Few films have made as deep an impact on international popular cultures as Akira (1988) by Katsuhiro Ötomo. This animated feature is a sci-fi apocalyptic opus, deeply political and incisive in how it captures the Japan of the bubble-economy era.…
Genre and Animation
The Intrusion of Live Action in The End of Evangelion
by George Crosthwait • May 15, 2017 • 2 Comments
The original series of Hideaki Anno’s hugely popular anime Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996) was set in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event called ‘the second impact’. The show was structured around teenage protagonists piloting gargantuan mecha-organic bipeds (EVAs) in order…
Genre and Animation
When Disney Met Sci-Fi: The Marketing of Lilo & Stitch (2002)
by Eve Benhamou • May 8, 2017 • 2 Comments
With its mischievous smile, big expressive eyes, and red collar, the creature featuring on the promotional poster for Lilo & Stitch (2002, by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders) might recall the numerous pets of the Disney canon. Yet, his blue…
Animation and Stardom, Documentary
Animated Stars and Their Employment in Walt Disney Studios’ Classical Animated Documentaries
by Cristina Formenti • April 25, 2017 • 0 Comments
On the Hollywood Walk of Fame, along with the many stars immortalizing real-life celebrities, there are also some honoring famous animated figures, such as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck. Indeed, although they are made of lines and colors and not…
Animation and Stardom, Queer/ing Animation
Stronger Than You: Garnet as Queer Icon
by Jake Pitre • April 17, 2017 • 1 Comment
But I am even more than the two of them. Everything they care about is what I am. I am their fury. I am their patience. I am a conversation. “Stronger Than You”, Garnet (Estelle) I have a Garnet…
Documentary, Politics in and of Animation
Colombian Animation and New Perspectives of Sociopolitical Reality
by Lina Aguirre • April 10, 2017 • 0 Comments
Political upheaval is not something new in Colombia. For more than five decades, Colombians have experienced high levels of corruption in the government, the infiltration of drug trafficking into political life, continuous violations of human rights, and an armed conflict…
Politics in and of Animation
The “Most Watched” Turkish Animated Feature: A Dead Born Propaganda Film
by Zeynep Akcay • April 3, 2017 • 3 Comments
Turkey is a peculiar country where Anatolian, Occidental and Middle-Eastern influences have been concurrently effective in politics, economy, and, especially, in culture. Due to this, the state, however democratic it claimed to be, has always been an authoritative figure in…
Politics in and of Animation
Rick and Morty, or the Cultural Logic of Late Animation
by Nicholas Holm • March 27, 2017 • 1 Comment
Rick and Morty —an absurdist animated television series currently running on Cartoon Network— is the latest installment in a nearly-three decade popular television cycle heavily indebted to the concept of animated subversion, of which it marks the furthest extension but also…
Politics in and of Animation, Queer/ing Animation
The Politics of Representation
by Lorelei Pepi • March 20, 2017 • 5 Comments
All history can be considered a form of revisionism. There is overwhelming political power associated with those that have had the privilege of crafting historical narratives for their own purposes. The warped representation of the minority, including lesbian and gay…
Politics in and of Animation
The Negative Image of Poles in the Propaganda Animated Film Ivas
by Michal Mroz • March 13, 2017 • 26 Comments
The language of propaganda dominated many animated movies during World War II. The films often emphasized the otherness of an enemy, carrying in some extreme cases the signs of racism. The devices of stereotyping, animalization and caricaturing were often used…