Don Bluth discussion

Post by **jonhoops** » April 17th, 2005, 10:38 pm

Don Bluth's Art of Animation is up for pre-order on Amazon. Here is the sales blurb:

While its predecessor, Don Bluth's Art of Storyboard, described in detail the technical and creative processes involved in crafting the visual blueprints for animated films, Don Bluth's Art of Animation Drawing focuses on the process of designing characters; adapting them to script, voice talent, and music; directing their "performances"; the timing and rhythm of movement; analyzing action; and more. The acclaimed animator/director of The Secret of N.I.M.H., An American Tail, and All Dogs Go to Heaven, Bluth's gorgeous artwork and lively commentary make this a must for animators of any level and a delight for animation fans of any age.

Post by **Ben** » April 18th, 2005, 9:59 am

...And here is the link!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

Post by **Guardstone** » April 19th, 2005, 12:41 pm

I have the storyboarding book and it was pretty okay, really (and I'm not exactly a Bluth fan, except for N.I.M.H. ofcourse). I might just give this book a shot as well, the price is very reasonable...

Post by **Ben** » April 19th, 2005, 2:43 pm

Yeah, pretty reasonable.

Anyone know if this is destined for the UK? AmazonUK has it for order but it's "still not published" according to the site:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 82-6685223

Post by **jonhoops** » May 2nd, 2005, 1:55 am

I think it says on the Bluth site that it will now be out in the second week of May.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » May 2nd, 2005, 10:34 pm

I saw the last Bluth book but I was kind of let down by the production values. Seemed like the paper quality was kind of cheap and the book felt short.

Yes, the drawings are spectacular and so on but considering how good the storytelling is in most Bluth films I passed on it. I'm not sure either Bluth or Richard Williams really are the go-to guys for storytelling at any rate. They're excellent drawing instructors but I don't think storytelling is their strong point. I have yet to see a really good animation book that covers storytelling in-depth from beginning to end of a film. We only get very small slices and that's not very helpful. We get excellent artwork but not very good coverage on story breakdown... I think they'd seriously have to reprint the storyboards of a movie and do breakdowns on those to get a good storytelling book but they just don't do that in the US. Japanese publishers, however, DO print out the visual scripts (ie, complete storyboards) for Japanese animated films.

I might get the drawing book. You can never get too many drawing and sketch books from guys who are acknowledged masters in animation and cartooning!

The best how-to-draw animation book I have still is Preston Blair's collected edition (the green book).

Post by **Ben** » May 3rd, 2005, 8:32 am

Apart from cartooning and drawing, both these guys are great character builders (and I don't just mean designing).

They really get deep into their characters and find out what makes 'em tick, like the legendary guys used to do.

It's when they try to find places for these characters in longer stories that they come a cropper, though to be fair, we've never really seen what a Richard Williams feature could really be like. But Bluth is continually let down by his stories and lack of direction in them, apart from when he's being guided by others or using established material.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » November 4th, 2005, 11:03 pm

Check out this link -- http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthr ... adid=48454

Don Bluth, director of The Secret of Nimh, Anastasia, Titan A.E., and An American Tale recently made a significant donation of animation product drawings, cels, and other artwork on behalf of himself and his artistic partner, Gary Goldman, to the Savannah College of Art and Design.

It's a LOT of stuff! It includes a lot of artwork from the old videogames Space Ace and Dragon's Lair as well...

Post by **Ben** » November 5th, 2005, 12:43 pm

Guess Bluth couldn't keep up those housing costs, eh?

Seriously, that's a neat stash, and nice that they will honor him with a Lifetime Achievement award too.

Post by **ShyViolet** » November 5th, 2005, 6:23 pm

I loved An American Tale, All Dogs and Nimh....

I wish him the very best.

Post by **Ben** » November 6th, 2005, 9:49 am

I'll add that I loved those and Land Before Time, Anastasia and Titan AE (and even Rock-A-Doodle had some things going for it).

It was the ultra confused and badly composited middle-period that irks me with Bluth.

He obvously has talent, but in a way he's like George Lucas without anyone to tell him some of his ideas suck. Plus he needs a good business partner...as an animator, Gary Goldman is not it.

I hoped the Fox thing would turn out differently, but the longer he goes without a feature on the horizon, the harder it will be to get that feature out of the starter gates...

Post by **ShyViolet** » November 6th, 2005, 6:45 pm

It was the ultra confused and badly composited middle-period that irks me with Bluth

.

Oh like A Troll in Central Park, Pebble and the Penguin etc...?

Post by **Wonderlicious** » November 7th, 2005, 4:55 am

ShyViolet wrote:
It was the ultra confused and badly composited middle-period that irks me with Bluth
.

Oh like A Troll in Central Park, Pebble and the Penguin etc...?

Hey, do you remember Thumbelina? How can you group those works with a Don Bluth masterpiece from the same time that tops even Disney's fairy tale classics like The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty? A critic called it "for very young children and people in comas." See? It's so special, it should be reserved as prime viewing for people as they come into and out of the world to show them what a wonderful place Earth is since things like this have been made.

Post by **Ben** » November 7th, 2005, 10:47 am

I hope you're being sarcastic!!

Yes, I would lump A Troll In Central Park, The Pebble And The Penguin Rock-A-Doodle, All Dogs Go To Heaven and Thumbelina as being Bluth's nadir.

There are possibly good parts to some of them, but overall they are badly made, forgettable films. I think that Bartok, even though it had money behind it and computer assisted production, was a throwback to those films too.

When Bluth is being "guided" (as he was at Disney on Small One, with Spielberg on Tail and Time, and by Bill Mechanic at Fox on Anastasia), he can turn out some amazing work, and likewise on his own with Banjo and NIMH.

But his other stuff is mediocre at best.

BTW, referring to the title of this thread - what OTHER Don Bluth is there??!?

Post by **Wonderlicious** » November 7th, 2005, 1:01 pm

I am being sarcastic, Ben. No need to worry, though it's nice to see that you think that I convince.