Come to think of it, most of the video games (Xbox and PCs) are pretty serious. GTA 4, Mass Effect, Halo, etc...
So it really is very strange there's so few serious animation.
Why so little 'serious' Western animation?
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If it's serious western animation you want, then may I recommend one of the following?
Corto Maltese: There have been several movies and a TV-show based on the late Hugo Pratt's magnum opus and while I've only seen the first movie, I felt that it was a pretty good adaption of one of Pratt's best stories. Like the comic, the movie has a certain weird, dreamlike quality that I find very enjoyable. Oh, and like any good adventure film there are plenty of gun-fights, chases and other exciting stuff as well.
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello: Great short that mixes horror and steampunk and makes a pretty good job at building tension. All the characters are drawn in silouhette which may not suit everybody, but I'd still recommend checking it out. It should be on Youtube, if you are interested.
The Man who Planted the Trees: Another beautiful short with a simple premise; it's about an old man who plants trees, slowly turning a desolate landscape into a beautiful forest. Throughout two World Wars the man continues with his work. It's one of those movies that just gives me a warm feeling inside when I watch it. Like "Jasper Morello" this one should be available on the net if you look around.
Persepolis: Movie based on Marjane Satrapi's autobiographic comic about her childhood in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran. Very good film and the comic is one of the few autobiographic comics that has ever interested me.
Corto Maltese: There have been several movies and a TV-show based on the late Hugo Pratt's magnum opus and while I've only seen the first movie, I felt that it was a pretty good adaption of one of Pratt's best stories. Like the comic, the movie has a certain weird, dreamlike quality that I find very enjoyable. Oh, and like any good adventure film there are plenty of gun-fights, chases and other exciting stuff as well.
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello: Great short that mixes horror and steampunk and makes a pretty good job at building tension. All the characters are drawn in silouhette which may not suit everybody, but I'd still recommend checking it out. It should be on Youtube, if you are interested.
The Man who Planted the Trees: Another beautiful short with a simple premise; it's about an old man who plants trees, slowly turning a desolate landscape into a beautiful forest. Throughout two World Wars the man continues with his work. It's one of those movies that just gives me a warm feeling inside when I watch it. Like "Jasper Morello" this one should be available on the net if you look around.
Persepolis: Movie based on Marjane Satrapi's autobiographic comic about her childhood in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran. Very good film and the comic is one of the few autobiographic comics that has ever interested me.
Ben wrote:Oh, come on...FF:TSW wasn't a "serious" animated movie though, was it?
Again...just because a film is higher rated or features guns, action and a bit of a supernatural, mystical plot, that doesn't mean it was serious...it was just another shoot 'em up game movie at the end of the day.
Nah,
I though FF:TSW was just a badly written film that gave me headaches just looking at the dull-eyed marionettes. To this day, I haven't seen a good Final Fantasy film period and even the ones related to the game series (which FF:TSW certainly wasn't) just aren't that good, IMHO. Same for the rotoscope/"kaleido-hurl" Richard Linklater films, "Waking Life" and "A Scanner Darkly."
I've complained bitterly about 3D but those "shaky motion" rotoscoped films really do make a good number of people sick when they look at them. I prefer films straight hand-drawn or CG, or a nice blend where you can't tell so much when something's CG.
"Adult" animation suffers the same curse most film does -- just generally bad writing and unappealing characters. There's already a generally small hardcore audience for animation that isn't General Audiences worldwide (yes, even in Japan!) and that shrinks to a sliver when a film gets rated above PG-13.
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True, although I'm not sure what conclusion to draw from that. Perhaps serious animation is more common in Europe where the majority of these movies are from (I think "Jasper Morello" was made by an Australian, but I'm not completely sure, I have to look it up)?Tyler_Legrand wrote:Incidentally none of those films are American. Ahe
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You're propably right, in my defense though, half of the movies I mentioned are full-length features.
So, what's the reason for there being more serious animated shorts than features? Is it because the shorts are often made by independent animators who propably don't worry much about whether their film is a financial success or not?
So, what's the reason for there being more serious animated shorts than features? Is it because the shorts are often made by independent animators who propably don't worry much about whether their film is a financial success or not?
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Just talking out of my hat, I'd say that's part of it. The up front cost, while no small thing to those involved, is a mere fraction of those of a (inter)national studio release and a venture with far less financial risk, not having to appeal to such a broad market or 'make it' in the first weekend.
I've often thought of the short form as closer to a "painterly" avenue of art: less collaboration and more intense, individual participation -- usually in large part the work of one or two passionate animators and as such offering the potential for a more focused point of interest on a wide array of topics or themes. I'm not saying a Finding Nemo or a Curse of the Were-Rabbit are works without passion, or are watered down by the large teams assembled to produce them. Only that there is a different tone of art achieved by, say, a Sisyphus or a Moya Lyubov -- a tone affected by the intensified act of creation of one's very personal experience, and one which isn't created under the knowledge of having it open in 2,800 theaters the following Summer. There's a certain 'freeing' element in works like Balance, Moznosti Dialogu, or even How To Kiss which doesn't appear strongly in major studio production.
Again, just talking out of my hat. If there's any truly poignant, gut-wrenching, or dark malevolent force to be explored I would trust a smaller, barebones production crew under personal pressure and forced to shave from their own retirement accounts to throw caution to the wind and explore it more readily, as if there were more at stake than success in the marketplace or winning the hearts of a wide demographic to ensure future projects. Anyone feel free to bite down and demolish any assumption made here, as I feel it's a good question to explore and would like to increase (or re-format
) my perception of the topic.
