For the past five years I have been researching topics relating to the frontiers of animation: motion graphics, interface design, transmedia and most recently animation and machines (more specifically robots). What started as an attempt to conduct an investigation into…
In 2007, a committee assembled by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and chaired by Abe’s science adviser Kiyoshi Kurokawa drafted Innovation 25, a strategic proposal that promised to stimulate economic growth by 2025 by investing in various aspects of technological…
One of the most significant aspects of the Disney theme parks is the use of Walt Disney’s mechanical creations that continuously entertain in many, if not all, attractions. The history behind this inspiration is that, on his many vacations, Walt…
In this post I examine the increasing trend of creating stop-motion films that metaphorically reveal the artificiality of the medium by exposing and dismantling the filmmaking process within the narrative. These are films that stage elements akin to a “making-of”,…
Starting in the first years of the 20th century with short documentary films, newsreels have had a long tradition of being glued together as a program. Newsreels were produced by different film production companies. After 1930, the films were accompanied…
Both the opening titles and the end credits play a significant role in a movie. While the former allow the viewer to enter the film, the latter extend the viewer’s filmic experience. This is true for animated films as well.…
In 2013 blogger Jon Negroni put forward ‘The Pixar Theory’: the concept that all Pixar movies exist in the same universe and can be organised into a single, cohesive timeline (see figure 1). The initial blog incorporates the 14 Pixar…
It would not be controversial to say that Disney’s historical record of representing women is complicated at best. It becomes even more complicated when we consider the Disney Princess franchise, a plethora of paratexts that arguably undermine any progressive readings…
Soon after the release of the 53-second teaser trailer for Pixar Animation Studios’ forthcoming Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird, 2018) – that premiered on November 18, 2017 and attracted 113 million views in its first 24 hours (becoming the most viewed…
My knowledge of the late Japanese animation director’s work dates to 1996, when his critically acclaimed animated film Grave of the Fireflies (1988) was first screened publicly in Singapore at the first Singapore Animation Fiesta, of which I was the…
