My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010- ) is one of the most discussed children’s cartoon programmes of the 21st century, receiving academic interest (for example, the “My Little Pony: A Transcultural Phenomenon” research conference at University of Brighton in…
Gender and Animation
Disney Princesses…What harm can they do?
by Bella Honess Roe • August 4, 2014 • 10 Comments
When I taught my module on the History and Theory of Animation to my final year undergrads at the University of Surrey last semester I was really looking forward to the week on representation of gender. I’ve taught this class…
"National" Animation
Not One for Rumours
by Anitha Balachandran • June 23, 2014 • 1 Comment
The Films Division was created in 1948, the year after India’s independence. Imbued with a new discourse of official nationalism, it was to reflect the shifting ideologies of the emergent nation state. Describing the performative pedagogical functions of nationalism, historians…
"National" Animation
Tracing the Heart of Thai Animation’s National Characteristics
by Millie Young • June 2, 2014 • 5 Comments
The Thai industry is still relatively new, having had a slow staggered start in the 1940’s, and a flourish of a feature in 1979, the industry only really started in earnest early this century. This post is a precursor to…
"National" Animation
Rebuilding the Nation Through Iraqi National Animation
by Amber Shields • May 26, 2014 • 2 Comments
Embarking on an all-Iraqi animation project within a country still recovering from the last few decades of upheaval presents particular problems and possibilities. Completing the short 3D animation Baghdad Night (2013), Iraqi/German artist Furat al-Jamil and her team were confronted…
"National" Animation
Animators in Exile
by Lauren Carr • May 19, 2014 • 2 Comments
Are animators in exile? Yes, as well as all the other positions that entail production for feature animation. August 2000 was my entry in the industry, the tail end of in-house traditional feature animation in California. Los Angeles had been…
"National" Animation
‘Irish’ Animation
by Harvey O'Brien • May 12, 2014 • 3 Comments
Each year I ask my students who has seen the Oscar-nominated indigenous Irish feature The Secret of Kells (2009). Each year just a few hands go up. This might be unremarkable other than that I teach at an Irish University.…
Miscellaneous
Why MLP (FIM)?
by Ewan Kirkland • May 5, 2014 • 0 Comments
The new My Little Pony show, subtitled ‘Friendship is Magic’, follows in the footsteps of recent reimagined franchises, from superhero comics, to digital game heroines, to science fiction and action television. While understandably rejecting the ‘dark’ reboot route, a distinct…
"National" Animation
Animation in the Middle East
by Stefanie Van de Peer • May 5, 2014 • 7 Comments
In the Middle East, historically, the relationship between art and religion is complex. Islam declares that Allah is the only image-maker, the only creative and shaping being with divine inspiration. In that context, figurative art has been avoided. Islamic art…
Norman McLaren Centenary: McLaren and Movement
A Reflection On Norman McLaren, George Balanchine And Absolute Ballet
by Aimee Mollaghan • April 28, 2014 • 1 Comment
Norman McLaren infamously posits that he probably became a filmmaker because he had been unable to be a dancer or choreographer. While one can argue that the underlying concern of his work is movement, one can also posit that McLaren’s…