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People who aren’t members of Animation Resources don’t understand how comprehensive our Reference Packs are. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be posting what each section of our current RefPack looks like. If you are a member of Animation Resources, click on this post to go to the Members Only page. If you aren’t a member yet, today is the perfect time to join! Our current Reference Pack is one of our best yet, and General and Student Members get access to a special Bonus Archive with even more material from past Reference Packs.

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The world of animation is much bigger than it might appear to us at first glance. We are all familiar with the films we grew up with, but Hollywood wasn’t the only place that produced great cartoons… Poland, Japan, Russia, China and Europe all have their own traditions and a rich history of animated film making. Animation Resources’ archive contains many foreign films that are rarely seen in the United States. We feature a sampling of interesting animation from around the world in each Reference Pack.

SD VIDEO:

Twelve Months

Ivan Petrovich Ivanov-Vano / Soyuzmultfilm, Russia / 1956
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The plot of this animated feature is pretty complicated, so all I have room for here is a synopsis…

A young girl is queen of a kingdom. Because she achieved her position at such a young age, she is self-centered and entitled, and believes she knows everything. She refuses to be taught. Her professor tries to teach her about botany and the names of various flowers. The young queen announces that she wants April to arrive so she can have the Spring flower, snowdrops. The Professor explains that this isn’t possible because it is the dead of winter, but the girl doesn’t listen. She makes a royal proclamation that whoever brings her a basket of these flowers will receive a basket full of gold and a fur coat.

A poor woman and her daughter hear of this proclamation and dream of receiving the reward for themselves. But they are too lazy to search for the snowdrops themselves. They resolve to make the step-daughter do it for them. As soon as her step-daughter returns home after gathering firewood, the wicked woman sends her back out into the woods to search for the impossible to find snowdrops. She tells her not to come back until she’s found them.

The girl searches through the snow with no luck and becomes very cold. She stumbles across a glade where twelve brother months have lit a fire to warm themselves. She tells them her story about her search for the elusive snow drops. They listen carefully; and when she is done, Brother April asks his brothers to allow him an hour or so to help her. They agree and the season magically changes just long enough to allow her to collect the snowdrops. Brother April gives her a magic ring… If she ever encounters trouble, all she needs to do is to throw the ring and call for them, and all twelve brother months will come to her aid.

Exhausted from her adventure, the step-daughter returns home and falls asleep. The wicked woman and her daughter steal the snowdrops and magic ring and head for the royal palace to collect the reward for themselves. The young queen is pleased and orders them to tell her where they found the flowers in the dead of Winter. Not knowing where, the woman and her daughter invent a tale about a wonderful place in the forest that grows flowers, mushrooms and berries, even in Wintertime.

The young queen decides she wants to go to this wonderful place and calls to her court to prepare for a trip. Their bluff called, the mother and daughter are forced to admit that they weren’t the ones that found the snowdrops— it was the step-daughter. So the queen takes all three of them into the woods to find the place. The step-daughter complains that the woman and her daughter stole a ring from her. The young queen makes them return it to her.

The young queen demands that the step-daughter tell her where she found the snowdrops. The girl refuses, and the bratty queen threatens to execute her and orders her guards to strip her of the fur coat. Finally, the queen snatches away the ring and tosses it into a hole in the ice. The step-daughter quickly speaks the magic words summoning the Brother Months and runs away.

All at once it becomes Springtime… and then Summer and they all take off their fur coats… then comes Autumn with its heavy rains. The drenched young queen freezes as the Winter comes again. A blizzard sweeps away the fur coats, and the queens attendants abandon her, fleeing back to the palace. The queen is left alone in the cold with one old soldier and her professor. The horses are gone so they can’t use the sled to get home.

Out of the woods comes Brother January. He promises to grant their wishes. The young queen wishes to return home to her palace. The professor wishes for the seasons to return to normal. The soldier wishes for a warm fire. And the wicked woman and her daughter wish for nice dog fur coats.

January begins with the dog fur coats. But the woman and her daughter begin to squabble, so he magically transforms them into dogs. They harness the dogs to the sled and try to head home, but they don’t get very far. The old soldier joins the Brother Months at their fire. Here he finds the step-daughter who now has beautiful furs and a team of Snow White horses. The soldier suggests to the queen that they ask to borrow the horses to pull their sled back to the castle. But the queen doesn’t ask… she demands, offering the step-daughter wealth and power in exchange. The step-daughter refuses.

