General Animation Thread

[Psychotime]

There's a comic one, so why not?

I don't know about most people, but even though I still remember the good cartoons of the 90's, my childhood was hours and hours of public domain cartoons, a lot of which are older than my own grandfather.

Case in point, Ub Iwerks' Comicolor shorts.

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I love the bit where the two leads get hardboiled and start kicking ass.



Disney needs to swipe all these up the same way they took all of the Oswald shorts and put out a DVD. Iwerks is part of the Disney legacy, regardless if he followed Walt or not.

They aren't nearly as memorable as Fleischer or Clampett, but rediscovering them again brings a smile to my face.




And you can't ignore some Tezuka. Of course the animation couldn't hope to compare to the classics of the 30s, but 60's anime has it's charm.

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Tezuka's more of a comic topic, but whatever. He's important in both mediums. One thing I find funny about Tezuka is how unsubtle he when his works tackle a theme (which is all the time). I don't mean it that in a bad way, either. I'm not saying his stuff is like Captain Planet or any kind of propaganda. I mean that it becomes blatantly clear early on what he's aiming at and doesn't let it fall into the realm of interpretation.

[Kjesta]

Oooh, animation! I'll be back later when I have more time on my hands but I'll just drop off a few scenes from the - in my opinion - most awesomely awesome animated film EVER. (Hint: it's The Iron Giant.) The acting's just glorious.

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I really wish there were more films like this. Disney always advertises that their films are fun for the whole family but I think that this is the kind of story that needs to be told more often. Things don't need to be dumbed down for kids. Sometimes you need to trust your young audience to deal with something sad or frightening instead of giving them sugar-coated stuff only.

[Psychotime]

I really wish there were more films like this. Disney always advertises that their films are fun for the whole family but I think that this is the kind of story that needs to be told more often. Things don't need to be dumbed down for kids. Sometimes you need to trust your young audience to deal with something sad or frightening instead of giving them sugar-coated stuff only.

You sure you're talking about the same movie? It's been a LONG while since I've watched the Iron Giant, but unless there was some dark alternate ending I never saw, the story is nothing like what you seem to be implying.

[Arshes Nei]

I've been LOVING the DC comic movies they've put out. It's a much needed version vs the DC 52 bs that launched. I know, I know.... but I love seeing what they've been doing with the properties in other forms.

At first I didn't like the Avenger's Mightiest Heroes cartoon. It was slow for the first 4 episodes. Once they Assembled (ha ha) it was great. I also enjoyed how Wolverine and the X-men flowed despite some of the character designs.

I'm still waiting for The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra (Though I like the Avatar title better, but believe there were some trademark concerns?) but I heard it may not launch till next year ;_; http://avatarthelastairbenderonline.com/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/

http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/The_Last_Airbender:_Legend_of_Korra

[Psychotime]

I've been LOVING the DC comic movies they've put out.

I've seen a few of them, but nothing really grabbed me. Which are the best?

At first I didn't like the Avenger's Mightiest Heroes cartoon. It was slow for the first 4 episodes. Once they Assembled (ha ha) it was great.

So I have to give it 5 episodes before it gets good? A few months ago I gave it a look and I hated it.

I liked Super Hero Squad better. Sure, it was sometimes a little too childish, but there were some good bits to it. Plus you're never gonna expect to see Tom Kenny voice Captain America and Iron Man ever again.

I still haven't really sat down and watched Avatar. I saw a few episodes when it was still new, but nothing made me want to really stick with it or start from the beginning. The only reason it's even on my list is because I hear so much praise for it that I assume I must be missing something. It's obviously well made, at least.

[Arshes Nei]

So I have to give it 5 episodes before it gets good? A few months ago I gave it a look and I hated it.



Oh we were gonna drop watching it too, but it picked up after that. Surprise us (by us I mean me and my roommate who is a fellow artist and enthusiast).

I usually don't bother...and I think it's anyone's right not to bother with a show that doesn't pick up on the first episode. The show has a lot of Kirby influence, in the stories and also those energy signatures often used by the characters.

One thing that had us laughing was that Eric Loomis who is the voice actor for Iron Man can actually do a decent Robert Downey Jr playing Iron Man.

Oh for the DC animated movies. I did like Batman Year One, All Star Superman, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Batman Under the Red Hood, DC Comics Presents - I believe Netflix put this under Superman/Shazam http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Superman_Shazam_The_Return_of_Black_Adam/70135480?trkid=2361637.

The other ones I can give or take but I did like those the best.

