When it comes to useful animation, many think of standard examples, such as motion graphics used in advertising or documentaries. However, useful films are any piece that is “made to sell, promote, or to teach” (Petter 2019, 74). While many…
We all know that animation has commonly been used to bring products to life, create dynamic visual aids for educational films, or provide a stimulus or communication tool for scientific experiments. Yet, in scholarly efforts to elevate animation as art…
In this post, I illustrate how the early Chinese ink painting animation showed oriental aesthetics, conveying implicit and meaningful emotions. It was closely related to the traditional Chinese ink painting and reflected the unique philosophical concept of the Chinese ancients:…
Review of Jez Stewart, The Story of British Animation, London: British Film Institute, Bloomsbury, 2021. Jez Stewart’s role as a curator at the BFI National Archive positions him well as author of this detailed history of British animation. The book…
While the theme ‘violence in animation’ might mostly be associated with indestructible cartoon characters, here I reflect upon the capacity of non-figurative animation to directly assail the senses. Can abstraction be as effective as figurative art in communicating issues of…
The episode of the Netflix anthology series Love, Death, and Robots (2019-2021) titled “Snow in the Desert” follows a white-haired, middle-aged man named Snow as he traverses a dangerous alien landscape, pursued by human and alien bounty hunters. In a…
Violence and animation have a long-established bond. Through Tom and Jerry (1940-1958) and Looney Tunes (1930-1969), animated violence has developed a reputation as a comedic tool, but is also a common subject for animated documentaries with a serious ‘truth-telling’ agenda.…
In Watership Down (1978), there are several famous (or perhaps infamous) scenes in which terrified rabbits are chased and violently attacked by other animals. Similarly, in the classic Tom and Jerry series (1940-1958), Tom the cat is often harmed by…
Review of Nea Ehrlich, Animating Truth: Documentary and Visual Culture in the 21st Century, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2021. For those of us who are interested in nonfictional animation, Nea Ehrlich’s new book is, to tell the truth, a proper…
Animation as an artistic means of expression has long been put to use in the name of politics. Animated films have served as political propaganda, expressed political protest, and dealt with political questions in many genres such as fiction, documentary,…
