THE RABBI'S CAT - LE CHAT DU RABBIN - animated feature film

Another hand-drawn feature length animated film from France ! LE CHAT DU RABBIN .  I'll say it again:  thank goodness the French did not get the silly memo (or they ripped it up)  from Hollywood that decreed "2D is dead".

Trailer for THE RABBI'S CAT  -


THE RABBI'S CAT - LE CHAT DU RABBIN - TRAILER from Banjo Studio on Vimeo.



There are several "Making of..." videos on Vimeo:


Making of Le Chat du Rabbin - Banjo - from Banjo Studio on Vimeo.

The film (directed by Joann Sfar  and Antoine Delesvaux) is adapted from the graphic novel by Joann Sfar . 

The studio Autochenille Production was launched in 2007 by Joann Sfar, Antoine Delesvaux and Clément Oubrerie with the aim to make "author-driven, challenging films to appeal to children and adults.".

The Rabbi's Cat was the company's first project. The production was made in collaboration with TF1 and France 3. It was pre-bought by Canal+ and CineCinéma and had a budget of 12.5 million euro. (17.5 million U.S. dollars)

One of the directors' sources of inspiration was American animation from the 1930s, and in particular from the Fleischer Studios, which Sfar described as characterized by multi-ethnical production crews and for portraying darker aspects of society, in cartoons such as Betty Boop and Popeye.    In order to generate more personality for the drawn characters in The Rabbi's Cat, some of the scenes were staged in a Parisian suburb loft in the summer of 2008, with props and the cast fully costumed. As the actors performed and invented their characters' personal motion habits, the design team observed closely and drew what they picked up.

More making-of videos here:

http://vimeo.com/user6584121/videos

New animated feature film: "Moon Man"

Cartoon Saloon studio in Ireland -- makers of The Secret of Kells -- is starting a new hand-drawn animated feature based on the book "Moon Man" by Tomi Ungerer . ( http://www.tomiungerer.com/work/books/moon-man/) . The film is a co-production with Le Pacte Film .

http://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4283672&tpl=archnews&force=1

In March 2011 Cartoon Saloon started co-production on a new animated feature film version of ‘Moon Man’.   Based on the best selling book by Tomi Ungerer, the feature will be directed by Stephan Schesch. The group is also currently working on a pilot for Disney

‘Moon Man’ will be produced by Stefan Schesch , Le Pacte Film’s Jean Labadie (Himalaya) and Cartoon Saloon’s Ross Murray (Old Fangs) and Paul Young (The Secret of Kells). Irish animators who will work on the project are Cartoon Saloon’s Fabian Erlinghauser (The Secret of Kells), Sean McCarron (Song of the Sea) and Marie Thorhauge (Old Fangs). 

Cartoon Saloon is also working on another new hand-drawn feature film "Song of the Sea" , directed by Tomm Moore (who directed "The Secret of Kells").

"IMPERFECTION" IN ANIMATION is a good thing

Good article:


IMPERFECTION IN ANIMATION by Tom Gasek -
http://www.stopmotionworks.com/articles/imperftanim.htm


Written with reference mainly to traditional stop-motion animation vs. CG ,  but the points are equally valid for hand-drawn vs. CG.


In the constant push to learn new software there develops this illusion in many beginning student's minds that the software is what will really do it for them,  that's what is really important.   They lose sight of animation as an expressive art , that shows the hand of the artist.


(click the image to see image larger)

(*some might say that the high-standard set by animators like Milt Kahl, is "perfection" in animation ,  but it's a skillful illusion-of-perfection, the "illusion of life"  , not a slavish reproduction of realism , because there is enough artistic license and graphic "cheats" in these drawings to keep them from looking too perfect, too realistic.   The human hand of the artist is evident.  There is a warmth and appeal to the drawings that we respond to as humans.)

This is in no way to denigrate the skill level it takes to do appealing, warm CG animation.   If anything the CG animator has the greater task to avoid having the animation look "too perfect".

Inspiration: Master Animators At Work - SYLVAIN CHOMET

In this excerpt from the BBC series "The Secret of Drawing" (2006) director Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville  and  L'Illusionniste ) demonstrates his approach to drawing for animation.  The work shown is an early test scene from "The Illusionist"  (released 2010) .  

