Snazzy title don't you think? A couple of my fellow animators came up with this mantra and I think its great. They need to toss that on a shirt or a bumper sticker or something. In my opinion it sums up one of the big problems with this industry; studios wanting top notch quality for bargain basement prices.
The only way to solve this problem is for animators and artists to know their worth and to not settle for less. I have heard several stories of people who were given offers by a studio and they took it straight away without any counter offer. Most times the money offered was less than they wanted or were currently making. But the opportunity, that foot in the door, makes up for it right? Wrong. Studios will always make offers that are in the best interest of the studio, not the artist, optioning for the ol lowball approach first to see if the talent goes for it.
And don't even get me started on outsourcing. I believe the director of Hoodwinked, defending the decision to do the production overseas on an animation forum, said something like "...the movie could not be made in the US for the budget we had..." Well yes I suppose you are right seeing as how US animators like to be paid for their work. You have to spend money to make money. Its true. If you are only willing to spend $10 then your movie will look like it was made for $10. But again studios want the quality, they want product that makes them lots of money, yet they don't want to spend a lot themselves. Funny how that works.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Ant Bully Animation Crew
Have you ever wondered what a bunch of animators might look like? Sure you have. Well wonder no more! Here is a fun picture of the animation crew for The Ant Bully. Unfortuantely a few people were not around the day we took this, so this is about 98% of the animators. What a fine looking bunch of people wouldn't you say. And no I'm not the giant purple puppet in the middle, although I could be if I wanted. I am in the front row aaallll the way to the right.
click for larger version
click for larger version
Monday, March 20, 2006
Giant Ants
The Ant Bully IMAX trailer, which is now showing in IMAX theaters everywhere, is now online. For a film being projected really, really big and in 3D, this online trailer is very, very small. Chances are larger formats of the trailer will be available in coming weeks but if you want to take a peek now, go here.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Ant Bully on Cartoon Network
If you watch a lot of the Cartoon Network you may have seen the first of several Ant Bully shorts. But if you didn't, don't worry dear friend. Through the magic of the internet you can enjoy this little bit of entertainment right on your very own computer. Amazing yet true. Go here to check it out.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Mouse of the House Part 3
A mouse of superior brain power was what I was dealing with. Well not superior to me, just to other mice. At least that's what I told myself in order to sleep at night.
The live catch traps and glue traps were not working so it was time to make the call....to the exterminator.
And as a bonus, the one we called was giving free estimates. She came out and searched the house and attic, inside and out, and found no signs of entry or more mice. So I just asked her, "Where is this thing right now?". She replied that it was possible that it was IN in the furniture. I had a mild heart attack and sat down. Also she said, there could be more than one. I had a more severe heart attack and fell over.
After she had done the inspection I was ready for the "getting rid of the mouse" part. Perhaps she would bring in a box that housed a mouse seeking cat or tazmanian devil or something. The solution: more glue traps. I took her to the bookcase and showed her the other glue trap that the beast escaped from. I even showed her a Power Point presentation on how I thought the mouse escaped, complete with mug shots of suspected accomplices.
She assured me that her glue traps were way better. These you fold to make a little tunnel. The mouse goes in and "oh no I'm stuck and surrounded by other sticky surfaces!". There was no way the mouse would be escaping from these babies, however she suggested that it may be time to get the conventional mouse traps of death.
As soon as she left I started flipping furniture. I would flip a piece and yell "AH-HA!!". I peeked under our sofa that was by the door leading to the garage...."ah-ha?". OH CRAP. There was evidence that the bottom lining of the couch had been gnawed. I ran my hand over the area slowly and OHMYGODTHEREISAHOLE! It's...in...the...sofa....AAAAAARRHH.
I immediately went out and bought 2 snapper traps. The mouse had just pushed me too far.
That night I put out all the traps I had which were now numbering at around 8. I put a good size chunk of Hershey's Kiss on one of the new glue traps and put that sucker right under the hole in the couch; a good bye kiss. Several glue traps were placed around the sofa with the snappers placed as a second defense in case the glue traps only slowed him down.
I thought of perhaps placing 100s of traps around the area ala Tom and Jerry. But then I remembered that usually ended with 100s of traps attached to Tom with Jerry hitting him with a frying pan. Just to be safe, I locked all the cooking ware in a closet.
The next day I jump out of bed, confident that the mouse had been caught. And.....Nothing. No mouse and no poop; yes I was still checking every morning. Did it just move on to some other house? No it was here. It was playing mind games.
After a couple more mouse-less mornings I was leaving for work and happened to look behind some stuff in the garage. Sacre-bleu. Mouse poop. I went back to the door that leads to the house and examined it. There was perhaps enough room between the weather striping and the door for something small to squeeze through. Maybe that hole in the couch was a coincidence. Maybe that mouse has been living out here and coming into the house every night.
