hate spoiling films for other people, but I will admit that the film was promising but fell short of the mark. The plot was engaging at first. There was some action and some tense moments. Then, by the end of the movie, you realize that several arguments were left without a conclusion. The purpose of the film becomes a point of confusion. Therefore, while the visuals are stunning, the storyline is too dry and unfinished. I leave it up to you to decide whether you will see 9 or not, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Film review grade: B-