The entire episode is available here: http://vimeo.com/12397782

 Drawings from "The Illusionist"

Pencil Tests from "The Illusionist"  

Tahsin Özgür - Pencil Tests

I'm grateful to  C. Siemens on the Don Bluth Animation Forum for directing my attention to this remarkable collection of pencil tests by animator Tahsin Özgür.

Here's a sampling:

"For a while my wife, Lale, had a company through which I did some of the best of my animation work. This "animated logo" was meant for that company, but by the time I was finished with the cleanup, she had already closed it down! The model is Lale, of course!"

Here is a short film prepared as part of an exhibition of animation at the Apel Gallery in Istanbul. The format is a "silent movie". Starting around the 00:35 mark it has an amusing "day in the life of an animator" sequence , in which you get a glimpse into Tahsin Özgür's animation work process (continuing my recent theme of posting videos of Master Animator's At Work) , with bits of his animation interspersed with scenes of him drawing at his animation table -

This was prepared for an exhibition at the Apel gallery in Istanbul in 2001. 

More pencil tests by Tahsin Özgür here:

http://vimeo.com/user3233558/videos

Tahsin Özgür's blog




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"L'Illusionniste" an animated film by Sylvain Chomet

Last year I made several posts about Sylvain Chomet's new animated feature , The Illlusionist  ("L'Illusionniste") .    
Time to mention it again. 


Now that the film has received an Academy Award nomination as "Best Animated Feature Film"  and is in a somewhat wider release pattern I wanted to post the release schedule from Sony Classics.   Here is where the film is currently playing or will be opening soon:

http://www.sonyclassics.com/theillusionist/dates.html

If the film is playing in your city or close-by I highly recommend you see this sumptuously animated film.  Especially if classical hand-drawn animation is something you are passionate about then you  owe it to yourself to see and support this beautiful, poignant film on the big screen.

Here is the North American Trailer -

(I suggest that you switch the video settings to HD , watch full-screen).  

 Here is some artwork from the film:

Production Drawings & Backgrounds from The Illusionist


Pencil Tests from The Illusionist

Excellent review of the film by Mark Mayerson:

"The Illusionist" a review by Mark Mayerson

Roger Ebert's review:

"The Illusionist"  reviewed by Roger Ebert

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The North American (Sony Classics) website for the film:

http://www.sonyclassics.com/theillusionist/

The French (Pathé) website for the film :

http://www.lillusionniste-lefilm.com/#/home

Sylvain Chomet at the animation table -

NOCTURNA [English] Part 1 of 8

Part 1 of 8 . See it while you can.

"The Monkey and the Elephant" by Boris Maras

The Monkey and the Elephant by Boris Maras, Sheridan College 2010.

He animated this in 2 months.




From Boris Maras's blog:

"Keeping my film rough was a big decision. Amanda and I were both considering cleaning up and colouring our films, but we would have had to rush the animation so much and we really wanted to learn as much as we could about animation. Keeping them this way, I think we learned a lot about our limits and we have a way better idea for how approach a short film now.
The idea for my film was pretty different up until February, the characters were pretty much the same but the situation they were in was different. It was risky because I had to throw away the animation I had already done and around 25-30 layouts, but I think I made the right decision for what I want to pursue.

I started animating around the middle of February and animated up until our deadline of April 19th. It was the craziest 2 months of my life but I'm really happy with the amount that I learned during the process of making my film and hope I can make another one soon."

2010 Annecy shorts from the Gobelins School

http://www.gobelins.fr/galerie/animation/

Another great crop of student films from the Gobelins School in Paris , made for the 2010 Annecy Animation Festival . All are 1:00 minute or less . Shows that you can do a lot in one minute !

I love the fact that besides the solid animation and design work that these films put a great deal of emphasis on the cinematography . These films are built on a solid foundation of classical animation, but with a modern sensibility in terms of the camera work.

British Animated Ads of the 80's

YouTube has a number of animated commercials by Richard Williams, Oscar Grillo, Richard Purdum, Eric Goldberg, and other luminaries of the British animation scene.

