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.
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HD VIDEO:
VIP: My Brother Superman
Bruno Bozetto / Italy / 1968
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Bruno Bozzetto is an Italian animator known for his parody of Fantasia titled Allegro Non Troppo. His other feature films include a superhero parody called VIP My Brother Superman and a spaghetti western parody titled West And Soda. Bozzetto’s work is often satirical and political in nature, championing the common man and lampooning government inefficiency and oppression.
VIP: My Brother Superman was Bozetto’s second animated feature. The film features two superheroes- SuperVIP, a strongman who is irresistible to women, and MiniVIP, a small not-so-superhero who is an ineffectual nebbish. The villain of the story, Happy Betty is a lady industrialist who has her eye on ruling the world. It was financed by American investors who objected to the depiction of the Asian slaves working in Happy Betty’s sweatshops and demanded that Bozetto paint them green. But the satirical jab at American exploitation of cheap labor in third world countries is still clear.
Bozzetto’s work is not as well known in the United States as it should be, but it is recognized and appreciated across Europe. Recently, Animation Resources has been working to acquire more of his films for the Animation Archive, and we hope to share them with you in future Reference Packs. We think you’ll find a lot to inspire you in Bozzetto’s work.
MP4 Video File / HD / 01:21:36 / 2.43 GB Download
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SD VIDEO:
Two Early German Commercials
Sun In The House (1932) / Song Of The Mill (1934)
In this Reference Pack, we are sharing two rare animated theatrical commercials from Germany. One of these was made by Hans Fischerkoesen, a pioneer in using animation as a medium for advertising. The other was directed by the team of Bernhard Huth and Wintzer von Tresckow, film makers who worked in the Nazi era making short advertising and propaganda films for UFA.
Hans Fischerkoesen was often referred to as “the Walt Disney of Germany”, but truth be told, his talent wasn’t for long form storytelling animation, but rather cartoon advertising shorts. His advertising career began in 1921, and until his death in the early 1970s, he produced over a thousand animated commercials, most of which are lost. By the 1930s, his work had achieved widespread fame throughout Europe.
Many of the products his films had advertised were luxury items, which were banned from being advertised under the Nazis. By 1940, his business had diminished to a trickle. However both Hitler and Gobbels had an interest in the films of Walt Disney and aspired to create similar films in Germany. The Nazis established the Deutsche Zeichentrickfilme studio, which trained young cartoonists with the goal of creating an animated feature. With few other options, Fischerkoesen moved his studio to Potsdam, near the Nazi’s UFA Studios.
When the war ended, Fischerkoesen was arrested as a Nazi collaborator, and thrown in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp by the Russian army. He was a model prisoner and eventually convinced his Russian captors that he was a part of an underground organization of artists that worked to undermine the Nazis. When he was released, he fled from the Soviet controlled area of Germany to the district overseen by France. Here he established the Fischerkoesen Studios, returning to the production of animated commercials. The studio was hugely successful throughout the 1950s.
The influence of television on the advertising industry in the early 60s led to shorter and snappier commercials, and Fischerkoesen found it difficult to keep up with the times. His studio closed briefly in 1972, returning under the supervision of his son shortly after Hans’ death.
MP4 Video File / SD / 03:01 / 68 MB Download
MP4 Video File / SD / 01:57 / 60 MB Download
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SD VIDEO:
Wolfgang The Intrepid
Mikhael Tumelya / AnimaFilmCenter / Russia / 1991
Mikhael Tumelya is a Russian animator based in Belarus. Born in 1961, he has had a prolific career directing a variety of both long and short form films, commercials and TV series. He studied under Edward Nazarov and Yuri Norstein. He currently teaches at the SHAR School and Studio in Moscow.
Tumelya’s short film, "The Song Of Wolfgang The Intrepid, The Glorious Destroyer Of Dragons" is a remarkable example of his work. It opens with an impressive multi-layer pan, and the style of movement perfectly matches the design of the characters. The anatomy of the main character is divided into segments that separate from each other, but the movement is always handled as one unit. Even though this isn’t built from an object library, Flash animators interested in making their animation less stiff would be well advised to study this film carefully.
Russian animation is rarely seen in America, but there is a rich and diverse history there to explore. In the International section of every one of our Reference Packs, we bring the best of these amazing films to you to study.
MP4 Video File / SD / 04:16 / 75 MB Download
NOTE: In order to consolidate space on our VIP Download Page, from here on we are including the Early Anime downloads within the International section.
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SD VIDEO:
Gaboten Island Ep. 8 & 12
Studio / Japan / 1964
Adventure On The Gaboten Island was based on a manga by Fumio Hisamatsu, and was animated by Eiken Studios. It aired from April 4th, 1967 to December 26th of the same year. In total, thirty nine half hour episodes were produced.
The story begins when Ryuta and his sister Tomato sneak on board a submarine docked at an amusement park. The amusement park’s son Iago and his friends Cucumber and Cabo enter the submarine and get in a fight with Ryuta. In the tussle, a switch is flipped and the submarine heads out to sea. Unable to steer it and running low on fuel, the children wreck the sub in a storm and end up shipwrecked on an island in the South Pacific. Ryuta and Tomato befriend a myna bird and a gorilla. Together, the group struggles with each other and nature for survival.
Gaboten Island appears to have been made on a meagre budget. The music score consists of noodling on an electric organ. The animation is padded out with cycles repeating over and over. Scenes are reused shamelessly. Characters stick their face into the shot from the left, then later in the show, the face is flopped and it comes in from the right. Cutaway shots of animals are inserted in the middle of dialogue, and the same shot of a tree falling in the jungle is repeated at least eight times in as many minutes. But there’s plenty of fun stuff- In episode 8, there’s a spooky shipwreck, boxing kangaroos and kids playing with a loaded pistol. And the children are attacked by a giant eagle in episode 12. There’s a nice balance of adventure and humor, courtesy of the sidekick animals. Of course the theme song is great! Enjoy!
MP4 Video File / SD / 24:33 / 188 MB Download
MP4 Video File / SD / 24:33 / 204 MB Download
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For the past decade, Animation Resources has been serving artists working in the fields of animation, cartooning and illustration. Our volunteers and members have pulled together to raise the bar for our art form, and it’s time to celebrate… It’s Members Appreciation time again!
During the month of February, Animation Resources expresses our appreciation for to members with a very special Reference Pack, and we invite you to become a member too. For the next 30 days, we will be sharing reasons why you should join us. Our benefits of membership far exceed the cost of our annual dues.
This year, we are trying something new to encourage new memberships. You can join for a one week trial membership for only A DOLLAR! Yes, you get access to everything our annual members get for seven days for only a buck. (Click here for the details on our Dollar Days.) What are you waiting for?
You can find out what our members get at the Member Appreciation Page. It’s easy to join. Just click on this link and you can sign up right now online…
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