Animation Story: A Social History and Context of Cinematic Animation

Animation Story: A Social History and Context of Cinematic Animation

Introduction

0:1: The Origins of Animation

0:2: What is Animation?

0:3: Anima and Life Force Energy

0:4: The Persistence of Vision and Phi Phenomenon

0:5: Animation & Gestalt Psychology

Chapter One - The Birth of an Art Form

1:1: The History and Technological Advancement of Animation

1:2: Pre-Cinematic Devices: From 1825–1906

1:3: Émile Reynaud – Pauvre Pierrot (1892)

1:4: Near a Bathing Hut

1:5:  A Short History of Photography

1:6: The Camera Obscura

1:7: The Photochemical Process

1:8: History of Film Technology

1:9: The Lumiere Brothers, the Cinématographe & the Birth of Cinema

1:10: George Melies and Special Effects

1:11: James Stewart Blackton and the Trick Film

1:12: Edison & the Birth of American Cinema

1:13: Matches Appeal and Stop-Motion Film

1:14: Ladislas Starewich & Early Russian Animation

1:15: The Tale of the Fox (1930)

1:16: The Frogs Who Wanted a King (1922)

1:17: Discussion Questions

Chapter Two – The Early Animation Industry

2:1: Hearst and the Comic Strip

2:2: Winsor McKay and the Art of 2D Animation

2:3: Winsor McCay and Gertie the Dinosaur

2:4:  How a Mosquito Operates

2:5: Little Nemo in Slumberland

2:6: The Sinking of the Lusitania

2:7: Pioneers of the Early Animation Industry

2:8: J. R. Bray and Colonel Heeza Liar

2:9: Earl Hurd and Bobby Bumps

2:10: Willis O’Brien and Stop-Motion

2:11: Paul Terry & Terry Toons

2:12: Felix the Cat and Personality Animation

2:13: Discussion Questions

Chapter Three – Early European Animation

3:1: The German Avante-Garde and Animation

3:2: Germany and Experimental Art

3:3: Berthold Bartosch, French Expressionism & L’Idee (1931)

3:4: Abstract Animation

3:5: Hans Richter & Walter Ruttman

3:6: Oscar Fischinger

3:7: Visual Music in Abstract Animation

3:8: Len Lye & Cameraless Film

3:9: Rainbow Dance

3:10: The Seven Ravens: A Lost Animated Fairytale

3:11: Lotte Reiniger & Silhouette Animation

3:12: Reiniger’s The Ornament of the Lovestruck

3:13: Cinderella by Lotte Reiniger

3:14: The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)

3:15: Discussion Questions

Chapter Four - The Rise & Fall of the Fleischer Studios

4:1: The Emergence of Fleischer Studios

4:2: The Invention of Rotoscoping

4:3: Betty Boop the Superstar

4:4: Minnie the Moocher

4:5: Any Rags? and the Great Depression

4:6: The Old Man of the Mountain

4:7: Betty Boop in Red Hot Mamma

4:8: Betty Boop and the Production Code (Hays Code)

4:9: Dancing on the Moon

4:10: Somewhere in Dreamland

4:11: Popeye: A Working-Class Superhero

4:12: The Fleischer Strike of 1937

4:13: The Paramount Takeover

4:14: Gulliver’s Travels

4:15: Miami: Trouble in Paradise

4:16: The Second Feature Film - Mr. Bug Goes to Town

4:17: Superman and the End of the Studio

4:18: Discussion Questions

Chapter 5 – Disney and the Dream Factory

5:1: Walt and Beginning of Disney Studios

5:2: Origins of Mickey Mouse

5:3: Sound Technology in Cinema

5:4: Steamboat Willie and the Arrival of Sound

5:5: Experiments in Animation – The Silly Symphonies

5:6: UB Iwerks and Flip the Frog

5:7: Snow White and the Animated Feature Film Revolution

5:8: Pinnochio Gets Real

5:9: Bambi and the War

5:10: Unionism & the Disney Strike (1941)

