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PDF E-BOOK:
H. M. Bateman
Suburbia (1922) & Burlesques (1916/1922)
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Born in 1887, H. M. Batman was already drawing for publication in his early teens. Astonishingly prolific and inventive, everything he saw became material, so that his work can be read as a social history of Britain in the first half of the 20th Century and, to an extraordinary degree, as a kind of autobiography. His style developed and changed radically over the years. From the graceful and rhythmical lines of his earlier work to the stark brilliance of his strip cartoons and the furious energy of his "Man Who…" series, his essential qualities of superb draughtsmanship, astonishing observation and a profound appreciation of humanity’s foibles, are always married to a wonderful wit and narrative perfection. He told marvellously funny stories in pictures.
This PDF e-book contains two complete cartoon books packed with hundreds of Bateman’s cartoons and caricatures, and includes a biography from HMBateman.com.
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DVD QUALITY VIDEO:
Cereal Commercial Reel
Paul Fennell Studios (ca. early 1950s)
Paul Fennell was a pioneer of animated advertising. As early as 1939 he was animating the Kelloggs elves- Snap, Crackle and Pop, and continued to direct commercials starring the trio through the 1950s. In addition, this reel of animated cereal commercials features Cheerios spots with brilliant layouts by Ed Benedict. The design and clever limited animation of these commercials foreshadow the style of Hanna-Barbera’s early television series.
DVD QUALITY VIDEO:
Tuberculosis: You Can Help
Paul Fennell Studios (ca. 1945)
Industrial films are fascinating to study. Their primary purpose was to educate and inform, but they also needed to hold the audience’s interest. Animation provided the perfect balance of function and fun. These films were designed with a very specific audience in mind, and were ephemeral films- after their audience had been reached with the message, the films were no longer needed. For this reason, only a small fraction of the number of industrial films produced over the years survive. Budgets were very low and schedules were short. Dialogue, music and design had to carry the show.
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HD QUALITY VIDEO:
The Little Prince & The 8 Headed Dragon
Yugo Senikawa / Toei Animation (1963)
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The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon was released in Japan in 1963. The sixth animated feature produced by Toei Animation, it was filmed in ToeiScope, an anamorphic widescreen format similar to CinemaScope.
The artist most responsible for the look of the film was Yasuji Mori. The graphically simple designs and strong color palette marked a clear break with the earlier Toei animated films. Before this, Japanese animated features tended to follow the style of Disney films; and although there is certainly a nod to the dragon in Disney’s "Sleeping Beauty", the overall look of the film is much more graphic and stylized than anything done in Japan up to that point.
The story is based on Shinto legends from the eighth century A.D, specifically the story of the headstrong storm god Susanoo and his battle with Yamata no Orochi, the eight-headed dragon. Susanoo is depicted in the film as a young boy. His mother dies, but his father Izanagi is unable to break the news to him. Instead, he tells the boy that his mother has gone to be with the gods in heaven. Susanoo takes this literally and becomes angry, setting off to find her, accompanied by a rabbit named Akahana.
The pair build a boat to sail to the heavens, and they do battle with the Sea God in the form of a giant fish. They then set out for the Crystal Palace in the Land of the Night, overseen by Tsukuyomi, the moon god. Susanoo fails to find his mother there and becomes angry, starting a fight with the crystal warriors. The ruckus damages the crystal castle, but Tsukuyami restores it, and directs the boy to the Land of Fire. As they leave, the Moon God gives Akahana a magic ice crystal.
In the Land of Fire, the pair join up with a new companion, Titan Bo, a friendly giant. With the help of Akahana and the magic crystal Susanoo defeats the Fire God. They depart from the Land of Fire to journey to the Land of Light. Here they meet the Shinto sun goddess, Amaterasu. Susanoo’s temper causes him to start a fight again, destroying part of her castle. This causes Amaterasu to hide in a cave, plunging the world into darkness. Her followers dance and perform to lure her to come back out, and are finally successful at bringing the light of the sun back to the world.