The old soldier explains to the haughty queen that it is better to ask nicely than to demand. She capitulates and asks nicely with a “please”. As soon as she does this, the step-daughter lends them her horses and furs with pleasure. They all head back to the palace, wishing the Brother Months a Happy New Year.

REFPACK049: Twelve Months 1956

MP4 Video File / SD / 54:57 / 1.61 GB Download
SD VIDEO:

Snowy Roads

Boris Dyozhkin / Soyuzmultfilm, Russia / 1963

Boris Dyozhkin, the director of Snowy Roads, was one of the most respected and prolific animators in Russia. In the 1930s, he broke with other Soviet artists who rejected the Western style, studying Fleischer and Disney films frame by frame to break down the techniques being used. His study led him to an unique understanding of the synchronization of rhythm between music and motion, which made him one of the most sought after timing directors at the studio. He was also unique among the directors at Soyuzmultfilm because he animated extensively on his own films. This gives them more of an unique personal style than other films at the time.

During WWII, Dyozhkin was staying at the home of fellow animator Roman Davydov when the Nazis bombed the area from the air. He threw himself over his wife to protect her from the blast, saving her life, but he lost his left eye to a shell fragment.

Dyozhkin is best known for a series of comedy shorts based on teams competing in various sports— hockey, boxing, track and field, etc. This one is on skiing. As you watch "Snowy Roads", notice how the movement perfectly mirrors the rhythms in the music. It’s a brilliant example of musical timing (see our previous podcast on that subject.) He really gets the most out of the simple character designs by focusing on strong line of action, clear silhouettes and big contrasts. It’s a very appealing style of animation that seems much more modern than its six decade age.

This film has no dialogue and the action speaks for itself, so I won’t provide a synopsis. We think you are really going to find a lot to like this film. Like John Sibley’s animation in Disney’s Goofy sports cartoons, the action can be very extreme and still maintain perfect clarity.

REFPACK049: Snowy Roads 1963

MP4 Video File / SD / 10:27 / 155 MB Download
SD VIDEO:

Two Czech Commercials

Johnnie Loves It Clean 1932 / The Unforgettable Poster 1937

Animation Resources’ digital archive recently received a batch of early Czechoslovakian animated films. Among them were these two animated commercials. We tend to think of commercials as being primarily from the television era, but in the 1930s, a great deal of advertising animation was produced for theaters. These two examples are interesting examples, and the illustrate how influential Disney and Fleischer cartoons were, even in Europe.

The history of animation in Czechoslovakia goes back to the 1920s. I believe the two films we are sharing with you here are by Karel Dodal, who not only produced advertisements (some featuring Felix the Cat), but also puppet and experimental films. The first advertisement, "Johnnie Likes It Clean" looks very much like a contemporary American cartoon. The notes that came with these films were sparse and all in the Czech language, so we don’t know much about them. If you have information you can share with us, please drop us a line.

REFPACK049: Johnnie Loves It Clean

MP4 Video File / SD / 04:22 / 65 MB Download

REFPACK049: The Unforgettable Poster

MP4 Video File / SD / 03:24 / 37 MB Download
SD VIDEO:

Professor Balthazar in "Lighthouse Keeping"

Zlatko Grgic / Zagreb Films, Croatia / 1967

In a previous Reference Pack we featured several Maxi-Cat mini-cartoons by Zlatko Grgic, a Croatian animator who later emigrated to Canada to join the Canadian Film Board.

Grgic is best known for his series of cartoons featuring the character Professor Balthazar, an old man who solves problems for his friends by creating inventions with a magical machine. Produced between 1967 and 1973, the series ran all over the world. Its silent pantomime with voice over narration made it easy to translate to other countries It aired everywhere from New Zealand to Romania to Zimbabwe. In the United States it was featured on Chuck Jones’ television program, Curiosity Shop.

Altogether there were 59 episodes of Professor Balthazar produced between 1969 and 1978. We will be sharing more with you in upcoming Reference Packs.

REFPACK049: Professor Balthazar Ep. 01

MP4 Video File / SD / 09:05 / 89 MB Download

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Animation Resources is one of the best kept secrets in the world of cartooning. Every month, we sponsor a program of interest to artists, and every other month, we share a book and up to an hour of rare animation with our members. If you are a creative person interested in the fields of animation, cartooning or illustration, you should be a member of Animation Resources!