[wiggum]

You can't talk about extremely underrated non-Disney animation without mentioning Prince of Egypt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWs81poMgiM)

It's such a bummer that traditional 2d animation in this country didn't get away from talking animals and princesses until it was too late. Or even just annoying side characters...

My god...how many movies have been ruined by annoying side characters? Thinking about those goddamn gargoyles in Hunchback of Notre Dame makes me want to fly over to Disney and go on a wild crotch-punching spree...:anime:

[Kjesta]

You sure you're talking about the same movie? It's been a LONG while since I've watched the Iron Giant, but unless there was some dark alternate ending I never saw, the story is nothing like what you seem to be implying.

Seriously? I don't know, the Cold War is pretty serious stuff that I haven't seen in a Disney kids movie. Nuclear weapons and ditching the "never say die" sugar-coating, also criticism of the American xenophobia at the time. Maybe I haven't been exposed to the right Disney films yet, but there's none that I can immediately cite that deals with non-fantasy whatever stuff but in this way. (Maybe Pocahontas? Haven't seen it, does it handle it well?)

Maybe we just have different opinions there.

[FightingSeraph]

To Psychotime: They did release a collection of Iwerks old cartoons in The Cartoons That Time Forgot series.

To Wiggum: I suggest that you check out Watership Down, Plague Dogs, and Fantastic Planet.

To Arshes Nei: I definitely want to see those DC Animated movies.

Speaking of animated movies, has anyone else seen Ark, Renaissance, The Flight of Dragons, or Starchasers: The Legend of Orin?

[Kjesta]

I suggest that you check out Watership Down, Plague Dogs, and Fantastic Planet.

Is the Watership Down film good? I'm madly in love with the novel and I'd hate to see it turned into something fluffy and kids-appropriate. (Or what passes for kids-appropriate these days.) I've been considering watching it but am still undecided.

[Psychotime]

The Cartoons That Time Forgot series.

That's not Disney. It's a collection by a company calling itself Image Entertainment taking them from the public domain like anyone else.

That's not to say that they don't respect the works. But if Disney did it they'd go all out: Remaster everything they possibly can (they'd certainly have the resources), throw in bonus features that give us a decent history lesson. Just all around the whole nine yards that I'd expect. They've done it for the Oswald shorts, they should do the same for the rest of Iwerk's work that's fallen in the public domain.

But given how the Comicolor series was through MGM, I guess it'd have to be Warner Bros that'd release it. But that probably means never. Notice how long it's taking to get a legitimate Looney Toons/Merry Melodies collection that isn't just a "Spotlight Collection" that repeats the same handful of Chuck Jones shorts that everyone's seen a million times already? Why can't they just make a real collection like everyone else these days? They did it right for Popeye! I heard that they just released a legit and unedited chronological Tom and Jerry collection now. Before then the only good one was the collection of all of Jones' series with the characters. What's taking so long for their namesake cartoon series?

Hell, they've got a new series out now (which is pretty decent. It's definitely a modern cartoon that does it's own thing with the characters). Why isn't there a real collection at this point?

Speaking of Tom and Jerry, anyone remember the original duo? The Van Buren one?

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[FightingSeraph]

To Kjesta: That movie was released back in the late '70s and it wasn't dumbed down at all.

To Psychotime: I remember seeing them and a local cable channel still airs them.

Aside from that, am I the only person on here who's familiar with Walter Lantz' cartoons? (Andy Panda, Woody Woodpecker, Chilly Willy, etc.)

[Psychotime]

I've had next to no interest in Lantz. The only cartoon I remember ever watching is Pantry Panic. Any really good ones?

Never heard of Chilly Willy.

EDIT:No wait. I have, I just didn't know that was his name.

[Arshes Nei]

If you want a tear jerker in the name of artists, go find the Dog of Flanders animation.

[Vertical]

I really wish there were more films like this. Disney always advertises that their films are fun for the whole family but I think that this is the kind of story that needs to be told more often. Things don't need to be dumbed down for kids. Sometimes you need to trust your young audience to deal with something sad or frightening instead of giving them sugar-coated stuff only.

I agree with the theme of your critique, but you're glazing over a lot of stuff here. You've got attempted genocide in Hunchback, Bambi's mom is killed in front of him and the same thing goes for Simba's dad, and in Atlantis an entire culture is nearly wiped out to deliver a super bomb to the kaiser during WWI. I feel some of the anti-nazi propoganda is pretty gritty as well.
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would you look at that, the word "death" is in the title!




