tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post2256905370726765502..comments2024-03-29T05:13:13.015-04:00Comments on Mayerson on Animation: Book Review: Miyazaki's Turning Point: 1997-2008Mark Mayersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00065971589878678848noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-20528558740269517312014-07-31T11:20:06.455-04:002014-07-31T11:20:06.455-04:00Thanks for this commentary Mark. I found Starting ...Thanks for this commentary Mark. I found Starting Point vastly interesting. I look forward to this one too.<br /><br />Anon - I agree with your comments. I long for an American animation independant scene that has something to say. I wish I could contrubute but I'm just a fan. It seems for satisfaction one must look to the films coming from abroad. (sigh)Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05323279336254000715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-62315556784662936152014-07-31T11:18:07.394-04:002014-07-31T11:18:07.394-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05323279336254000715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-59894052672249470382014-07-28T01:14:28.198-04:002014-07-28T01:14:28.198-04:00Miyazaki: "We animators are involved in this ...Miyazaki: "We animators are involved in this occupation because we have things that were left undone in our childhood. Those who enjoyed their childhood to the fullest don't go into this line of work. Those who fully graduated from their childhood leave it behind."<br /><br />It's always seemed to me that many of the animators and cartoonists I've worked with suffered from some kind of arrested development. The loud shirts, the toys at the workstations… I think it's sometimes called "The Peter Pan Syndrome." <br /><br />The last artistic revolution in the cartoon biz was 3-D animation, and the last content revolution was perhaps, South Park. (At least those South Park guys have something to say.) It's time for another new wave… but it won’t happen until the artists in the cartooning biz grow up and start making movies that say something besides "Family is good." <br /><br />(Statistically, one half of the kids in the audience will eventually live in a broken home. I'd love to see the Dreamworks film that tells kids how to deal with *that.* But I digress.) <br /><br />Getting back to growing up... Did you read the comments section of Cartoon Brew when they reported on Ed Catmull's wage fixing scandal? How many comments seemed to be written by sad fanboys who were disappointed in their cartoon hero? It was alarming. And these fanboys are a large percentage of the people who want to work in animation. <br /><br />People talk about how animation has been around 100 years or more, but has not reached its potential. It never will until it starts to attract more writers and directors with something to say. Animation professionals like that exist in other cultures, but not here in North America. Here, animation is marginalized. I know adults who tell me they can't even stand to watch it. It's not relevant to them at all. Here in the USA, we have the animation culture and opportunities we deserve. Why would the current climate attract any body who could take the art of American animation to the next level? <br /><br />Perhaps the web can change all of that. It would be great to find the animation equivalent of Robert Crumb or Richard Linklater, Louis C.K., Snoop Dogg or Bob Dylan. Where are they? <br /><br />Not at the movie studios, that's for sure. Nick? Disney channel? Nope. They will have to come from outside the animation biz. They will have to be independent, because the animation biz in North America is aimed entirely at kids and their parents who apparently prefer that nothing challenging be on the screen.<br /><br />So while more indie work is happening here in North America, especially on the web, it concerns me that what I see of it is not very ambitious - more like auditions for a gig at Cartoon Network. <br /><br />I think animators can do better. Yes, we can blame the studios for making mindless entertainment, but until the animation biz grows up a bit, the medium will never attain the respect it deserves. And by association, animators won't be respected either. <br /> <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com