10 Writing About Animation DON’TS

Sometimes when you read about animation, whether it's a review of a movie or a piece on the state of animation box office, you often see writers - who aren't quite entrenched in the medium and its rich history - walk into these tiger traps. They write things about animation that indicate that the perception …

I Can’t Get Angry About Live-Action Remakes Anymore…

Recently, a particular quote from an incredibly divisive entry in a massive franchise has been on my mind... "Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love..." A film released by Walt Disney Pictures no less, the same studio specializing in live-action/CG remakes of their animated features. Those who know me well will know that …

‘Infinity War’ Appreciation

I love Avengers: Infinity War... Even though I consider Black Panther to be the best of this year's Marvel Cinematic Universe crop, I've really taken a liking to Avengers: Infinity War. It's just such a big, jam-packed, layered entry in the MCU that effortlessly manages to explore over twenty characters, many of which previously established through other films, …

Steady, Forward…

One thing I often hear is this... Animation is "evolving." Animation has "come a long way." I'll make it very clear upfront. I have a very unconventional and possibly controversial view on modern American feature animation. The films that rule the scene are family-friendly movies, many of which really haven't moved us forward from where …

I Want to Make More Fan-art

Actually, I have made fan-art in the past. I was never a fan of making fan-art, though. See what I did there? Despite being a studio art graduate, I still feel my work isn't up to par. Instead of using only my personal work as a way to get better at this stuff, I turned …

2011: Life and Animation

I wanted to talk about a certain year in my life for some random reason... For a while, I had somewhat considered 2011 to be a downer year for feature animation. Why this specific, not-so-distant stretch of 365 days you ask? It just sort of came to mind... 2011 was a year of some firsts …

‘Yellow Submarine’ – An Animation Thesis

Fifty years ago, feature animation and popular music came together, and created something glorious. My next pick for "Animation Thesis" is, unlike the three films before it, something that the House of Mouse was never involved with in any way... Yet, the House of Mouse considering doing a remake of it at one point in …

Make Up Your Own Mind

Another year, another live-action Disney film that tried to do something a little different has possibly failed at the box office... Walt Disney Pictures' adaptation of Madeleine D'Engle's arguably-unfilmmable A Wrinkle in Time hit screens this weekend. Backed by vague and unconvincing trailers, the film seemed to get by on its director's pedigree and its refreshingly …

The Many Logos of Disney Home Ent.

I'm a long-time Disney VHS collector who is fascinated by the little details that differentiate tapes, from all the different eras of Disney's home media division. In a way, it's kind of odd... Walt Disney Home Video had a logo before Walt Disney Productions proper. Walt Disney's films, up until the mid-1950s, had been distributed …

Rottenfield

WARNING: Major spoilers for THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX ahead... I saw a "bad" movie and really enjoyed it... Yesterday, Netflix surprise-released The Cloverfield Paradox. The third film in the J. J. Abrams Twilight Zone-esque series of weirdo sci-fi tales, it was - for the longest time - aiming for a theatrical release last year. Delays kept …