Animating My World
Looking for some Canadian Animation? Found it!Are you a “Zombie?”
Another VFS animated feature:
Interestingly enough, the zombies presented to us are not necessarily the flesh-eating type one would imagine. In fact, Jonathan Yaber, the animator depicted the two living dead as curious, energetic, and fun creatures. They merely want to belong to our society, impressing us with a minor juggling act. Who wants a bunch of zombies roaming around our playgrounds, schools, and museums anyway? Well, we want THESE lively zombies! From how Yaber presented our society, I think we need a bunch of these entertaining living dead!
Obviously, the real zombies are ourselves. We have become lifeless, monotonous, and emotionless beings. We preoccupy ourselves with work, education, and consumerism. Those essentially what consist our every lives. We wake up to go to school, then find jobs to earn money to spend, and finally, redo these steps all over again. Life has become monotonous even mechanical. Perhaps you can blame Modernity for this bland way of living. It has turned us into mindless, lifeless, and emotionless zombies. We are Yaber is clearly trying to express this through Zombies?
I like the abstracted characters and the building. It is like looking at a Cubist painting! The geometrical shapes of the structures and bodies of the zombies (not the actual ones) are the appealing aspect of the animation. The geometry reinforces the idea of mechanicalness: no curvy lines, simply cold and vertical figures.
Just like Citizen Harold, the animation invites us to reflect on the subject invoked in the animated short.
I give it a four Hen-Hop out of Five, just because not only is it entertaining, but it makes you question which camp you belong to: the brainless Nosferatu-like humans or the lively zombies. Which one are you?
I collect hearts to compensate for my deficiency
Here is another VFS short animation feature: “The Heart Collector” by Michael Fallik
The plot is heart-warming (no pun intended), sad, and at the same time morbid. His desire to steal people’s hearts and preserve countless of them in jars is to an extent disturbing, which I find is the essence of the whole plot. His macabre actions are sparked by his desire to love. Like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, the heart collector’s belief of possessing a heart is vital in order to fall in love or to even feel something. Of course, his wish transforms into a murderous obsession; one heart does not suffice.
The unfinished look (presence of pencil marks that should have been erased) is unappealing and sloppy; it exhibits a lack of extra work usually put on a finalized version. It gives the impression of a rushed up production. However, the only scene in which this gritty look works exceptionally well is the end shot of the heart collector’s face; it produces a dramatic effect and stresses his emotion. Moreover, the heart collector’s inner demon illustrated in a sketchy manner underscores the horror of this demon.
Its strengths: plot, morbidity, character, unpredictability, use of three dimensionality to produce some wild flying heart sequences, sketchy illustrations of the ending, and first-person perspective.
Its weaknesses: crude pencil marks in places that should not have any, demonstrating an unfinished animation, and odd soundtrack (the mixed soundtrack – from a Spanish ballade to a metal song – produces a tacky animation)
I am therefore giving it four Hen-Hop over five.
I am “Citizen Harold”
*The video cannot be embedded on this blog sadly, but you can click the image to view Citizen Harold on the NFB website*
This 1971 short animation directed by Hugh Foulds encompasses the struggles of a considerate citizen, who merely desires to save Mother Nature (or perhaps even to literally wake up municipal bureaucracy from its lethargic state and indifference for the city’s public concerns). At the start of film, an irritating noise from outside his home provokes his nagging wife, Stella, to harass Harold about the source of the racket. He simply wishes to relax, but his wife insists upon resolving this unwanted noise. This causes Harold to act when he discovers the root of the sound. The film presents Harold’s frustration with City Hall’s exasperating system and his attempt to seek help from his fellow citizens. The ending evokes the sad reality of trying to change things.
I think this animation functions as a revelatory short: it discloses the problems that we, as citizens, have to fight in order to produce radical changes in our society. Citizen Harold was made almost forty years ago, and honestly, it hasn’t change much. We still have to go through so many people to actually meet up with important civil members, who can help us. However, they still ignore our demands for change. We end up being powerless since we can’t convince the municipal bureaucracy to do something about it for once. I feel poor Harold’s frustration on our government. What is disturbing, which Foulds overtly illustrates in this animation, is the fact that our fellow citizens don’t care! The drinkers at the tavern ask what troubles Harold, but they don’t even listen to his problems. It was merely a rhetorical question! Moreover, his friends refuse to aid him in his quest; thus, he gives up and resumes his quiet and “carefree” life. Like most people, he stops questioning the government’s activities and merely goes about his mundane life as if everything was all chirpy. I think this problem is what Foulds tries to denounce with Citizen Harold. Unfortunately, the film does not seek to convince viewers to take action, but as mentioned, it is simply a means to reveal or perhaps remind us about the problems of our government.
