A History of Animation: Pocket Version

I signed up for ACP: Animation next semester, and I've just been curious about animation as a whole ever since. I know that I have quite a few cartoons that I've consumed under my belt, but that doesn't mean I know the first thing about animation or it's complex histories. How long is the "history" of animation anyway?

Turns out, the first animation came out fourteen years after the first film (Fred Ott's Sneeze, 1894). Straight out of France, Fantasmagorie is known as the first animated short film by Emile Cohl. (1908)

Whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed in class next semester and want nothing more than to throw in the towel, I am going to remind myself that when Walt Disney was my age (20) he had begun his first animation company. He called it "Laugh-O-Grams" and it crashed and burned very shortly after taking off. Four years later good ol' Walt made Steamboat Willie which featured the famous Mickey Mouse for the first time. It may come as no surprise that Walts newest creation took off big time. I know it may be cheesy to see Walt Disney as an inspiration, but we all know how easy it is to give up when things don't work out. And personally, I'm pleased as punch I have a plethora of animated princesses that pranced their way through my childhood. I'm going to try and let the fact that he didn't let Laugh-O-Grams discourage him, to get me through learning new and complicated software.

Speaking of Disney, did you know that The Looney Tunes was originally a spin-off of Silly Symphonies; an animation produced by Disney? However, it just so happened to grow into it's own giant franchise and life of it's own like wildfire.

I also had no idea that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first official feature length animated film to be released. That's less than 80 years ago!

The biggest game changer to the animated world was easily when Apple computers created 3-D films. In 1995 Toy Story was released as "Babies First 3-D Film" and it's done so well a fourth one is rumored to be released. The animated world has never been the same since. It's debatable as to which reigns supreme (3-D or 2-D?). What's undoubtable is how incredibly far animation has evolved in less than a century. 

Toy Story 4

Today Bob Iger announced that in 2017 Disney and Pixar will release Toy Story 4. Just that sentence gives me a bad taste in my mouth because Toy Story 3 ended the trilogy and my childhood so 
perfectly. After the announcement there was an outcry online about ruining the story that the three films completed. The director John Lassester who directed the original made it very clear that the decision to make the film wasn't about money but was instead just a great idea. 

          “We love these characters so much; they are like family to us. We don’t want to do anything with them unless it lives up to or surpasses what’s gone before. ‘Toy Story 3’ ended Woody and Buzz’s story with Andy so perfectly that for a long time, we never even talked about doing another ‘Toy Story’ movie. But when Andrew, Pete, Lee and I came up with this new idea, I just could not stop thinking about it. It was so exciting to me, I knew we had to make this movie—and I wanted to direct it myself.” 

I'm not the type of person who will rule out any film or idea until I see it. Yes it's still annoying that they are changing the trilogy but just like Star Wars, the more films the better. They have built this wonderful universe and I trust that they will honor all the previous installments. I can't wait to see what Buzz, Woody, and the gang are up to and where their next adventure will take them!

The Pixar Theory: Everything Makes Sense Now

Over winter break I came across a new and interesting theory that I feel is relevant to everyone and anyone who has ever seen any Pixar movie. It's called "Pixar Theory." The theory was first brought up on Cracked.com in a video called "Why Pixar Movies Are All Secretly About the Apocalypse." They touched upon only a couple of movies that Pixar created. Blogger Jon Negroni, from jonnegroni.com, created more of an elaborate theory and was able incorporated all of the movies. I have read over his theory multiple times and it really makes sense. It is truly amazing that Pixar and other people have created this theory. My question is, did Pixar relies that they were actually creating this theory and that all of there movies are related? Obivously the know now, but did they really put the pieces together? I am guessing they knew they were doing it at little bit because they have put characters from one movie into another movie. Pixar calls these Easter Eggs. These eggs allow Pixar to begin the connection and then the story lines does the rest. Here are just a few examples of easter eggs in some of pixar's movies.

 In the movie Monsters, Inc. Boo hands Sully the Pixar ball, a Jessie Doll from Toy Story 2, and Nemo from Finding Nemo.

In the movie Toy Story there is a postcard from Carl and Ellie, characters from the movie Up. In the movie up there is a image that says islands which also appears in Toy Story. 

In the movie Up, Lotso bear appears in a little girls room, along with the Pixar ball.

Theses are just a few examples of the connections that Pixar has created. I really recommend reading the theory because you will never see these Pixar movies the same.

Here is the url to Negroni's Pixar theory. 

http://jonnegroni.com/2013/07/11/the-pixar-theory/

You Got a Friend In Me

Toy story 3 the third final Toy Story made to date directed by Lee Unkrich is a film about Andy (John Morris) who is now 17 and ready to head off to college, His mother (Laurie Metcalf) tells him that he has to decide what he wants to do with his old toys, and Andy decides to keep them in the attic, except for Woody (Tom Hanks), who he is planning to take to school. However in the rush of packing Andy gets distracted and forgets about the toys. His mother, thinking that Andy does not have any use for the toys accidentally donates them to the Sunnyside Daycare, leaving Woody, Buzz (Tim Allen) all of the other toys to figure out how this will impact their future. At first life at the daycare seems like it will be happy and carefree, but soon they learn the truth. The toys are abused by an evil bear named Lots (Ned Beatty). The toys soon realized they must figure out a way to get back home to Andy. Will they make it out alive, you will just have to go and get the movie to see.

References:
King Kong (1933)The Wizard of Oz (1939) "The Adventures of Spin and Marty" (1955)The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)Cool Hand Luke (1967)"Scooby Doo, Where Are You!" (1969)
"Happy Days" (1974)"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (1979)The Evil Dead (1981)Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)The Adventures of André and Wally B. (1984)Ernest Goes to Camp (1987)My Neighbor Totoro (1988)Tin Toy (1988)Parenthood (1989)Jurassic Park (1993)Toy Story (1995)A Bug's Life (1998)Toy Story 2 (1999)Monsters, Inc. (2001)Finding Nemo (2003)The Incredibles (2004)Cars (2006)WALL·E (2008)