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…
Uncategorized
Inbetweening the Live (Part II)
by J.J. Sedelmaier • February 27, 2017 • 1 Comment
From its very beginning in 1975, Saturday Night Live has always been an outlet for independently produced short films, but animation was not something the show’s producers had much, if any, contact with. If there was, it was acquired as…
Uncategorized
Inbetweening the Live (Part I)
by J.J. Sedelmaier • February 21, 2017 • 0 Comments
I’ve been producing animation for over 30 years in both the commercial and the broadcast realms. I’ve consciously stayed away from the long-form motion picture world because I like working with shorter length projects, and also because I prefer exploring…