That night I put the mouse traps of death in the garage. What started as me "not wanting to hurt the thing" had turned into me "wanting its head on a pole"...or at least a toothpick.
The next morning I slowly walked out into the garage with flashlight in hand, because if things went bad I could at least throw it. I peered around some boxes and almost peed myself. The mouse. Was caught. And was really, most sincerely dead.
My god it was over. It was finally over. Of course I had to completely clean out the garage because there was mouse poo everywhere; oh lysol, my old chum. And we did bust open the bottom of the couch just to be sure there weren't any "surprises", only to find nothing. But the bottom line was it was done. The tyranny of the mouse had come an end. And as an added bonus we haven't had anymore mice since. No poo and no gnawing. Apparently it had been alone. We are safe.........for now.
Fin
The live catch traps and glue traps were not working so it was time to make the call....to the exterminator.
And as a bonus, the one we called was giving free estimates. She came out and searched the house and attic, inside and out, and found no signs of entry or more mice. So I just asked her, "Where is this thing right now?". She replied that it was possible that it was IN in the furniture. I had a mild heart attack and sat down. Also she said, there could be more than one. I had a more severe heart attack and fell over.
After she had done the inspection I was ready for the "getting rid of the mouse" part. Perhaps she would bring in a box that housed a mouse seeking cat or tazmanian devil or something. The solution: more glue traps. I took her to the bookcase and showed her the other glue trap that the beast escaped from. I even showed her a Power Point presentation on how I thought the mouse escaped, complete with mug shots of suspected accomplices.
She assured me that her glue traps were way better. These you fold to make a little tunnel. The mouse goes in and "oh no I'm stuck and surrounded by other sticky surfaces!". There was no way the mouse would be escaping from these babies, however she suggested that it may be time to get the conventional mouse traps of death.
As soon as she left I started flipping furniture. I would flip a piece and yell "AH-HA!!". I peeked under our sofa that was by the door leading to the garage...."ah-ha?". OH CRAP. There was evidence that the bottom lining of the couch had been gnawed. I ran my hand over the area slowly and OHMYGODTHEREISAHOLE! It's...in...the...sofa....AAAAAARRHH.
I immediately went out and bought 2 snapper traps. The mouse had just pushed me too far.
That night I put out all the traps I had which were now numbering at around 8. I put a good size chunk of Hershey's Kiss on one of the new glue traps and put that sucker right under the hole in the couch; a good bye kiss. Several glue traps were placed around the sofa with the snappers placed as a second defense in case the glue traps only slowed him down.
I thought of perhaps placing 100s of traps around the area ala Tom and Jerry. But then I remembered that usually ended with 100s of traps attached to Tom with Jerry hitting him with a frying pan. Just to be safe, I locked all the cooking ware in a closet.
The next day I jump out of bed, confident that the mouse had been caught. And.....Nothing. No mouse and no poop; yes I was still checking every morning. Did it just move on to some other house? No it was here. It was playing mind games.
After a couple more mouse-less mornings I was leaving for work and happened to look behind some stuff in the garage. Sacre-bleu. Mouse poop. I went back to the door that leads to the house and examined it. There was perhaps enough room between the weather striping and the door for something small to squeeze through. Maybe that hole in the couch was a coincidence. Maybe that mouse has been living out here and coming into the house every night.
That night I put the mouse traps of death in the garage. What started as me "not wanting to hurt the thing" had turned into me "wanting its head on a pole"...or at least a toothpick.
The next morning I slowly walked out into the garage with flashlight in hand, because if things went bad I could at least throw it. I peered around some boxes and almost peed myself. The mouse. Was caught. And was really, most sincerely dead.
My god it was over. It was finally over. Of course I had to completely clean out the garage because there was mouse poo everywhere; oh lysol, my old chum. And we did bust open the bottom of the couch just to be sure there weren't any "surprises", only to find nothing. But the bottom line was it was done. The tyranny of the mouse had come an end. And as an added bonus we haven't had anymore mice since. No poo and no gnawing. Apparently it had been alone. We are safe.........for now.
Fin
Friday, February 17, 2006
Mouse of the House Part 2
Well it's Friday and would you look at that...I'm updating my blog just as I said I would. Who would have thunk it possible?
If you are just joining us, here is what you missed if you are too lazy to read part1. Mouse is in my house, lots of poo, lots of lysol, internet scares me and I say the F word a lot.
Now on to Step#2 catching the mouse.