Anyway perhaps I'm missing what this thread is about, but here's some stuff I could look at for hours
Milt Khal
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Avatar animatic
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Any TTGL/Gainax fans in the house!?!
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Really interesting anime called Kaiba. It had an experimental style--more Tezuka or Western looking.
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And now a more Japanese one. Never watched this anime, but it looks really interesting
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Really nice film by a Calarts student
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Jeff Liu, also Calarts
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and Homestuck! It's a webcomic that has really sick animated music videos as pages sometimes. The story's really complex, don't expect these to make sense.
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anyway these are nice, but MO-CAP IS THE FUTURE.
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The internet's chock full of inspiration, but think this is enough videos for one post.

Oh wait
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there, now it's enough.

[Psychotime]

Most definitely not a Gainax fan (I could rant up and down about that), but Gurren Lagann was a show that I regret not giving any thought when it was new. I heard so much praise for it from animu fans, mostly from your average weeaboos, so because of that I thought it was gonna be the usual overrated crap.

And then I finally watched it. Went through the whole thing in one weekend. The first story arc was better than the second, but it was a very fun ride nonetheless.

The only thing I need to watch now is the movies and parallel works. Were those ever dubbed? Yep, I'm not that kind of anime viewer. If there's a good dub I will always watch that over anything else.

Haruhi is the same. Just like Gurren Lagann, I came in expecting to hate it (and in Haruhi's case, REALLY hate it) but ended up stunned with how much I ended up liking it. Endless Eight was some awesome trolling, that's for sure. You try to watch that mess in a row and it'll give you the same amount a frustration as the characters. Good god.

I've made a promise to give My Little Pony a look one day. ONE DAY. Everyone, and I mean everyone, seems to be wild about it.

[Vertical]

Don't think the movies have been dubbed yet. As for the parallel works, the thing is there's nothing to dub. They're music videos, so there's no voices anyway. Well there's one exception but I digress.

Haruhi sounds interesting, haven't seen it yet but I think I'll watch it soon.

My therory about the MLP craze is that it's so popular because it's fun to be part of the fan community, rather than the quality of the show. I mean the show itself is absolutely superb and it's a blast to watch, but I think the fun of considering yourself a brony is what draws most people in.

[Psychotime]

Don't think the movies have been dubbed yet. As for the parallel works, the thing is there's nothing to dub. They're music videos, so there's no voices anyway. Well there's one exception but I digress.

Ah, ok. Maybe I should just hop to it, then.

I wish they dubbed the movies already. Why they haven't yet is a mystery to me. I want to see the movies very badly, but I don't wanna lose the English voices. I guess I could just hear them in my head. I'm certain that whenever Manga Entertainment or whoever has the license releases it, it'll probably have the Parallel Works on the same DVD.

Haruhi sounds interesting, haven't seen it yet but I think I'll watch it soon.

I realized that the one thing that holds everything together is the main character. And that character isn't Haruhi.

The plot (if there is one) of the series may revolve around Haruhi (who's pushy, self absorbed, inconsiderate, manipulative, and sometimes even abusive) but the actual main character of the series is the snarky Kyon who plays the one sane man among all the other weirdos.

If he wasn't the main character, the show would probably be unwatchable. But because he is and the story is always told through his perspective and no one else's, he adds grounding and makes it so much fun to watch.

I think the fun of considering yourself a brony is what draws most people in.

Personally I'd never wanna call myself that whether I end up liking the show or not.

[Kjesta]

Vertical, maybe I was bit harsh painting all Disney movies with the same brush. I suppose it's just that I was so impressed as a kid when I saw The Iron Giant for the first time because I'd never seen anything like it. First film that ever made me really scared (and that was when they threatened to take Hogarth away from his mom). With Simba's dad I never really felt it so much because, well, he comes back in the clouds, right? So all's happy! At least it was in my head at the time so I never was all that sad about Mufasa's death.

Atlantis is actually an extremely awesome movie, it's so sad it's so underrated. The characters are absolutely amazing and I love the acting in it. Have some of the best Vinny scenes, funniest Disney character of all times. (In my opinion at least.)

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[Ossiferous Rex!]