Also check out Garret Gilchrist's The Thief Archive channel on YouTube for more British commercials from the 70's and 80's.

Klacto Animation (Oscar Grillo and Ted Rockley) "Sinatra 20 Golden Greats" advert -



Klacto Animation (Oscar Grillo and Ted Rockley) "Heinz Baked Beans Lighthouse" ad.
Designed and directed by Oscar Grillo, Animated by Eric Goldberg, Backgrounds by Neil Cambell Ross.



Pizazz Pictures (Eric Goldberg) "Rolos" animated by Eric Goldberg -



Richard Willliams Animation . "Jovan Sex Appeal" ad , animated by Richard Williams, BGs by Rebecca Mills.



Richard Williams Animation. "Listerine" ad , animated (I think) by Russell Hall -






Richard Williams Animation . "Limara Perfume" ad. Not sure who animated. Maybe Eric Goldberg? -



Passion Pictures . "Cadbury Creme Eggs" advert. Animated by Chuck Gammage. -




Richard Purdum Animation . "Tate Gallery Liverpool - Modern Art" . Animated by Richard Purdum -

Kaj Pindal : Laugh Lines

Laugh Lines is a film portrait of animator Kaj Pindal. He is seen at work creating zany cartoon characters, teaching students of animation, and at home enjoying another of his creations--a full-size streetcar that tours his backyard. The laughter in Pindal's life is evident in this delightful film biography.

Palm Springs International ShortFest signal film by MAKE

Via CartoonBrew.

Minneapolis-based studio MAKE created this animated signal film for the forthcoming Palm Springs International ShortFest. Beautiful design and animation , with a well-crafted story told with very economical cutting in under a minute. (students take note) ---



Credits:

MAKE Producer:
Danny Robashkin

Director/Lead Animator:
Andrew Chesworth

Animation Production Team:
Justin Weber
Aaron Quist
Alec Mueller
Jordan Hill
Ben Bury
Niklas Norman
Joe Kim

Voices:
John Olive
Elise Langer
Nicholas Mrozinski

Music:
Steve Horner - Horner Music


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Here's another piece by MAKE. A very timely PSA . And again , great animation and design all the way around , aside from the very timely message:

Sylvain Chomet interview

Sylvain Chomet, director of Belleville Rendez-Vous and now The Illusionist. Photograph: Paul Cooper

Sylvain Chomet talks about his new film "The Illusionist" -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jun/10/sylvain-chomet-belleville-rendezvous-illusionist

The biggest problem [in making the film] was finding the animators. Like the music-hall acts in the film, animators had become convinced by Hollywood that their time had passed.

"A lot of animators, basically people who can draw, got scared by these wankers from Disney saying that 2D animation is dead, that it was only going to be 3D and Pixar from now on. It is just typical shit by people in ties who don't know what they are talking about. Are they saying that Aardman is dead, too, then? I mean how stupid are these people? Saying 2D is dead is like saying that a car race is the future of the Tour de France."

"We had trouble because the fantastic animators we found had got really stressed because they thought after our film there was not going to be any 2D any more. Some were driving buses or retraining. People really had been made to believe that the end had come. The truth is that animation is always mixing things up: pen and paper, stop motion, puppets, 3D. Suddenly this bizarre competition has been created. What it is, one more time, is this American reflex to kill off the competition, to say that you can only do it one way and destroy everything else that went before. The whole society is like that. They destroy what they have to build something new. They end up with no roots to draw on, nothing to compare their work with to see if it is good or not. American culture is in real danger of starving itself to death. You just have to see what Hollywood is producing to see how narrow it is getting."

Sandro Cleuzo's blog

The brilliant animator Sandro Cleuzo has a great animation blog which you should definitely bookmark and check frequently.

Sandro is generously sharing his collection of Milt Kahl drawings , with a weekly "Milt Kahl Day" on his blog.

Some samples (click images to view larger) -

*as Sandro says about the above drawing:

"This particular drawing is just full of great things to study. Composition, staging, silhouette, design, appeal, you name it, it's there."

(And we could say that about almost any Milt Kahl drawing)

Wow, be sure to click on this Wart pose sheet from 'The Sword in the Stone' to view it larger. This is the stuff to print out and study . Put it on the walls around your drawing board to inspire you.