I head to Lowes to see what they have in the "catching the mouse" department. Even after all the poo, the fear of death and several heart attacks, I didn't really want to kill the mouse, just get it the hell out of the house. With this in mind I bought a "live catch"trap. Mouse goes in, door slams behind it, scary music plays, the mouse pees itself, I find mouse scared and crying for its mommy in the trap, take trap, drive miles from house and open trap allowing mouse to run free and torment some other family....or get eaten by a snake or hawk; these were the pictures that appeared in a balloon over my head as I gazed at the trap.
That evening I placed the traps (I bought 2) back to back, right in the middle of our pantry floor. I turned off the lights and went to bed with visions of trapped mice dancing in my head.
When I check the pantry the next morning, like a kid on Christmas, neither trap had been sprung, yet there is mouse poo along the wall. I look at the trap packaging "place traps ALONG wall.....dumbass"...oh f-f-f-f-f-f-for god's sake. If only I read that last night. Why oh why do I not read directions. It is my gift, my curse.
Ok fine. So the next night I put both traps up against the wall in the pantry. And the next morning...nothing. Wonderful. I then go on my morning routine that I called "checking the house for poo." Remember in Alice and Wonderland the cards sang that song "We're painting the roses red...." well I sang "I'm checking the house for poo..." (it will be available on my next CD).
Sure enough I find some poo behind some furniture. O-K it's back to Lowes to see what other kinds of traps they have.
Glue traps. They don't kill the rodent but you run the risk of finding the thing all stuck to it in some weird ass fashion. But as live traps go there really weren't many other choices. So that night I but out the 1st traps I bought and the glue traps, because more traps can only be a good thing.
The next morning I came out and one of the glue traps...is gone. Oh my god it ate it, was my first thought. My second thought was that I was going to come upon this thing all stuck to the trap in some weird ass fashion. I wasn't sure which to hope for... So with flashlight in hand I start looking for the trap and I don't see it...anywhere. Now the doors to the den, we usually keep closed. I opened them up and there was the trap up against the side of my bookcase.
And no mouse.
Is this thing playing games with me? Did he push the trap around the house for fun last night? Upon closer inspection of the trap I notice foot prints. The mouse got stuck in the trap all right. But with it's unstuck leg, it dragged itself until it found something to pry itself off the trap; the opening between my bookcase and wall. Very good mouse, you win this round.
I imagined him back at his lair laughing at me. Calling up his other mouse friends on his mouse cell phone, bragging at how he dragged himself across the floor and escaped "the man". "Yes..this is what I'm telling you...I had three legs stuck to this thing...yeah..it was nuts. But you know...I've been working out recently... so...yeah...a couple times a week.....well my legs are pretty strong now...right....yeah drug myself all over the place...it was hilarious you should have seen me."
Clearly this was no ordinary mouse. It was time....to call someone...
On Monday: surely an exterminator can take of the problem.
If you are just joining us, here is what you missed if you are too lazy to read part1. Mouse is in my house, lots of poo, lots of lysol, internet scares me and I say the F word a lot.
Now on to Step#2 catching the mouse.
I head to Lowes to see what they have in the "catching the mouse" department. Even after all the poo, the fear of death and several heart attacks, I didn't really want to kill the mouse, just get it the hell out of the house. With this in mind I bought a "live catch"trap. Mouse goes in, door slams behind it, scary music plays, the mouse pees itself, I find mouse scared and crying for its mommy in the trap, take trap, drive miles from house and open trap allowing mouse to run free and torment some other family....or get eaten by a snake or hawk; these were the pictures that appeared in a balloon over my head as I gazed at the trap.
That evening I placed the traps (I bought 2) back to back, right in the middle of our pantry floor. I turned off the lights and went to bed with visions of trapped mice dancing in my head.
When I check the pantry the next morning, like a kid on Christmas, neither trap had been sprung, yet there is mouse poo along the wall. I look at the trap packaging "place traps ALONG wall.....dumbass"...oh f-f-f-f-f-f-for god's sake. If only I read that last night. Why oh why do I not read directions. It is my gift, my curse.
Ok fine. So the next night I put both traps up against the wall in the pantry. And the next morning...nothing. Wonderful. I then go on my morning routine that I called "checking the house for poo." Remember in Alice and Wonderland the cards sang that song "We're painting the roses red...." well I sang "I'm checking the house for poo..." (it will be available on my next CD).
Sure enough I find some poo behind some furniture. O-K it's back to Lowes to see what other kinds of traps they have.
Glue traps. They don't kill the rodent but you run the risk of finding the thing all stuck to it in some weird ass fashion. But as live traps go there really weren't many other choices. So that night I but out the 1st traps I bought and the glue traps, because more traps can only be a good thing.