It’s easy to join Animation Resources. Just click on this link and you can sign up right now online…

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In January of 2013, we re-introduced the Animation Archive as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization under the name Animation Resources and began accepting memberships. Many of those charter members are still members to this day, and we have grown to become an influential educational resource serving the entire world over the internet. This remarkable achievement is thanks to the tireless work of the countless volunteers who contribute their time and efforts to sharing our archive with the world, and to our members who contribute to our programs financially. Because of their support, we are able to provide benefits of membership that far exceed the cost of membership dues.

Over the past ten years, Animation Resources has digitized and archived a wide variety of treasures, from vintage storyboards to timing documents to gorgeous artwork and rare films from around the globe to art instructional material to classic examples cartooning and caricature. These resources have been used by hundreds and thousands of artists in their self study. We have instituted an audio podcast and video live-streaming project which has featured many important topics and has introduced our members to important artists working in the field of animation. But our most significant accomplishment in the past decade has been the publishing of Reference Packs- downloadable e-books, still framable videos and documentaries on subjects of interest to artists working in the fields of animation, cartooning and illustration. These Reference Packs are curated by professional artists on our Board, including Ralph Bakshi, Will Finn, Sherm Cohen, J.J. Sedelmaier and Steve Stanchfield. In February, we will be offering our fiftieth Reference Pack- a retrospective of the best of past Reference Packs.

Looking back on the past decade, the amount of important work our volunteers have been able to accomplish is staggering. Our members care about the art of animation and are willing to give back to the muse by lending a helping hand to others. They understand that raising up the artists around them raises the art form itself, allowing them to express themselves better through collaboration. Altruism seems like a rare thing in this day and age, but at Animation Resources, it is our stock-in-trade.

2023 is going to be a very exciting year for Animation Resources. We have some changes planned that will take us to the next level and provide even more valuable resources to our membership. We’ll have details on those changes in February when we launch our annual Member Appreciation month. Until then, we want to express our profound thanks to all of the people who contributed their time, efforts and dues to make this organization what it is today. The future is bright. The best is yet to come.

Sincerely,
The Board of Directors of Animation Resources

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LAST CALL! A new Bonus Archive goes online this weekend and this one goes away. Download it now while you can.

As a special thank you to our annual General and Student members, we have created a special page where we will archive past Reference Packs. There will be at least four reruns of complete RefPacks per year.

If you are currently on a quarterly membership plan, consider upgrading to an annual membership to get access to our bonus page with even more downloads. If you still have time on you quarterly membership when you upgrade to an annual membership, email us at…

membership@animationresources.org
…and we will credit your membership with the additional time.

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ANNUAL MEMBER BONUS ARCHIVE

Available to Student and General Members

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PDF E-BOOK:

Simplicissimus Vol. 1

December 30th, 1903 to March 2nd, 1904

Simplicissimus (Simpleton) was founded in 1896. It was the most audacious and daring caricature magazine of its day, lampooning the stiffness of officers of the military, religion, class divisions, loose social morals and inevitably, powerful political leaders. Its reckless determination to offend destined it for trouble, and it didn’t take long.

In 1898 Kaiser Wilhelm objected to a caricature of himself on the cover of Simplicissimus. He shut down the magazine, forced its publisher to flee to Switzerland, and threw the cartoonist, Theodor Heine in jail. Like a phoenix, Simplicissimus soon sprang up again, but in 1906 its editor Ludwig Thoma was convicted of attacking the church and was also jailed for a time. It continued to have legal troubles with the government and religious leaders throughout its many decades in publication, but these troubles only served to increase the circulation.

Based in Munich, the staff of Simplicissimus included some of the best draftsmen and most forward thinking illustrators of the day. Bruno Paul was one of the most recognizable of the magazine’s artists. He was one of the founders of the Jugendstil movement and along with cartooning, he was an accomplished furniture designer and architect. Another brilliant contributor to Simplicissimus was Rudolf Wilke. His caricatures were keenly observed and unique. The personalities lept off the page. Ludwig Thoma specialized in satirizing life in in rural Bavaria; while Eduard Thöny and Ferdinand von Reznícek focused on military subjects and high society. Olaf Gulbransson was a Norwegian-born artist with a simple graphic line that belied the sophistication of his caricature. It was an amazing team of artists, and they produced thousands of incredible illustrations over the years on a tight weekly schedule.