I agree with the theme of your critique, but you're glazing over a lot of stuff here. You've got attempted genocide in Hunchback, Bambi's mom is killed in front of him and the same thing goes for Simba's dad, and in Atlantis an entire culture is nearly wiped out to deliver a super bomb to the kaiser during WWI. I feel some of the anti-nazi propoganda is pretty gritty as well.
And let's not forget The Little Match Girl- 6 straight minutes of agony.
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Let me know if Mononoke is any good. Intro looks great, but I've been burned (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FUjZJwxEDY) by that before! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pFE7lf0TVw)

I've been watching a lot of Soviet animation lately. Not just the propaganda stuff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZw7Ve3yj_g), though that's fun too. They're real pioneers, they never seem to do the same thing twice. Integrating photography, painting on glass, really experimental stuff. Most of it's beautiful, though a bit mundane.

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And the crown jewels:
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Oh, and Havoc in Heaven is my favorite adaption of any part of Journey to the West. Fucking beautiful film.
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[TinyBird]

Atlantis is actually an extremely awesome movie, it's so sad it's so underrated.
I have to say I liked the style of the animation but on an afterthought I can't really deny the similarities to the Stargate movie or the fact that the main dude kinda just gets and knows everything, and is kind of a Gary Stu.

Anyway, in here we had lots of translated Swedish and Danish movies, of which some were pretty damn disturbing or depressing.
Suffocating whales
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Killer crows
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Implied kitten drowing
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But this one is a Christmas Classic in here.
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[tobbA]

And now a more Japanese one. Never watched this anime, but it looks really interesting

You should watch it. Because it's really good. :)

Don't forget that the first episode is actually a part of a set of three shorts called "Ayakashi" though. Don't bother about the other two shorts though, because they're kinda crap.

[TinyBird]

Here's couple more, these were my childhood favorites, and probably contributed to my liking of having as little dialogue as possible.
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Here's another underrated (if not completely unknown) non-disney movie, "Help, I'm a Fish". It's pretty rare also with the fact that it actually features pretty deliberate "murder" of the villain by one of the heroes, which I don't recall seeing very often in kid's movies.
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Alfred J. Kwak, another kids' series that pretty heavy subject matters like racism, political issues/spying, environmental issues ect... and aliens, fantastic glass palaces under the sea, space dragons and so on. Dutch/Netherlands/German/Japanese production, and one of the best animated series I know.
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EDIT: Here's an english version.

Also I liked Troll Tales, mainly because there's not very many Saturday morning cartoons that use Scandinavian mythology.
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[FightingSeraph]

To Tiny Bird: You'll be surprised at how many people compare Atlantis to Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water.

Anyway, what do people here think of stop-motion/claymation cartoons? Examples include:
Willis O'Brien
Ray Harryhausen
Art Clokey
Will Vinton

[TinyBird]

Anyway, what do people here think of stop-motion/claymation cartoons?
Well, I personally love the Aardman animations, everything from Wallace and Gromit to Creature Comforts.
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As well as the Pingu cartoons (and I already linked Mat & Pat)
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And of course the stuff directed by Henry Selick and Tim Burton
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Well, even Monkeybone, though I can't really say that the movie itself would be good...
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[JDSart]

I´m a Huge Miyazaki fan, but my all time favorite Ghibli films are not directed by him

Pom Poko , war of the racoons Its quite an underrated gem, fun as hell and heartwarming, it has slipped by the radar of many people, so i really recommend it
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Also , Raccoons with huge ball sacks

Grave of the fireflies Only movie, animated or not i admit getting teary eyed watching. Its incredibly sad.

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[Arshes Nei]

I've been watching Xamn'd It's probably some of the best tv anime I've seen.

Pros -
Heavily character driven. Characters are more complicated than your normal anime cliches.
Designs - There's really some unusual designs going on in this series creatures characters and otherwise
Backgrounds - I have to admit I'm drawn to the backgrounds. They're gorgeous

Not sure if a pro or con, but there are definite Miyazaki Nausicaa vibes in there.

Cons -
Story is confusing
Pacing can be bad because of the story

[Stacybean]

Starchasers: The Legend of Orin?

That movie is AWESOME! I was watching it expecting it to suck, making fun of that little blind kid, laughing when Orin leaves him (I'm sick I know). Then he runs into the MANDROIDS and I really started getting into it. Disturbing scenes with that sex robot though. Great story great show.

[Raoul Duke]

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[Arshes Nei]

I'm currently watching Guin Saga.

Ok, I liked Xam'd backgrounds but man...Guin makes you want to LIVE there.

http://screenshots-fansub-tv.cf.async.us/1414/1/9.jpg
http://screenshots-fansub-tv.cf.async.us/1414/1/9.jpg

http://www.japanator.com/elephant//ul/19275-japanator-recommends-guin-saga/guin-1-620x.jpg
http://www.japanator.com/elephant//ul/19275-japanator-recommends-guin-saga/guin-1-620x.jpg

Guin Saga is actually based on an epic number of novels written by Kaoru Kurimoto (130!!! novels) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guin_Saga

The author apparently published over 400 novels in her career, and she was working on the last one and died 3 days later of Pancreatic Cancer.