Technical wise, it is a mediocre type of animation. The characters and props are far from exceptional or realistic. It is an amateurish drawing of buildings and characters. There is a lack of minute details; it is very simplistic. The only scene, in which the background is not a solid color is in the tavern scene. Foulds uses an intricate pattern for the ceiling. It is intriguing why the animator decides to highly decorate the tavern and not others. What I also noticed is the Canadian Flag that is proudly hung outside the tavern, and in the mayor’s office, in which an American flag resides as well. This evidence of an identified setting (Niagara Falls I presume) situates where this problem is, in a Canadian city. Not only is Houlds trying to locate the problem, but I think he is denouncing the lax power of the Canadian government. He is making a statement about the Canadian bureaucracy. Rather than providing an unknown location to construct a possible “imaginary community” that would transcend boundaries (Leach 37), and hence enable a sense of collective identification, Houlds chose to specify the location by including the American flag. It challenges the notion of “imaginary community,” in which citizens from other cities in different provinces can relate. I think that the animation would have possessed a wider and significant meaning if no indicator of setting was present.
Some characters are terrifyingly anthropomorphic: the construction worker whose pointy nose and red eyes make him look like a hostile shark and the pyromaniac has a head of a serpent. His sharp teeth are a dead giveaway. Interestingly, his wife is the only figure whose face is hidden from view. Her voice is extremely important in the beginning of the animation, but in the bed scene, she is lying on her face, obstructing our view of her visage. This masking of her appearance lets the viewer imagine her face, whether she looks like a beauty or an ugly middle-aged wife. Her sensual voice appears to assert the former description (in contrast, Stella’s voice at the start of the video suggests a different image ). What I found humorous about the aforementioned scene is the change of her tone of voice. It literally shifts from a nagging voice to a seductive one. When she repeatedly utters her husband’s name, the scene has become a sexual episode. I got the impression that she wants to have sex, but Harold’s mind is so caught up with his problem that he responds “Forget it okay!” His wife does not directly ask for a sexual adventure, but from her tone of voice, it implies that she desires a night of passion. It appears that there are two separate dialogues at play in this scene: one of Harold’s (about his worries) and the other, his wife (about her lust). It is an interesting dynamic between the two.
Regardless of its pseudo-propagandist message, Citizen Harold is an enjoyable animation. The ending is unpromising, but overall, it is a-okay!
Jim Leach. Film in Canada. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006
Clown vs “The Balloon”
Here is another VFS feature animation. This one is better than “Kiss the Frog,” content and technical wise.
I like the introduction of both old and new modes of animation. The two-dimensionality of the buildings composes the background, and the three-dimentionality of the foregrounded objects is obviously the most significant aspect of the animation. The flat and amateur drawings of skyscrapers are placed behind the detailed benches and lightposts. There is a contrast between traditional and novel style of animation. The simplicity of the animation is what works well in the video. It avoids distracting the viewer from the plot.
However, the idea of an angry-looking mime who uses a small prop is difficult to digest. The presence of the balloon challenges the very essence of the science of miming. He is no longer miming here; we can’t guess what the artist is gesturing because the object disrupts the charade. The fun of speculating is dissolved.
What disturbs me the most is the mime’s annoyed expression, struggling with the balloon, and his devious scheme to burden another mime with his problem. He does not appear to be nice a mime a kid would want to play with or approach for that matter. I wouldn’t go near an angry mime; they are scary enough as it is.
Oddly enough, the character reminds me of the ill-witted buffoon, Mr. Bean, made famous by Rowan Atkinson. This situation is something he might get himself into.
The verdict: three McLaren-Hen-Hop over five
Madame Tutli-Putli’s voyage
What a great way to start off the journey than with an Academy Award nominated short! I love this animated film so much that I had to include a still from the film to my picture header.
Disclaimer: Please watch the film first if you don’t want me to spoil it for you!
Part 1:
Part 2:
Madame Tutli-Putli is a stop motion-animated short film by Canadians Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, the film introduces the viewer to the character of Madam Tutli-Putli, a plain and fragile figure.