When the Nazis came to power in the mid-1930s, Simplicissimus was an obvious target for silencing. The Nazis despised everything that the magazine stood for, but they didn’t shut Simplicissimus down. They purged it of the Jewish employees and weeded the ranks of its most radical writers and artists. Thomas Heine, who was responsible for creating the iconic bulldog mascot was the first to go. They succeeded in blunting its impact considerably, a blow from which the magazine never recovered. Simplicissimus ceased publication at the end of World War II, and was re-established for a while in the mid-1950s, but by that time it was pale shadow of its former self.

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DVD QUALITY VIDEO:

Astro Boy
Pilot Episode / 1963

Astro Boy (known in Japan as Mighty Atom) premiered on Fuji TV on New Year’s Day in 1963. It was immensely popular and established many of the concepts that later became known to be a part of the Anime style. Created by Osama Tezuka, the story was originally told in the form of manga comics which were published beginning in 1951 and continuing for three decades. Tezuka was influenced for the design of Astro Boy by Mickey Mouse, and you can see gags in the circus parade sequence that have been lifted from Fleischer cartoons.

The animation in this pilot episode is a model of economy. Notice how exposition is covered quickly in a series of quick static images, and how most of the focus is on the personality of the characters. Much of the animation consists of repeating 4, 8 and 16 frame cycles, but occasionally a sophisticated bit of personality animation or an expressive walk cycle is sprinkled in to keep things alive. Even though there are fewer drawings than in most animated films and TV shows, the drawings in Astro Boy are particularly well executed. Compositions, expressions and character posing is all first rate, and many of them are funny as well. The timing of the effects animation is worth studying for the way it cleverly reuses drawings without becoming too repetitive.

Independent animators would be well served to analyze the techniques used in this program. Many of the ideas for streamlining the storytelling and reusing drawings directly apply to the tight schedules required for internet cartoon series. We hope you find this to be useful in your own work.

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HD QUALITY VIDEO:

Heckle & Jeckle in "Sno Fun"
Terry-Toons / Eddie Donnelly (Dir) / 1951

During the early 1950s, Terry-Toons was suffering from a lack of inspiration when it came to coming up with premises for cartoons. They recycled stories from cartoons they had made decades earlier and even appropriated ideas from other studios. "Sno Fun" unashamedly imitates Tex Avery’s "Northwest Hounded Police" made five years earlier, substituting Heckle & Jeckle for Droopy and a French Canadian bulldog for the wolf.

But even though the story and gags are unimaginative, the animation is truly inspired. Jim Tyer animates the lion’s share of this cartoon and he successfully turns lead into gold. Tyer had his own sense for distorting the characters to anticipate big actions and makes tired gags seem fresh.

This particular video transfer was provided to Animation Resources by our Advisory Board member Steve Stanchfield and it is a revelation, because Terry-Toons usually look faded and grainy- but this 35mm print is sharp and clear with bright colors. This allows you to analyze Tyer’s animation frame by frame. Choose a scene that makes you laugh and break it down… study the drawings and timing. Notice how Tyer uses repeating rhythmic cycles of rolling eyes or flapping mouths to heighten the comedy. Volumes change depending on the need of the movement. His animation is less about moving characters through space than it is expressing movement through the characters. That is a totally different way of thinking about how to animate a film.

Many thanks to Steve Stanchfield for sharing so many treasures with us.

Click to access the…

Annual Member Bonus Archive

Downloads expire after December 2023

Get your friends to join Animation Resources!

More members mean we can bring you more special downloads.

Fall is time to save when you join Animation Resources as a student member. For the next couple of weeks our Student Membership will be discounted to only $60/year! Best of all, you will continue to get that savings every year you renew as a student for up to three years. Yes, this applies to full time educators too. Why should you join? Each day we’ll be highlighting more reasons why you should be a member of Animation Resources. Bookmark us and check back every day.

STUDENT MEMBERSHIP

Discount Ends Nov. 6th!
$70/year $60/year (recurring)

FREE SAMPLES!

Not Convinced Yet? Check out this SAMPLE REFERENCE PACK! It will give you a taste of what Animation Resources members get to download every other month!

There’s no better way to feed your creativity than to be a member of Animation Resources. Every other month, we share a Reference Pack that is chock full of downloadable e-books and still framable videos designed to expand your horizons and blow your mind. It’s easy to join. Just click on this link and you can sign up right now online.

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