5:11: Fantasia

5:12: Dumbo

5:13: Disney and War Propaganda

5:14: The Good Neighbor Policy in South America

5:15: Discussion Questions

Chapter 6 – Warner Brothers, MGM & the Golden Age of Extremes

6:1: Warner Brothers & Bosko

6:2: The Evolution of Looney Tunes

6:3: The Gag Formula & Merrie Melodies

6:4: The Warner Bros. Character Pantheon

6:5: The Creation of Bugs Bunny

6:6: Private Snafu & War Propaganda

6:7: Tokio Jokio & Racist War Weapons

6:8: The Other Toons

6:9: Warner Brothers Today

6:10: MGM, The Milky Way & Peace on Earth

6:11: William Hanna & Joseph Barbera

6:12: Tom & Jerry & Puss Gets the Boot

6:13: The Original Tom & Jerry

6:14: Animation + Racism

6:15: Chunk Jones & Tom and Jerry

6:16: Discussion Questions

Chapter 7 – Communism, the Cold War & Animation

7:1: Soviet Animated Propaganda

7:2: Montage Theory & Animation

7:3: Winnie the Pooh’s Adventures with Disney and Khitruk

7:4: From Propaganda to Poetry in Russian Animation

7:5: Cold War British Animation - John Hallas and Joy Bachelor

7:6: Animal Farm – The Case Study of Cold War Animation

7:7: Eastern European Animation: Czech Surrealism

7:8: Jiri Trnka and the Puppet Film

7:9: Surrealism & the Animation of Jan Svankmayer

7:10: Discussion Questions

Chapter 8 - From a Stylistic Revolution to Psychedelic Animation

8:1: Walter Lantz, Oswald and Confidence­­­­

8:2: Hell Bent for Election

8:3: The Invention of Television

8:4: Television Animation in the 1950s

8:5: The United Productions of America and Gerald McBoing Boing

8:6: The UPA and Modern Art

8:7: The UPA Films

8:8: Saturday Morning Television Cartoons

8:9: The Rise of the Hanna-Barbera Production Company

8:10: The Flintstones (1960) and the TV Sitcom

8:11: Sixties Counter Culture and Yellow Submarine

8:12: Psychedelic Animation After the Sixties - Fantastic Planet

8:13: Japanese Psychedelia and The Belladonna of Sadness

8:14: Ralph Bakshi and 1970s: From the Street to Fantasy Animation

8:15: Discussion Questions

Chapter 9 – Cable Television Animation and the 2-D Feature Renaissance

9:1: Don Bluth and the 2D Animation Renaissance

9:2: Richard Williams & The Thief and the Cobbler

9:3: The Serialized Television Cartoon

9:4: He-Man and Television Merchandising

9:5: The Simpsons and Family Guy

9:6: The Impact of Animation Cable Networks on the Television Industry 

9:7: From Spongebob Squarepants to the Powerpuff Girls

9:8: Discussion Questions

Chapter 10 – Japanese Art Animation and the Rise of Anime

10:1: History of Japanese Animation

10:2: Anime and Context

10:3: Post War Japan and Animation

10:4: Akira and Tezuka

10:5: Anime Influences on Modern Western Cartoons

10:6: The Magical Girl Genre of Anime

10:7: History of Anime and Manga

10:8: The Development of Sunrise Studios

10:9: The Japanese Animation Industry

10:10: Hayao Miyazaki’s and Art Animation

10:11: Miyazaki and Politics

10:12: Female Characters in Miyazaki’s Animations

10:13: Shintoism and Japanese Folk-lore in the Films of Miyazaki

10:14: The Films of Studio Ghibli

10:15: Satoshi Kon: Work, and Themes 

10:16: Contemporary Anime

10:17: Discussion Questions

Chapter 11 – Computer Animation and Pixar Studios

11:1: A Brief History of Computing

11:2: History of Digital Image-Making

11:3: A Partial History of Computer Animation Software

11:4: A Technical Development of Computer Graphics

11:5: Star Wars, ILM and Special Effects

11:6: A History of CGI in Animation

11:7: The Evolution of 3-D Rendering

11:8: Realism and Stylization in CG

11:9: Technical Problems in 3-D Animation

11:10: The Rise of Pixar and 3-D Animation

11:12: Pixar’s Wall-E

11:13: Economic Influences on Pixar Animation Studios

11:14: Hybrid and 2-D Animation

11:15: Discussion Questions

Chapter 12: Animation After Toy Story, DreamWorks and the New Studios

12:1: The Iron Giant and Brad Bird

12:2: Tim Burton and Expressionism in Animation

12:3: DreamWorks and Shrek

12:4: Blue Sky Studio

12:5: Aardman Studios and the Stop-Motion Resurgence

12:6: Irish Animation and Cartoon Saloon

12:7: The New Disney

12:8: Discussion Questions

13: Concluding the Animation Story

13:1: Summary

13:2: Disney and the Domination of an Industry

13:3: The New Hope of Independent Animation and the Web

14: Selected Bibliography

15: Selected Filmography

16: Appendices

Appendix 1 - The Motion Picture Production Code (MPPC or Hay’s Code) of 1930

Appendix 2 - Guide to Analyzing Film

Appendix 3 - Questions for Understanding Animation in its Social Context

Appendix 4 - Guide to Studying and Writing Essays

Appendix 5 - Television and Movie Ratings with Descriptions