Interview with Mark Henn on the new Winnie the Pooh
Mark Henn Disney Animator
Some folks are beginning to realize that classic 2D animation has a charm and visual appeal that is unique. One of the giants of Disney Animation, Mark Henn, has given an interview about the upcoming 2D animated feature on A.A. Milne’s classic Winnie the Pooh.
Classic animation techniques work best with these characters and in evoking the sensibility of the famous E.H. Shepard illustrations contained in the original books.
“We didn’t have any great debate here,” Henn says.
“I think everyone realized, when this project came up, [that] doing it by hand was the best way.”
Doing it by hand is almost always the best way!
Animated Short Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards
This is Dimples favorite time of year. We love animated short films and there are some wonderful films nominated for an Oscar this year. We’re also all about 2D and you can guess our favorites.
Here they are, the nominees for this years animated short.
“Day & Night†Teddy Newton
“The Gruffalo†Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
“Let’s Pollute†Geefwee Boedoe
“The Lost Thing†Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
“Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)†Bastien Dubois
The First Official Disney Goofy Cartoon from 1939
Here’s a brilliant piece of animation history. Disney’s Goofy character was originally called Dippy Dawg. He was re-named Goofy and this is his first cartoon under that name. Called “Goofy and Wilbur”, the cartoon was released in 1939.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osDN8zHZlQQ[/youtube]
Grab Your Popcorn – Disney Cartoons Are Coming Back to the Movies
The best animation has always been cartoon animation. By cartoon animation, Dimples means animated short subjects. Feature length theatrical animation is good but the medium shines in the short subject. The good news in cartoons is that Disney is returning to the short cartoon format. From the International Herald Tribune:
After a hiatus of nearly 50 years, Walt Disney Studios is getting back into the business of producing short cartoons, starting with a Goofy vehicle next year. The studio has released a few shorts in recent years, but they were more artistic exercises than commercial endeavors. The new cartoons, by contrast, spring from an effort by a new leadership team at Pixar Animation Studios, now a Disney unit, to put the company back at the forefront of animation, with a form that it pioneered.
2D animation is definitely making a come-back at Disney under John Lasseter. The new cartoon shorts will be produced by animation vetran Chuck Williams. Why would Disney do this? Because 2D animation is the heart of the art. From the International Herald Tribune:
“They allow you to develop new talent,” Williams said in an interview at the Disney studios. “Shorts are your farm team, where the new directors and art directors are going to come from. Instead of taking a chance on an $80 million feature with a first-time director, art director or head of story, you can spend a fraction of that on a short and see what they can do.”
Sharpen your pencils. Develop character driven stories. 2D animation is still the best.
[tags]2D animation, Disney, cartoons, Goofy, cartoon shorts, John Lasetter, Chuck Williams[/tags]
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