Tag Archives: animation

Mary Blair’s Disney Legacy

Last year for Women’s History Month I introduced the women of the Pen and Ink Department in the Golden Era of Walt Disney Animation. Today, on the 100th anniversary of Women’s History Day, his year I want to take a look at a woman who stands out in the following generation of Disney work in the 1940s. One of the most notable of these female Disney animation trailblazers is Mary Blair. Inducted into the Disney Legends Hall in 1991, Mary Blair revolutionized the artistry of the Disney Company. Her biography on the Legends website has the scoop on Mary Blair’s … Continue reading →

Tangled: Hand Drawn vs. Computer Animation

It appears I’ve lied to you. Not directly, but I made false implications. When I wrote about Disney’s forthcoming animated take on the Rapunzel fairy tale, “Tangled,” I made it sound like Disney hand animated the movie. But that’s not the case. No, it turns out that “Tangled” is actually a computer animated film. For some strange reason, I find that disappointing. I have nothing against computer animated films. I’ve made it clear how much I love just about everything Pixar offers, and I’ve also very much enjoyed films like “Kung Fu Panda” and “How To Train Your Dragon.” Computer … Continue reading →

Women’s History at Disney

In recent years more credit and accolades have gone to those behind the birth of animation, through the many acknowledgments (including a 2005 documentary) to Disney’s famous “Nine Old Men,” the main animators responsible for Disney’s golden age. But these Nine Old Men were backed by more than their mostly-male animation department. For the glory years of Disney’s early animation, from the first cartoon shorts to the feature films leading up to World War II, the department in charge of all the inking and painting of the drawings was staffed almost exclusively by women. In honor of Women’s History Month, … Continue reading →

Roy E. Disney Dies, Aged 79

On December 16, 2009 Roy Edward Disney, a powerful and fundamental force in the Disney company, succumbed to his year-long battle with cancer. Though his face bore a strong resemblance to his famous uncle Walt, Roy’s continuance of Walt Disney’s legacy involved far more than looks. The son of Walt’s brother Roy O., who co-founded the entertainment company with Walt in 1923, Roy didn’t join the family business right away. After attending Pomona College and then Harvard University, Roy first became a film editor on the television show “Dragnet” in 1952. Before long Roy did follow in his family’s footsteps … Continue reading →

“Princess and the Frog” Hints at New Era for Disney

For the past decade, Disney Animation has meant little without Pixar. All of the sharp storytelling and visual artistry that made Walt Disney famous came not from the studio he started, but from a company originally founded by George Lucas. Some movies made in that time stood out, such as “Lilo and Stitch” and “Enchanted.” But they never quite achieved the magic Disney had lost. By 2004, Disney altogether stopped making hand-drawn animated movies. “Princess and the Frog” restores the glimmer of Disney’s previous glory to a respectable glow. The movie isn’t perfect, but the studio’s finally returning to form. … Continue reading →

Go Diego Go! Great Gorilla (2008)

“Great Gorilla” was released to DVD not long ago, and the minute my son saw the ad, he wanted it. Ah, the magic of television advertising . . . we picked it up at Blockbuster the other day and watched it as a family. While only my youngest two are in to Diego and the rest of us consider it a unique form of torture, I had to admit there were some better than expected moments. The DVD contains four episodes. The first is the one for which the DVD is named. Diego travels to Africa to attend the crowning … Continue reading →

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure (1987)

I used to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks when I was a little girl. With the release of the new film “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” a whole new generation is being introduced to the furry little singing rodents. My kids were thrilled when I brought home “The Chipmunk Adventure.” Although animated and not live action, like the new film, they enjoyed learning more about Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. Dave is getting ready for a long trip to Europe for business. Alvin really wants to come along, but Dave tells him no. He’s hired Miss Miller, an eccentric elderly lady, to … Continue reading →

Fun With Flip books

Flip books are a fun project that a lot of kids haven’t seen. Flip books even teach a little about animation and perception. They do take time and patience to complete, but aren’t messy, and don’t need many supplies. A flip book is simply pages with a series of drawings. Each drawing is changed incrementally, so that when the pages are flipped it looks as if the drawing is moving. What happens is that the image your eye sees stays in your perception a fraction of time longer than the actual picture does. This is called “persistence of vision”. Because … Continue reading →

Valentines Blinkies

It is never too early to get into the spirit and fun of Valentine’s Day. This is especially true for our computers, which we seem to be looking at for so much of the day. If you have a blog or want to jazz up your e-mail signature, blinkies are the way to go. Here are some really nice ones that I have found online, free for the taking. Which ones are your favorites? Auburn Angel’s Graphics has some great sparkly offerings, with plenty of hearts and angels of course. This collection that these images were taken from is called … Continue reading →

The Reef (2006)

Take a small orange fish who has been separated from his parents by persons in a boat who are carrying a net, and then add to the mix a long journey of discovery, and what do you get? “Finding Nemo,” right? Well, you would be right, but you’d also be right if you said “The Reef.” The two plots are pretty similar, except that in “The Reef,” it’s the parents who are taken in the net and the kid who’s left behind. Pi (voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.) sees his parents scooped up in a giant net that captures hundreds … Continue reading →