Things are changing at this blog. I am changing things around and updating old posts, trying to trendify them a little bit. I am still bringing stuff from my old blog over too. I probably won’t be posting as much here, but I do have a few posts that I have already done that are scheduled to come online over the next week. When I have finished making the changes I will make a post with all of the relevant links.
Archive for January 9, 2009
The UPA Debate – Did UPA Ruin Cartoons
Posted: January 9, 2009 in Animation, Cartoon Brew, UPATags: Amid Amidi, John K, Michael Sporn
In June 2007 John Krisfaluci made a series of posts that said that UPA ruined cartoons. This was followed up by angry replies by NY animator Michael Sporn and Cartoon Brew’s Amid Amidi. These links will take you to John K’s post on UPA, Michael Sporn’s response while Amid Amidi posted the links to the opposing views on Cartoon Brew, which prompted some interesting responses . Firstly I must point out that these are all just opinions and we all know what they say about opinions. (they’re like assholes as everyone has one!)
I find that many of the people who criticise UPA do so because they are used to watching the more physical comedy that is present in the Warner Bros. cartoons than the subtler UPA ones. I agree that UPA did perhaps become quite pretentious after Hubley left the studio, when they put style before story, but if you judge them by their best cartoons then you can see that they are very good. However many people who are classic cartoon fans seem to have the opinion that if they dislike something then it must suck, and anyone who likes the thing that they dislike must also suck. (That is a mouthful!) With something like this it is very easy for tempers to flare when making criticisms, as people take any criticism of the things they like very personally. I think that people are entitled to like what they like and should not have to be criticised for it. A lot of people who should know better however, like to make grand sweeping statements with nothing to back themselves up rather than say that it’s their opinion, which brings me back to what I originally said.
I also don’t really don’t take much of what John K says very seriously. He seems to go out of his way to be provocative, whilst we all know his Clampett fetish blinds him from anything else, and his commentary on the Popeye DVDs was terrible to say the least. Also, when was the last time that Krisfaluci made anything good animation wise?
Still, it would be good of Sony to release the UPA cartoons, or at least the earliest ones, onto DVD. If more people could see these then maybe more people could appreciate them or otherwise.
Most people remember Jim Backus as the millionaire Thurston Howell the third from the TV series Gilligan’s Island, but he was also the voice of the bumbling, near sighted Quincy Magoo.
He also appeared in numerous films, including Rebel Without A Cause where he played James Dean’s father, and several radio programs in the 1940s.
Mr Magoo Model Sheet
Posted: January 9, 2009 in Animation, Model Sheets, UPATags: Model Sheets, UPA
Continuing with the UPA theme that I have sort of been running with all week, here is an early Mr Magoo model sheet that I found at the ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive.
This is another fine UPA cartoon from 1952 that was nominaed for an Academy Award for best animated short film. With Gerald McBoing Boing this is probably the most fondly remembered of all UPA’s cartoons and one of its best.
The Unicorn In The Garden is a 1953 cartoon based on James Thurber’s short story. It is quite aclaimed by animation historians, ranking 48 on 1994s list of the top 50 cartoons of all time. However like most UPA cartoons, many younger animation fans are not so impressed by Unicorn In The Garden.