Susanoo’s long and dangerous voyage has failed to lead him to his mother. Eventually the journey brings the three friends to the Izumo Province. There Susanoo meets a girl, Princess Kushinada, who reminds him of his mother. They become good friends, but her family tells Susanoo about a seven headed dragon who has claimed their other seven daughters as sacrifices. Susanoo decides to defend Princess Kushinada from the dragon by slaying the terrifying monster. The trio sets out to the Dragon’s lair, and on the way the sun goddess Amaterasu sends a magical flying horse to Susanoo. He breaks the horse and rides it in the climactic battle with the eight-headed dragon. At the end, Susanoo’s mother’s spirit briefly appears to tell him she cannot return with him. Susanoo tells her that he no longer wants to bring her home. He has fallen in love with Princess Kushinada and has decided to live with her in the Izumo Province.
This landmark film is often cited as one of the best Japanese animated features, and you will certainly recognize its influence on Genddy Tartakovsky’s "Samurai Jack". Animation Resources is proud to be able to share this rarely seen film in a new high definition widescreen restoration. There are no subtitles, but we are sure you will be able to follow the story without them. We have digitized the video so you can still frame through and study the brilliant effects animation. We hope you find this film useful to your studies.
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SD VIDEO:
Shock Of The New Ep. 05 & 06
Robert Hughes / BBC / 1980
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In the first 18 years of the 20th century, the world changed more than in the previous 18 centuries. The rise of the machine age that led to the horrors of the First World War was unprecedented. Rapid change has continued since then. Uncertainty and progress continue to go hand in hand into an unknown future.
In the early 1980s, I happened to see a series on PBS that blew my mind. It was titled “Shock Of The New” and it was hosted by Time Magazine’s art critic, Robert Hughes. It told the story of modern art in a different way, organizing the episodes by the meaning of the art, instead of following a strict chronology. The concepts were illustrated not only by images of art, but with footage illustrating the societal upheaval that inspired it. Hughes travelled about 250,000 miles to film the places and people in the series and spent over three years producing the films and companion book. It is one of the greatest pieces of art criticism that has ever been produced.
This time we are sharing the final two episodes of the series:
Ep07 “Culture As Nature” shows how popular culture and television influenced Pop Art.
Ep08 “The Future That Was” charts how commercialism has caused the decline of modernism and has led to empty art with no significance to our culture.
In 2004, Hughes followed up this series with one more episode titled “The NEW Shock Of The New” where he compared powerful art of the past to contemporary art where popularity and monetary value trumps content.
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VIDEO PODCAST:
Ryan Kramer Interview
Animated Discussions 019 / Hosted by Davey Jarrell with Ryan Kramer
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Ryan Kramer is a storyboard artist and director with over 15 years of experience in both TV and features. He has worked on SpongeBob, Uncle Grandpa, Ben 10, Victor and Valentino, and several Looney Tunes projects, mostly notably serving as head of story on their latest feature, The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. He also produces a web cartoon called Toonhole Comics, which has been going for over 10 years. Watch Ryan talk all about storyboarding, comics, and his creative process in the latest episode of Animated Discussions!
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Whew! That is an amazing collection of treasures! The most important information isn’t what you already know… It’s the information you should know about, but don’t know yet. We bring that to you every other month.
THIS IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG!
Animation Resources has been sharing treasures from the Animation Archive with its members for over a decade. Every month, our members get access to a downloadable Reference Pack, full of information, inspiration and animation. The RefPacks consist of e-books jam packed with high resolution scans of great art, still framable animated films from around the world, documentaries, podcasts, seminars and MORE! The best part is that all of this material has been selected and curated by our Board of professionals to aid you in your self study. Our goal is to help you be a greater artist. Why wouldn’t you want to be a member of a group like that?
Membership comes in two levels. General Members get access to a bi-monthly Reference Pack as well as a Bonus RefPack from past offerings in the in-between months. We offer a discounted Student Membership for full time students and educators.
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