She meets the most unfriendly and odd passengers. Two old man play a game of chess while sitting on their opened luggage, located on the luggage compartment. How they managed to fit in that small and narrow space I will never know! The train’s rough speed jolts all the pieces that the only way of winning is when the locomotive knocks down your queen. It is no longer a game of strategy, but a game of luck, determined by the train. The most disturbing passenger is the one sitting across from Madame Tutli-Putli. The perverted slimebag visually violates our heroine, gesturing with his fingers what he desires to do to her. It is a comic, yet perturbing scene.
As darkness falls, an eerie blue energy gives life to the immobile train as if it has become a living organism. The train from hell speeds in an alarming rate, and unstoppable, destroys everything on its path. In this instance, her real journey begins.
The film has an obviously disturbing plot, which is the emphatic aspect of Madame Tutli-Putli. For me, the idea of the train as a transportation to hell (partly due to its alarming speed, in which the train destroys everything in its path, including innocent animals) is clearly insinuated.
The expression “The light at the end of the tunnel” is undoubtedly suggested in the final scene, where Madame Tutli-Putli, after dozing off and finding the train empty of passengers but herself, follows the insect to the head of the locomotive. The butterfly that first vexes the heroine becomes an angel at the end of the short film. Its silhouetted transformation is clear. The butterfly guards over Madame Tuli-Putli, and helps her when she stumbles and loses her way. It flutters on the table and sits at her eye level, undeniably wanting to be seen. On the other hand, the ending challenges this idea of the butterfly as a guardian angel since we are presented with a morbid scenario with the raiders of the train and with the unresolved last scene.
The “villains” or “demons” who steal the organs of the passengers are perhaps standing in for the angel of death that literally removes the vitality (spirit) from a person.
The last scene is ambiguous, for we do not know what happens to Madam Tutli-Putli after she reaches the light. Assuming that the moment from her awakening to her walking towards the light is an illusion; her body is in reality shutting down, and she is eventually doing to die. This is usually the moment when one is near death. In a medical or logical point of view (from watching to many medical dramas), the scene in which Madame Tutli-Putli frantically struggles to find her way in the intricate maze of the train suggests the moment when the paramedics are trying to revive her. Of course, this is not a medical drama or a logical short film; thus, this latter theory is null.
Going back to the eerie invaders and the butterfly, both, I argue, are angels of death. It is only logical that the little insect is the embodiment of death since it leads the protagonist towards the light after all the passengers have been “killed.” If the final scenes are indeed a near-death dream, the butterfly as angel of death is fitting. It is too unlikely that she is the only survivor in this horrific ordeal.
There are many unanswered and vague questions about the plot, but these puzzles are what makes the short film wonderful to watch.
In terms of the technical aspects of the animation, I give kudos to the animators for putting a lot of effort on the details, no matter how minute it was. The realism of Madame Tutli-Putli’s huge eyes is striking. Regardless of the puppets’ emotionless face, the eyes reveal everything about the character; voice is not required because the eyes speak for themselves. The tears on her face are extremely moving. One can definitely feel Madam Tutli-Putli’s emotions.
Overall, I really love this animation short film. The plot’s mystery appeals the viewer, and the flawless technicality strengthens the quality of the animation.
Kiss me, I’m a frog!
Here is our first VFS feature animation:
What I like about this video is the unexpected ending. That’s it! Technically, it is lacking. The animator did not put enough effort at all. The desaturated color is unappealing, the figures appear crude, and the storyline lacks substance. The apparent goal here is to provoke laughs, no a mere chuckle. Moreover, I think the creator used a tacky subject matter that might appeal to the male populace. Two kissing women (or a woman and a frog) is always a nice sight; not in this case. I’m giving it a mere one Norman-McLaren-Hen-Hop out of five.
Clearly a proper welcome is required, eh?
Often times than not, animation is taken for granted. “But it’s so cool!” I know you don’t have to tell me twice. This blog’s goal is to introduce to the world the magic of animation. It will feature some content from Canadian animators, good or bad. Some will be available on the NFB website, some on YouTube. Don’t worry about not being able to watch the videos, I will provide the links, so you can watch them for all eternity…well maybe not forever though. I’ll have to die eventually. 😛
You can expect my imput on the videos of course. I’m just warning you! 😉
Sit back or lay down comfortably…behold the beauty of Canadian animation!
Animating My World 