The next morning I came out and one of the glue traps...is gone. Oh my god it ate it, was my first thought. My second thought was that I was going to come upon this thing all stuck to the trap in some weird ass fashion. I wasn't sure which to hope for... So with flashlight in hand I start looking for the trap and I don't see it...anywhere. Now the doors to the den, we usually keep closed. I opened them up and there was the trap up against the side of my bookcase.
And no mouse.
Is this thing playing games with me? Did he push the trap around the house for fun last night? Upon closer inspection of the trap I notice foot prints. The mouse got stuck in the trap all right. But with it's unstuck leg, it dragged itself until it found something to pry itself off the trap; the opening between my bookcase and wall. Very good mouse, you win this round.
I imagined him back at his lair laughing at me. Calling up his other mouse friends on his mouse cell phone, bragging at how he dragged himself across the floor and escaped "the man". "Yes..this is what I'm telling you...I had three legs stuck to this thing...yeah..it was nuts. But you know...I've been working out recently... so...yeah...a couple times a week.....well my legs are pretty strong now...right....yeah drug myself all over the place...it was hilarious you should have seen me."
Clearly this was no ordinary mouse. It was time....to call someone...
On Monday: surely an exterminator can take of the problem.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Mouse of the House Part 1
Well one of my New Years resolutions was to update my blog on a weekly basis. And as you can see I am failing miserably. But fear not my three loyal readers, for I am going to try really hard to update this puppy every Friday. This will give you something to look forward to during your long boring week; I'm so thoughtful.
So the title might have you thinking I'm going to write something about Disney. Perhaps something interesting about the Disney Pixar merger. Nope. This is about a real mouse and the hell it put me through.
Turn the way back machine to late last summer. I am at work doing that animating thing I sometimes do, when my wife calls to inform me the sugar in our pantry has been gnawed. Of course my first thought was gremlins, but then I remembered they weren't real. Also in the pantry was an array of little bits of poo. Lovely a mouse is in the house.
That evening I come home, inspect the crime scene and dust for prints. Nothing. The little bastard was wearing gloves. So now it was time to play that fun game "How the hell did it get in here". And after going over the rules and picking team names we set out through the house looking for entry points.
No signs of gnawing on wood or furniture...nothing...except A LOT of mouse poop. Yes the more we looked the more we found, all around the baseboards of the house. I was so mad I nearly asploded.
Step #1 clean up all the poo.
Lysol became my new best friend as I went throw the house spraying and wiping...and cursing, while my wife kept Wonder Pea out of the way. It took a lot of time and A LOT of Lysol but finally the poo was cleaned up. Then I made a critical mistake. I turned to the internet to find out about what kind of mouse we may be dealing with.
The internet, usually a trusted friend, returned all kinds of nightmare scenarios of how certain mice/rats that are common in our region can have poo that will kill you: A. if you don't clean it up properly ie no sweeping B. you say the F word while cleaning it up. I wasn't entirely sure that I followed the 10 step program to cleaning up mouse poo(i did sweep a couple times) and I was sure that I said the F word at least 500 times while cleaning up.
I was certain that we were all going to die.
After having several heart attacks my wife took the internet away and put it up on a high shelf where I could not reach it. This only helped a little since my "good" imagination was working overtime. My wife pointed out that I was probably more likely to now die from the gallons of Lysol I sprayed and inhauled, than any mouse poo. That almost, kind of, didn't really make me feel better. Plus, eventhough we cleaned up everything, the house still felt tainted by the mouse. I told a coworker that I just felt like burning the place down and rebuilding.
But now it was time to focus on Step #2 catching the mouse
Next time: The importance of following directions....
So the title might have you thinking I'm going to write something about Disney. Perhaps something interesting about the Disney Pixar merger. Nope. This is about a real mouse and the hell it put me through.
Turn the way back machine to late last summer. I am at work doing that animating thing I sometimes do, when my wife calls to inform me the sugar in our pantry has been gnawed. Of course my first thought was gremlins, but then I remembered they weren't real. Also in the pantry was an array of little bits of poo. Lovely a mouse is in the house.
That evening I come home, inspect the crime scene and dust for prints. Nothing. The little bastard was wearing gloves. So now it was time to play that fun game "How the hell did it get in here". And after going over the rules and picking team names we set out through the house looking for entry points.
No signs of gnawing on wood or furniture...nothing...except A LOT of mouse poop. Yes the more we looked the more we found, all around the baseboards of the house. I was so mad I nearly asploded.
Step #1 clean up all the poo.
Lysol became my new best friend as I went throw the house spraying and wiping...and cursing, while my wife kept Wonder Pea out of the way. It took a lot of time and A LOT of Lysol but finally the poo was cleaned up. Then I made a critical mistake. I turned to the internet to find out about what kind of mouse we may be dealing with.
