Best Animation of the Decade

Elias Dancey — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:14:29 +0000

These are some of my favorite cartoons of the decade. And what a decade it has been.

Oh course there are many we left out. Some not mentioned on the list would easily include South Park, Futurama’s many DVD releases, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Blenders “Big Buck Bunny”, Kung Fu Panda, and Corpse Bride among others.

And that’s before we start talking about tv commercials. How could we not mention Red Bull’s wings, Charmin’s bears, or the strangely large number of financial institutions that use cartoons, like Principal. What about UPS’s cardboard world animations? And let’s also not forget about the crazy world of the web. Do yourself a favor: if you want to have your mind blown, surf around on vimeo some.

Bottom line: this is a good time to be animated.

So, we pose this question: what’s on your list?

Enough talk. On to the list..

Our picks for: THE BEST ANIMATION of the DECADE

Triplets of Belleville This near-silent film has some of the riches textures and strongest animation acting I’ve ever scene. You can feel the animators pencil in the pictures. The designs are gorgeous if not a little grotesque. And what really stands out: It doesn’t jump up in your face and shout jokes or gags at you. It opts instead for some of the strangest mystery an intrigue ever put on film. Website

Persepolis Primarily made of simplistic character designs and solid black and white drawings – this film is a joy to watch. The simple style matches well to the serious, autobiographical tone, because it feels all the more personal and accessible. This is no big budget blockbuster piece of eye candy. Website

Sita Sings the Blues If you’ve never seen a something that feels like a labor of love or joy – this is it! It was fun to see a film that blended numerous styles of animation. Sita herself is rendered in a stylized modern design as well as a range of moving traditional art. There is also a contemporary story, and a Greek Chorus of sorts – both animated in their own separate styles as well. Inspired, and inspiring. Website

The Animatrix This collection of animated shorts started appearing on nearly everyones bookshelves and DVD collections during the long awaited lead up to the Matrix sequels. With different teams doing each story, the collection ranges, and everyone has their own favorite. Website

Dark Fury This half hour animated movie takes place between Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick. Just like the Animatrix, this franchise micro-movie is actually better than it’s feature film counterparts. The action is amazing, the style is fun, and Vin Diesel has never been cooler. Website

Idiots and Angels Bill Plympton had several films that could have made the list. Mutant Aliens. Hair High. But it’s with Idiots and Angels that Bill Plympton really seemed to advance his art. Yes, he still uses his choppy six-frames-per-second style, but the tone, shadows and cinematic imagery is more impressive than in anything he’s done previously. Website

Samurai Jack Here we see a cartoon with a strong graphic style of simple flat shapes, yet a subtle handling of mythmaking and storytelling. The backgrounds are some of the coolest atmospheric designs I’ve seen on tv.

Ren and Stimpy Ren and Stimpy is a favorite of mine and the Adult Party Cartoon, while failing on television, was masterful animation. Overly obscene in content, it never really stood much of a chance on any network. Artistically it can’t be topped, with some of most ingenious animation John K’s ever pulled off.

Cow and Chicken Over shadowed by Sponge Bob, this clever show would be may favorite follow up to Ren and Stimpy if not for it’s tendency to get a little too loud. Why do so many cartoons yell every line of dialog? It was fun to watch, if it didn’t give you a migraine.

Ratatoille My favorite of the Pixar bunch. I couldn’t believe a film about a rat cooking french food could capture my attention. This marked a resurgence of PIXAR ingenuity. Strange to say for a studio that’s done nothing but dazzle their audience without a single stumble. But this film marked a new level of creativity just when I feared they were beginning to find a formula. Ratatoille left no doubt that they hadn’t shown us the best they had to offer just yet. And Wall-E and Up continue the promise.

Coraline Buttons for eyes. That’s all I have to say. Buttons for eyes.

9 I didn’t think I would like this film. It was rightly criticized by some for looking like an sci-fi video game that was wrongly placed into theaters. The truth is, this film is extremely well done on nearly every level. The rag dolls left in a desolate war-destroyed land might not seem like something you can relate to, but the filmmakers knew how to breath life into these alien characters in a far more sensitive and intelligent way than Shrek or Monsters V. Aliens. There is enough intrigue here to keep you leaning forward in your seat for much of the movies running time.

9 (The Original Short Film) The original short film on the “9″ DVD is just as good as the feature. This film, as much as any on this list, proves that in movies – especially animated ones – you can tell ANY story you can imagine. And if it’s imagined well, we’ll forget it’s all baloney and believe every bit of it.

–Elias Dancey

The Great Turkey Chase

Elias Dancey — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:16:17 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy this cartoon: “The Great Turkey Chase.”

Just click the “PLAY” button on the video below!

Originally created for Crosscards.com in 2005 – and still available there to send as a Thanksgiving Day eCard!
Take a peek: Crosscards.com

Sushi Ninjas

Elias Dancey — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:04:15 +0000

The above frames were from two television commercials for a Sushi and Hibachi restaurant. The original idea was to have one featuring Sushi Ninjas and the other featuring Hibachi Samurai. Ultimately the Samurai proved difficult to caricature, and still keep the entertainment smiles of a typical Hibachi chef going, so we opted to make the second commercial a cartoon Hibachi chef. This still provided plenty of fun in studying some typical Hibachi tricks. The highlight being the onion volcano at the end that blazes up in a stylized pattern subtly inspired by Japanese characters.

A small discussion also included anime influences vs. Japanese art. Ultimately a soft blend between the two was used. Enjoy the Hibachi video below!

drawn in Eastwood » Animation

Best Animation of the Decade

So, we pose this question: what’s on your list?

Our picks for: THE BEST ANIMATION of the DECADE

Triplets of Belleville

Persepolis

Sita Sings the Blues

The Animatrix

Dark Fury

Idiots and Angels

Samurai Jack

Ren and Stimpy

Cow and Chicken

Ratatoille

Coraline

9

9 (The Original Short Film)

The Great Turkey Chase

Sushi Ninjas