There is so much great stuff over on Sandro's blog. Check it out.

new trailer for "The Illusionist"

NEW:

Official website is up:

http://www.lillusionniste-lefilm.com

Official trailer and several additional clips, image captures from the movie, etc. Check it out.

The movie will be distributed in North America by Sony Classics.

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A new trailer (Russian) for the upcoming Sylvain Chomet ("Triplets of Belleville") animated feature "The Illusionist" .

This looks absolutely beautiful.

The Illusionist trailer:



Translation (by "Niffiwan" ) of the inter-titles on the trailer:

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In life, there are just a few things that are worth doing.

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But sometimes the world is not ready to receive
---
that, which we are able to offer it.

--
This story tells of the journey of one man
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which enabled him to keep his magical gift
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and to rediscover for himself
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what is worth doing for him in life.

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From the director of that masterpiece of European animation
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"The Triplets of Belleville", Sylvain Chomet.

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Based on the screenplay of the legendary Jacques Tati.

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"The Illusionist"

.

Waking Sleeping Beauty trailer

(watch it full screen)



Even better , go watch the high-quality Quicktime version of the trailer here:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/wakingsleepingbeauty/

"Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairytale. It is a story of clashing egos, out of control budgets, escalating tensions… and one of the most extraordinary creative periods in animation history. Director Don Hahn and producer Peter Schneider, key players at Walt Disney Studios Feature Animation department during the mid1980s, offer a behind-the-magic glimpse of the turbulent times the Animation Studio was going through and the staggering output of hits that followed over the next ten years. Artists polarized between the hungry young innovators and the old guard who refused to relinquish control, mounting tensions due to a string of box office flops, and warring studio heads create the backdrop for this fascinating story told with a unique and candid perspective from those that were there. Through interviews, internal memos, home movies, and a cast of characters featuring Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Roy Disney, alongside an amazing array of talented artists that includes Don Bluth, John Lasseter, and Tim Burton, Waking Sleeping Beauty shines a light on Disney Animation’s darkest hours, greatest joys and its improbable renaissance."

First reviews of Chomet's "The Illusionist"

Sylvain Chomet's new hand-drawn animated feature film premiered recently at the Berlinale Film Festival .

Here are a few of the early reviews :


Variety review of "The Illusionist"

Another review of "The Illusionist"

Screen Daily review of "The Illusionist".

"It took six days and an awful lot of films, but the Berlinale has finally turned up a masterpiece. Moreover, it’s a rare case of one of the fest’s most eagerly awaited titles managing to meet, and even subvert, expectations.

“The Illusionist,” French animator Sylvain Chomet long-gestating follow-up the 2003 Oscar nominee “The Triplets of Belleville,” confirms a truly singular auteur sensibility, while revealing a more disciplined artist and storyteller within. A streamlined character study, less deliriously eccentric in tone and structure than his debut feature, “The Illusionist” nonetheless boasts an emotional heft that handsomely repays its creator’s restraint."

Some clips from the film are seen in this interview with Sylvain Chomet. (watch it in Full Screen Mode) -

The Secret of Kells - official U.S. trailer

The Secret of Kells official U.S. release trailer.

This film has been released in Ireland and in Europe, and has played a limited Oscar-qualifying run in a few theaters in the U.S., but has not yet been widely released . But it looks like it is on track now to get a proper theatrical release in the United States.

(the Oscar nomination for "Best Animated Feature Film" helped, I think !)

I'm hoping to see this and Sylvain Chomet's (Triplets of Belleville) new feature film "The Illusionist" soon.

Inspiration: Rune Bennicke Rough Animation pencil tests

Animation by Rune Bennicke.

Click through the link to Rune's Vimeo page to see more of his pencil tests -

Brother Bear Koda's Mom Reel from Rune Bennicke on Vimeo.

Making-Of "The Princess & the Frog" - A Frogumentary

Behind the scenes interviews with some of the artists who made "The Princess & the Frog" .

Here are two parts of the "frog-umentary" featuring Lead Animator Eric Goldberg , and Lead Key Clean-Up artist Marshall Toomey.

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Click through to YouTube to watch the other parts of the documentary.