The internet, usually a trusted friend, returned all kinds of nightmare scenarios of how certain mice/rats that are common in our region can have poo that will kill you: A. if you don't clean it up properly ie no sweeping B. you say the F word while cleaning it up. I wasn't entirely sure that I followed the 10 step program to cleaning up mouse poo(i did sweep a couple times) and I was sure that I said the F word at least 500 times while cleaning up.
I was certain that we were all going to die.
After having several heart attacks my wife took the internet away and put it up on a high shelf where I could not reach it. This only helped a little since my "good" imagination was working overtime. My wife pointed out that I was probably more likely to now die from the gallons of Lysol I sprayed and inhauled, than any mouse poo. That almost, kind of, didn't really make me feel better. Plus, eventhough we cleaned up everything, the house still felt tainted by the mouse. I told a coworker that I just felt like burning the place down and rebuilding.
But now it was time to focus on Step #2 catching the mouse
Next time: The importance of following directions....
Friday, January 27, 2006
Circle 7
Yesterday it was officially announced that Toy Story 3 would not be produced at Disney. You can read all about it here.
Many in the industry are really jazzed by this news (me included), but I can't help feeling sorry for the folks at Circle 7 (Disney's Pixar sequel studio). I whole heartedly agree with the decision to keep the sequels at their respective studios, it just makes sense, but its a shame that many artists are getting burned.
As the article said, and I have heard, many people at Circle 7 will be absorbed into Disney and/or Pixar which is good news. But all their time and effort have been for not. And I have been hearing that folks who were scheduled to start work later this year at Circle 7, have been notified that they are not needed.
So the chess game that Eisner started with Jobs has come to and end. And not surprisingly it is the artists that have paid the price.
Many in the industry are really jazzed by this news (me included), but I can't help feeling sorry for the folks at Circle 7 (Disney's Pixar sequel studio). I whole heartedly agree with the decision to keep the sequels at their respective studios, it just makes sense, but its a shame that many artists are getting burned.
As the article said, and I have heard, many people at Circle 7 will be absorbed into Disney and/or Pixar which is good news. But all their time and effort have been for not. And I have been hearing that folks who were scheduled to start work later this year at Circle 7, have been notified that they are not needed.
So the chess game that Eisner started with Jobs has come to and end. And not surprisingly it is the artists that have paid the price.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Toy Story 3... Have a Seat
Well the rumor is circulating that on Wednesday, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, when meeting with the artists at Disney, announced that Toy Story 3 would not be happening. In a nutshell, Pixar would make any sequels to their films and Disney would make sequels to theirs. No flip flopping. Which makes sense. As for Circle 7, the studio Disney created for the sole purpose of making Pixar sequels, they mentioned they would like to use the talent that is there but did not give any specifics.
Again at this point this is rumor, however if you listened to the webcast that included Steve Jobs and Bob Iger, Iger himself said that the studio that does the original film should do it's sequel.
Oddly enough I said on this very blog in March of last year that I didn't think Disney would do Toy Story 3 and that the sequel studio would end up doing Chicken Little 2 (which has yet to happen) To read my take on Toy Story 3 from almost a year go click here
Somebody owes me that cookie.
Again at this point this is rumor, however if you listened to the webcast that included Steve Jobs and Bob Iger, Iger himself said that the studio that does the original film should do it's sequel.
Oddly enough I said on this very blog in March of last year that I didn't think Disney would do Toy Story 3 and that the sequel studio would end up doing Chicken Little 2 (which has yet to happen) To read my take on Toy Story 3 from almost a year go click here
Somebody owes me that cookie.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Disney and Pixar
Well it is now official, Pixar Animation Studios has been bought by the Walt Disney Company. To read the Disney press release go here To listen to the Disney/Pixar conference call webcast staring Bob Iger and Steve Jobs, go here
Being both a Disney fan and a Pixar fan this merger is a coup for me. I remember when the Disney company was creative and innovative, before the dark times, before the Empire. Now I think they really have the potential to regain what they have lost. With Ed Catmull and John Lasseter at the helm of animation I can only imagine good things coming from both Pixar and Disney FA. Who knows they may even do another 2D film in the not so distant future. And, with Lasseter being involved with Imagineering, the theme parks could get a very much needed, shot in the arm.
Exciting times are ahead!
Being both a Disney fan and a Pixar fan this merger is a coup for me. I remember when the Disney company was creative and innovative, before the dark times, before the Empire. Now I think they really have the potential to regain what they have lost. With Ed Catmull and John Lasseter at the helm of animation I can only imagine good things coming from both Pixar and Disney FA. Who knows they may even do another 2D film in the not so distant future. And, with Lasseter being involved with Imagineering, the theme parks could get a very much needed, shot in the arm.
