John Hubley's Animation Revolution

A profile of experimental animator John Hubley

John Hubley's Animation Revolution

Filmation green lantern intro

Filmation were an American company responsible for some of the less well regarded examples of limited animation. By their own low standards is actually not too bad.

Abstract Background Art

I've recently come to love some of the abstract art used in 50's and 60's animation, especially the work of UPA from this time. I suppose the use of abstract background art would have started off as a cost saving measure, after all many of the backgrounds featured in animations such as Gerald McBoing Boing are stripped down to basic lines and shapes. However I prefer to think of it as a different form of expression with the same aesthetic value of any fully animated work and it could be argued that those animators who used this style where doing what the cubist's such Picasso had with painting.

"Fever" by Charlie Griak

A nice little animation which encapsulates pretty much what I'm trying to do with my project albeit on a smaller scale. I actually downloaded this from itunes for £1:50, a pretty good deal I think. I've only recently found this vid and Mr Griak also has a blog which I'm now following. He's an extremely good illustrator so I'm not expecting my project to look anything as good as this but I think this does demonstrate what can be done with static drawings and a bit of inspiration. I also think it highlights the importance of the soundtrack to build tension where there may not be a great deal of animation happening. Food for thought for next semester I suppose. You can check out the vid on Youtube :)

Toei Animation

Toei Animation Co., Ltd. (東映アニメーション株式会社 Tōei Animēshon Kabushiki-gaisha) (JASDAQ: 4816) is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films (日本動画映画, Nihon Dōga Eiga, often shortened to 日動映画 Nichidō Eiga). In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name. Over the years, the studio has created a large number of TV series, movies, and adapted many Japanese comics by renowned authors to animated series, many popular worldwide. Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Leiji Matsumoto and Yoichi Kotabe have all worked with the company in the past. Toei is a shareholder in the Japanese anime satellite television network, Animax, along with other noted anime studios and production enterprises such as Sunrise, TMS Entertainment and Nihon Ad Systems Inc.[1][2][3] The company headquarters are located in the Ohizumi Studio in Nerima, Tokyo.[4]
Until 1998, the company was known as Toei Doga (東映動画株式会社 Tōei Dōga Kabushiki-gaisha?) (although even at that time the company’s formal English name was indeed “Toei Animation Co. Ltd.”), with “dōga” being the native Japanese word for “animation” which was widely used until the 1970s. Their mascot is the cat Pero, from the company's 1969 film adaptation of Puss in Boots.
Toei Animation produced the anime versions of works by many legendary manga artists, including Go Nagai, Shotaro Ishinomori, Masami Kurumada, Akira Toriyama and Naoko Takeuchi. In addition, the studio helped propel the popularity of the magical girl and Super Robot genres of anime; among Toei's most legendary and trend-setting TV series include the first magical-girl anime series, Mahoutsukai Sally the anime adaptation of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga of the same name, and Go Nagai's Mazinger Z, animated adaptation of his manga, which set the standard for Super Robot anime for years to come.
Anime created by Toei Animation that have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award have been Galaxy Express 999 in 1981, Saint Seiya in 1987, and Sailor Moon in 1992.
In addition to producing anime for domestic release in Japan, in the 1980s, Toei Animation also provided animation work for several American animated series for US companies.

Dick Tracy: Phony Pharmers

Another UPA classic! I remember watching this as a kid and wondering why the show was called The Dick Tracy Show when everyone else seems to be doing all the work? Seem's he was happy employing various ethnic stereotypes such as Joe Jitsu or Go-Go Gomez, allowing put their lives at risk on a weekly basis then swooping in at the end to take all the credit. Seems a little unfair although you have to admit the man has quite amazing powers of delegation :)

Rooty Toot Toot (John Hubley, UPA, 1951)

One of the unsung hero's of animation and a pioneer of experimental animation. A great example of some of the abstract art and design that was used when UPA was at the height of its powers.