[TinyBird]

Just watched "You are Umasou"
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I was very nice, and though it looks very cutesy, the story itself was not irritatingly cute.
You can still watch it in Youtube and if you haven't watched this, I suggest you give it a try.
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[BlightedArt]

http://animationsmears.tumblr.com/

Entire blog with images on animation stills with smears and multiples, and other animation tricks.

Random thing to make a whole blog about, but interesting.


http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lu2kccl87o1qjhlhko1_500.jpg

[Psychotime]

Random thing to make a whole blog about, but interesting.

Not really. The other forum I got to loves that stuff to death.

[bozofo]

http://animationsmears.tumblr.com/

Entire blog with images on animation stills with smears and multiples, and other animation tricks.

Random thing to make a whole blog about, but interesting.


http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lu2kccl87o1qjhlhko1_500.jpg

Crazy cool.

[FightingSeraph]

Speaking of effects in hand-drawn animation, what do people think of those 3D backgrounds that the Fleischers used back in the 30s with the rotograph? As for anime, how come nobody has ever mentioned Fist of the North Star, Riki-Oh: Wall of Heel, or Dirty Pair ('80s)?

[Psychotime]

The stuff the Fleischer's did was pretty awesome. It'd be cool to see more of that these days.

About the anime, those just never came up. Those kinda belong in the comics thread, anyway.

Bandai Entertainment to Stop Releasing New DVDs, BDs, Manga (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-01-02/bandai-entertainment-to-stop-releasing-new-dvds-bds-manga)

Wanna get depressed?

http://www.animenews...ets-by-5th-week (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-01-06/k-on-film-sells-1-million+tickets-by-5th-week)

[velderia]

Someone gave me this on Blu-Ray but unfortunately I don't have a HDCP-ready monitor... Or whatever - I need to figure that out but haven't really had the time for it.

Watched it on Netflix though. It's amazing. It's listed in Action/Adventure for sorting's sake, but it's actually really atmospheric:

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[Psychotime]

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Huh.

You know, I wonder how common it is for comics that are published in seinen magazines but are still easily sold to a younger audience. Gon and Shin-Chan are two things off the top of my head that do just that.

Speaking of Shin Chan, he's getting a four-part team up with Kamen Rider Fourze. The last time he did that was 5 years ago with Kamen Rider Den-O.

http://www.japanator.com/elephant/ul/22942-620x-fourze_and-shinchan_crossover_header_image.jpg

宇宙キター！

http://henshinjustice.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fourzeshin2.jpg

[Psychotime]

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I thought it was Van Buren that did the Amos and Andy cartoons. This one is ok. Typical 30's stuff.

Official Films. Who is that?

EDIT: Ah, according to an (unsourced) wikipedia page, Official Films was one of the first companies to syndicate theatre cartoons for tv, and their repertoire included alot of Van Buren shorts.

Not animation related (but when the hell am I ever gonna get the chance to talk about Amos and Andy of all things?) I've downloaded a bunch of Amos and Andy radio shorts, and I gotta say it's really slow despite each episode being 8 minutes long. They had some surprisingly lengthy arcs, too. Like one where Amos gets framed by fur thieves.

If there's one thing that bugs me about the duo, it's the names. Amos is such a formal sounding name to me, that it confused me when I realized that that was the funny man's name. "Andy" just sounds so inappropriate for the straight man of a duo, I'd think he'd go by his full name Andrew at least.


EDIT2: And for anyone who thinks I'm trying to troll or something, I'm not.

[Psychotime]

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Huh. This is interesting.

If you've never heard of M. J. Winkler, she was the first American female film distributor, and she's a large part of what made Disney eventually come to form during the silent era, and the cartoon industry as a whole.

Now I knew about Winkler for a while, but I never knew about the Alice series. I just ran into it by accident.

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This is one of the better Van Buren shorts, if you ask me. Alot are either really dull or really ugly (or both).

But their handful of Toonerville shorts later were pretty fun. They had really stepped their game up at this point. (Disney animator Burt Gillett had joined the crew.) Too bad they went out of business shortly afterward. Never knew they were based on a comic strip.

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God damn, Mr. Bang is such an asshole.