Exciting times are ahead!
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Conveying Emotion
Conveying emotion is not only a necessary and challenging aspect of animation, but it can also be a lot of fun...yes fun. In fact there is a web site devoted to just this thing called: Eric Conveys an Emotion This site makes me laugh and laugh, and well it may do the same for you. In a nutshell, at Eric Conveys an Emotion you will see Eric convey different emotions via his web cam; he even takes requests. I think my favorite is: Morning After-Horror Disbelief.
There is also an Adventures area where Eric goes on adventures like Christmas shopping at the mall and finding a new apartment; very funny stuff. You should check it out....right now!!
There is also an Adventures area where Eric goes on adventures like Christmas shopping at the mall and finding a new apartment; very funny stuff. You should check it out....right now!!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Hi I'm Paul
If you have ever seen an episode of Jimmy Neutron or visited DNA's home page you may have noticed the 3 eyed monkey that is our mascot and wondered "What's with the 3 eyed monkey". Over at JimHillMedia.com , columnist Roger Colton tells the tale of how Paul the Monkey came into being. Included is a picture of "Steamboat Paul", a picture I did for our "Paul in famous movies" gallery; so be sure to check that out.
Monday, January 02, 2006
A New Look
Changes are a coming to the ol blog. Yes it's true. Starting perhaps tomorrow the blog will be incooperated into my web page; www.raymation.net. All the links and such to the side there will find new homes in the revamped link section of my main site.
But, you may say, I like the blog the way it is, don't change it. To you I say: stop whining, it's not the end of the world...or...is it? It is becoming increasingly difficult to update both the blog and the web site with new info. And there is a lot of new info coming up, most of which concerns our new film The Ant Bully. Therefore having everything in one spot will make it easier on me to do updates. And quite frankly I only care about me and making things easier for me.
If you are stubborn and refuse to access the blog via www.raymation.net that is your choice. You should know that doing this will make people laugh and point at you.
But, you may say, I like the blog the way it is, don't change it. To you I say: stop whining, it's not the end of the world...or...is it? It is becoming increasingly difficult to update both the blog and the web site with new info. And there is a lot of new info coming up, most of which concerns our new film The Ant Bully. Therefore having everything in one spot will make it easier on me to do updates. And quite frankly I only care about me and making things easier for me.
If you are stubborn and refuse to access the blog via www.raymation.net that is your choice. You should know that doing this will make people laugh and point at you.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Kong
- animation powers: mightier than a 25 foot gorilla
It's Christmas Eve! Folks are scrambling to finish their shopping, kitchen's are going full steam baking cookies and I've decided now would be an excellent time to give me review/thoughts on Peter Jackson's King Kong.
Clocking in at 3 hours Kong is nothing if not a long film. Now my bladder is the size of a pea, which causes me great anxiety when going to see long movies. The fact that I never went, nor needed to pee once, is a good sign for the film. I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. It was after the movie, looking back at the film, that I realized how much better the film could have been and where it was lacking.
Some spoilers ahead so beware hobbits.....
The set up for the film, in my opinion, was great..I really enjoyed it. Some folks I went with found it rather boring and just wanted to get to the island and see some huge animal fights. But for me, I enjoyed the way they introduced the characters and set into motion how they all ended up on this boat which would land them on Skull Island.
In fact from a character/story point of view, the arrival on Skull Island is the problem. Leading up to this point we are introduced to a variety of characters. Not just the main characters mind you but some secondary ones as well...ie Hayes and Jimmy two members of the crew. However once on Skull Island, character development stops and it turns into Jurassic Park....running, screaming, dieing. There is nothing wrong with that, we want to see Kong bringing the pain to some T-rexs, but looking back it's like two different movies. In fact once they subdue Kong, to being him back to NY, there is a time cut...bam we are back in NY. I would have liked to see what the journey back was like. What are these characters feeling now? We know how they felt on the journey to Skull Island but how about now? A missed chanced to get back to character development and motivation, this would have made the film stronger (and longer) But, as the film is we have a strong character set up which basically goes no where. Shall I explain...yes I shall..
Carl Denham (Jack Black): When the film begins he is a wild eccentric, a little bit of a jerk but still likeable. He is probably the only human character with a clear arc because by the end of the film is still a wild eccentric, totally a jerk and is not likeable at all. Many times I wanted him to be stepped on.
Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts): At the beginning of the film we see her longing for film career, kind of down on her luck and has apparently been burned by love many a time. By film's end she has no film career, still seems down on her luck and has witnessed Kongs death, for whom she felt some affection.
Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody): He basicaly gets conned into coming along on the voyage, but really really wants to get back to his play. Falls for the lovely Ann. Battles the many dangers of Skull Island to find Ann. Writes a play for Ann when he gets back to NY. And when last we see him he is consoling dear Ann after Kong has died.
All three characters, while fun to watch, never really go anywhere beyond their initial set up in the film. Sure Jack falls for Ann mid movie or so but who wouldn't, she's beautiful, there was nothing to overcome here. Hell half the boat was probably in love with her.
Hayes and Jimmy (Evan Parke and Jamie Bell): Are secondary characters that needed to remain secondary like the ships captain or Lumpy. Time is spent showing the relationship between these two guys, but once Hayes dies and the gang sets sail back to NY we never see or hear about Jimmy again, so what was the point? Less screen time for these two, mostly pointless, characters would have also made for a shorter movie.
King Kong (Der Kaiser die Kong...yes he is German): The only character with a strong arc that you really care about. He's on an Island doing his giant monkey thing. The locals give up the usual offering but what's this....the little human is beautiful and can juggle...why...I've never seen such a thing. She makes him laugh when he never thought he'd laugh again. Is this love that I'm feeling? Giant reptiles wanting to snack on his girlfriend. My god defending her is a full time job! What's that smell? Chloroform? Hurt. Betrayed. Flashbulbs make him angry. Wait there is my love. I will protect her again. Keep her safe. Ah a sunset. Protects his love until the bitter end. Yes indeed. Kong is the king.
Ok if your still reading the bottom line is this: in my view, the film has weak character development but kiss ass Kong action...the latter is probably the reason most people are going to see it anyway.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
The Lion, the Witch and the Giggles
- animation powers: are beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Could be some spoilers ahead so watch it....
A bunch of us went to see the Chronicles of Narnia last night. By and large I enjoyed the picture. It takes a little while to get going but I was very entertained and never bored from start to finish. It's kind of like Lord of the Rings for kids but without any rings....my precious.
I keep reading about all the Christian themes in the film. I must be missing something. Aside from Aslan freely giving himself up to be killed and "rising" from the dead and Edmund being "forgiven", I don't see any parallel to the bible, God or Jesus. Perhaps people are injecting what they want into the film. Seeing what they want to see. Just how some see the Harry Potter films as the work of Satan himself.
But never mind all that. The Giggles you are saying...why is that in the header. Well my observant little faun, there is a reason. You see in the film as Aslan starts to wander into the woods, with Lucy and Susan looking on, I leaned over to my friend on my right and whispered "he's going off to poop". This made my friend start to laugh, which in turn made me start to laugh. This of course is a quiet and serious point in the film. We both can't stop laughing; giggling away like a couple of girls. While we are trying to compress our laughter, Lucy and Susan approach Aslan and say something to which he replies "Yes I would like some company". Now we are laughing even more. My friend to my left who has no idea why we are laughing...begins to laugh. I'm thinking "oh man I am ruining this movie for all these people". Trying to compress the laughter results in a "squeak" which sounds funny and serves as lighter fluid for a blaze that's out of control.
Finally, biting my lip to induce pain and with tears streaming down my face from a good 5 minutes of giggling, we all seem to pull it together and continue with the film. What can I say, I was a victim of the giggle loop (if you watch the BBC Coupling you know what I'm talking about) My apologies to anyone sitting around us.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
My mistake...
- animation powers: on vacation
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends; I know we sure did. After waking up from my pumpkin pie induced coma, I realized I made the mistake in my last post of saying "mole" when I meant "possum." Ironically enough I had been getting a lot of hate mail from moles recently and now I know why.
To fix the problem and to appease the many moles whom I offended, I went back and edited the previous post. Replacing "mole" with "possum." I hang my head in shame.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Ginormous Possum
- animation powers: require pumpkin pie
So when last we left ginormous possum he had continued to redig his ginormous hole and when confronted he hissed at me. Critter Ridder to the rescue, except the omission of "works on possums" was not an oversight, as it didn't work on the possum....at all. Even pouring it directly on the possum did nothing but prompt more hissing.
What to do? Buy more crap to sprinkle out there in hopes of driving the monster away. I can't remember the name of this new stuff but it is no nonsense. Repels deer, beavers, lions, dinosaurs, salesman; so I was feeling pretty good about it.
Again I filled in the hole. I love doing that. Then I sprinkled a bunch of this new stuff out there eventhough the directions said to sprinkle a little. Ha! Screw that, I'm coating the flower bed baby. If the possum wants to get back to the hole he is gonna be knee deep in this junk. And for the first few days it seemed to work but then I looked out there and damnit...the hole is back. So.....