I've often thought of the short form as closer to a "painterly" avenue of art: less collaboration and more intense, individual participation -- usually in large part the work of one or two passionate animators and as such offering the potential for a more focused point of interest on a wide array of topics or themes. I'm not saying a Finding Nemo or a Curse of the Were-Rabbit are works without passion, or are watered down by the large teams assembled to produce them. Only that there is a different tone of art achieved by, say, a Sisyphus or a Moya Lyubov -- a tone affected by the intensified act of creation of one's very personal experience, and one which isn't created under the knowledge of having it open in 2,800 theaters the following Summer. There's a certain 'freeing' element in works like Balance, Moznosti Dialogu, or even How To Kiss which doesn't appear strongly in major studio production.
Again, just talking out of my hat. If there's any truly poignant, gut-wrenching, or dark malevolent force to be explored I would trust a smaller, barebones production crew under personal pressure and forced to shave from their own retirement accounts to throw caution to the wind and explore it more readily, as if there were more at stake than success in the marketplace or winning the hearts of a wide demographic to ensure future projects. Anyone feel free to bite down and demolish any assumption made here, as I feel it's a good question to explore and would like to increase (or re-format
) my perception of the topic.
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You guys already have it.
Basically it's down to the green stuff again: features cost <I>so</I> much moolah to produce that even great passionate works need to be made by committee (hence Pixar's "brain trust") so that they appeal to the widest demographic and therefore bring the most revenue in on the investment.
Shorts have always been more experimental. Not that there's less emotional investment (far from it, it's usually more) or time spent (again, some shorts by solo artists take as long as a crew on a feature), but because there are limited distribution outlets, the money is usually gathered from multiple sources and as such investors are not necessarily looking for a return. This allows the artist more creative freedom, and more room to use their voice in saying something.
You'll also note that studios such as Pixar use the short form to explore new technology, or new talent like story people or directors, before making a leap to feature films. Even with a big studio behind it, shorts don't have much of a shelf life beyond being tagged on the front of a movie and then as a DVD bonus, though people like John Lasseter realize they are much more than that: a training ground for future talent and a place where some risks can be taken.
Basically it's down to the green stuff again: features cost <I>so</I> much moolah to produce that even great passionate works need to be made by committee (hence Pixar's "brain trust") so that they appeal to the widest demographic and therefore bring the most revenue in on the investment.
Shorts have always been more experimental. Not that there's less emotional investment (far from it, it's usually more) or time spent (again, some shorts by solo artists take as long as a crew on a feature), but because there are limited distribution outlets, the money is usually gathered from multiple sources and as such investors are not necessarily looking for a return. This allows the artist more creative freedom, and more room to use their voice in saying something.
You'll also note that studios such as Pixar use the short form to explore new technology, or new talent like story people or directors, before making a leap to feature films. Even with a big studio behind it, shorts don't have much of a shelf life beyond being tagged on the front of a movie and then as a DVD bonus, though people like John Lasseter realize they are much more than that: a training ground for future talent and a place where some risks can be taken.
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The reason why we dont see much of this type of animation is because of one thing. What is that you ask? Its because companies think "animation is just for kids". Please, have they seen movies like Heavy Metal, Fritz the cat, or even heavy traffic? I guess not!
All those movies{Well not counting heavy metal} were successful to prove that there could be adult animation besides looking a cute annoying as hell cartoon character.
The only thing that we got for "Serious" or "Adult animation" close enough is anime. Other than that if El Superbeasto gets into the cinemas go see it to prove to those losers in Hollywood that Adult animation is profitable. If it doesnt show its face in there go see 9....
Other than that Adult animation isnt creative as it used to be...all the expection of "Waltz on Bashir".
All those movies{Well not counting heavy metal} were successful to prove that there could be adult animation besides looking a cute annoying as hell cartoon character.
The only thing that we got for "Serious" or "Adult animation" close enough is anime. Other than that if El Superbeasto gets into the cinemas go see it to prove to those losers in Hollywood that Adult animation is profitable. If it doesnt show its face in there go see 9....
Other than that Adult animation isnt creative as it used to be...all the expection of "Waltz on Bashir".
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The reason why we dont see much of this type of animation is because of one thing. What is that you ask? Its because companies think "animation is just for kids". Please, have they seen movies like Heavy Metal, Fritz the cat, or even heavy traffic? I guess not!
All those movies{Well not counting heavy metal} were successful to prove that there could be adult animation besides looking a cute annoying as hell cartoon character.
The only thing that we got for "Serious" or "Adult animation" close enough is anime. Other than that if El Superbeasto gets into the cinemas go see it to prove to those losers in Hollywood that Adult animation is profitable. If it doesnt show its face in there go see 9....
Other than that Adult animation isnt creative as it used to be...all the expection of "Waltz on Bashir".
All those movies{Well not counting heavy metal} were successful to prove that there could be adult animation besides looking a cute annoying as hell cartoon character.
The only thing that we got for "Serious" or "Adult animation" close enough is anime. Other than that if El Superbeasto gets into the cinemas go see it to prove to those losers in Hollywood that Adult animation is profitable. If it doesnt show its face in there go see 9....
Other than that Adult animation isnt creative as it used to be...all the expection of "Waltz on Bashir".