I poured a ridiculous amount in the freshly dug hole. When the beast returns and starts to resume digging....surprise!!! I am happy to say it has been a week and no activity. Either this stuff is actually working or ginormous possum is a ginormous rode kill somewhere around here. Regardless...yay...no more digging...
Monday, November 07, 2005
The Ant Bully Site
- animation powers: mightier than 100 ants
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Chicken Little
- animation powers: taste like chicken
Just to throw this out there first off. I never read reviews before going to see movies. I like to go in a blank slate, without the opinions of movie critics rattling around in my head. That said I will check the ole rottentomatoes meter to see what the general consensus is: is it good or does it stink.
Could be a minor spoiler or two just so ya know.
Before going to see Chicken Little I was aware there was a lot of negativity towards the film. Some negativity may have been from the Pixar-Disney "do we need them or not" debate, while some could have stemmed from this movie being the first in a line of CG films that Disney put into production after deep sixing the 2D division. And don't rule out "hey its hip to hate Disney." Neverless I went into the film hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.
I was pleasantly surprised, the movie was really cute. The story wasn't perfect but worked rather well with the main theme being Chicken Little wanting...needing the approval and support of his father; wanting to make him proud. The film had quite a lot of humor that worked and quite a lot that didn't. Actually the humor that didn't work all seemed to suffer from the same problem....."let's try to be cool and hip"....and unfortunately those moments just didn't do it.
The characters were a lot of fun with Fish out of Water probably being my favorite; something endearing about a fish walking around with a scuba helmet full of water. In general I felt the animation was well done, however there were moments when the animation was too chaotic. The animation on Buck Cluck, CL's dad, was consistently great throughout the film. There is a sequence with Buck and Chicken Little driving home which is one really long shot.....Buck Cluck's animation was just.....wow.
My biggest complaints: the pop songs. Not the song montages, although it seems like two of them occur almost back to back. No no those didn't bother me half as much as sequences when characters sang Spice Girls and Queen. Those bits, which would have worked had they been 10 secs, go on for such a long time that I felt uncomfortable watching them; sounds weird but true. Other complaint was the ending felt a little rushed. As the situation with aliens gets resolved I thought to myself at one point "why were the space ships there to begin with.......ooooo acorns.....well o-k" If you see it you will understand.
Bottom line: I liked the movie. I really don't know where all the hate is coming from regarding Chicken Little. It's not a perfect movie, it has its flaws, but it was also pretty fun which is all I really want out of any movie.
And I must point out that our teaser trailer for The Ant Bully is playing before Chicken Little. Woot! So be on the look out for that!
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Hole
- animation powers: at 95%
So a few weekends ago I'm trimming the bushes out front. Chop chop chop...when I notice a good size hole at the base of one of the plants. Dark. Mysterious. I wonder if anything is in there? I found a 3 foot long stick and stuck it in the hole; it went pretty much all the way in. Fantastic. Even more fantastic was that nothing came running out of hole and ate my face.
I surmised that whatever was in there had left and went about filling in the hole. A couple days later I'm back out front and the hole was back...not as deep..but back none the less. So I fill it in again. Days later it was dug out. This went on and on. I would fill. Creature would dig.
Finally I decided that the "I fill-you dig" game was no longer fun. I filled the hole and put a good size chunk o concrete on top. Let's see you move that!
A couple days later I go out to see that the concrete is undisturbed...whew...but next to it a brand new hole has started. Son of a b... Keep in mind I have no idea exactly what is digging the whole. Skunk, raccoon, elves...who knows..
Last night I come home...it is dark and I go to get my mail when I think I hear some stirring in the bushes. I freeze.....and slowly look up at the house and see a fairly large object moving in the bushes. I surmise that is the neighbors cat. But decide to get a flashlight to be sure.
I shine the light behind the bushes and there it is: giant possum. This possum is so large it eats normal size possums. I try to shoo it away; tossing some wood chips at it. It hisses and scurries deeper behind the bushes. No freakin way I'm diving in there in the dark (it may have a giant possum posse in there), so I turn on the outside flood lights and come inside.
Looking out a window that looks onto the shrub bed, I see ol ginormous possum curled up in the corner. Super. A pet. Going to Lowes to see what they have in the "repel huge animal" department, I am dismayed to find no "possum away". However they had some Critter Ridder which says it repels everything, but doesn't mention possums. I am hopefully that was a manufactures oversight. I mean it says it repels all these other animals..squirrels...raccoons...a possum is raccoon....ish....sorta. But oh no... maybe this stuff will actually attract possums, or kill possums or mutate possums into some unholy....possum...uh...mutant.
I bought it...crossing fingers it works....
To be continued....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)