Friday, September 26, 2008

WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda: A Rant about Characters

My video review of WALL-E is up!



Today is about characters in animations. And yeah, you can't have a good story without a good character. I would say as a giddy fanboy is that one thing I really admire Pixar more than Dreamworks is they know how to create good characters. Its not they have to make a character's personality realistic, but the idea of making a good character is to make their personality believable.





As Pixar were starting out, their earliest short film, Luxo Jr, features a table lamp as their character with no mouth, eyes, arms or even legs, yet its the use of movement and pose that narrates the short's simple story. That same lamp is part of the company's logo, not only because historically its was one of the first characters they created, but because its their philosophy that creating a good story and character comes first than anything else. Looking at what they have done after Luxo Jr, their teachings have been demonstrated on the likes of Woody, Buzz, Mike and Sully.





Not that Dreamworks don't know how to create a good character. Their first good character is the green orge, Shrek where the creators have given him a great personality. So great his personality and so lovable by everyone that we get to see him in five more films, probably doing the same things he's doing in his last films. Dreamworks may have created something of a secret formula to a successful film after Shrek became a instant hit: make over-exaggerated characters (ingredient of humor) voiced by A-list celebrities (ingredient of star-power) and filled it with movie references (ingredient of pop culture). In fact that formula is no longer secret as many animation studios have use it to make the same financial profit as Shrek did, which few worked and most didn't.





The only animation studio to not rely on the "instant-money fool-proof" formula is, you guess it, Pixar. While their other method of profiting lies in their merchandising(which is Disney's department), their production of animated movies isn't fueled by money, which is kind of rare in the money-making film industry. Thats what defines them as artists more than businessmen. They are finding new ways to challenge themselves, to bring out something new and unique every year rather than producing the same thing over and over again. Not that its a bad thing to do the same thing over and over again, but we always admire the people who are moving forward. You would that Pixar employed the use of celebrities to voice their characters with some cases like Tom Hanks as Woody and even Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen. However their use of celebrities don't come in the first phase of production, its not also their selling point. Pixar don't sell their movies based on the big names of Hollywood. They don't have the names of actors who are starring in the films on their posters. Their selling point are their stories and characters. Its a matter of taste where people are looking forward to a good story or whatever they look forward to hearing a voice of a celebrity, even if they won't see them. And there is nothing more perfect to illustrate my point than these two fine examples: WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda.





Having seen both of them, I'm glad to say I don't hate one of them. Its just that I really really enjoy one of them more than the other and no, its not Kung Fu Panda, its WALL-E. I did not just enjoy it, I marvel it! I fell in love with it. While Kung Fu Panda was like watching a fun Saturday Morning cartoon, WALL-E is like experiencing a theatrical opera directed by Shakespeare himself while Michaelangelo is painting a beautiful canvas in the background and Mozart is playing beautiful music with his full-scale orchestra. All at the same time. I know I may be exaggerating, but in short, it was art. So how could a little robot like WALL-E be more interesting than a panda who does Kung-Fu? Both of them are underdogs. Both of them are determined to reach their goal. Both of them gets into pratfalls and misfortunes. Both of them are funny, well one of them is slightly more funnier than the other and no, its not Kung Fu Panda again. In fact just by watching these movies gives you evidences why WALL-E is more interesting than Kung Fu Panda.





The selling point for Kung Fu Panda isn't the panda itself but Jack Black. Even though you won't see Jack Black in the film, his characters resembles his physical feature and his attitude. In which you're going into the theater to see a Jack Black movie with Kung Fu. Even though Jack Black is awesome, its nothing new. And really as much as I like Jack Black, as Po I wouldn't think of being around him as long as WALL-E. I would end up being more annoyed by Po than actually liking him. For the other, Pixar's selling point isn't a celebrity, but a character. We don't see another celebrity in disguise, we actually see a robot named WALL-E. He's an entirely new person in existence. And what makes him even more unique is that he doesn't have a actual voice actor and his speech is all engineered by sound designer Ben Burtt, who gave R2-D2 his own voice. WALL-E is possibly the most cutest and most lovable character Pixar ever created, he's bankable. Everyone will be flocking and paying to actually see this guy. Wall-E has the potential to be in more films the same way Shrek and Po has, yet Pixar won't make any movies of him. His story has come full-circle, its done. As much the movie have made a decent amount of millions, there is no way Pixar can continue the story of WALL-E. Its perfect in its way and there is no way Pixar will ground WALL-E out of its dignity the same way Dreamworks did to Shrek, the animals of Madagascar and even Po.





Kung Fu Panda did what it was created to be, being a fun animated film and I had fun watching it. Its a good film to have fun watching, even though I was so annoyed Jackie Chan didn't get to say much in the film. Especially when Jackie Chan is the one of the pioneers of kung fu, he should have been more than a one line cameo. He is freakin more important than Jack Black and even Angelina Jolie. Still it was a fun film. WALL-E was just a marvelous experience. It achieves much more than being a fun little family film. Within the film, it has a deep and important message that will affect you as you leave the theater. You can take these message into your account or you can just leave as you just witness a wonderful love story. I know I'm writing this as a raving fan boy and I'm not a teacher. My words are not final and I welcome anyone who give more insight in this. But in my words, Kung Fu Panda was fine and WALL-E is a masterpiece.

Monday, September 22, 2008

I Became The Joker

Last Saturday night, it was a friend's costume party to celebrate her 21st birthday and what was the first character that popped into my head when I think of "costumes"? Why, the f*ckin Joker!





It took 2 weeks of preparing the costumes, even though I didn't get the color scheme of the costume such as the purple jacket, the green vest and even the green wig. But hey, at least I was able to possess the spirit of the Joker. And to my surprise, I was the only Joker in the party! So that was f*ckin awesome!!

Want to see more photos of me as the Joker, go to my Facebook page ---> CLICK HERE

Before I terrorize the party, I always been want to do the something like this for a long time ever since I saw the awesome Dark Knight.

This is a play on the video threat scene where the Joker slowly tortures the fake Batman to death. Only I'm in character and my brother Johnny is not...

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The State of Hammer King and Pink Color

Looking at the upcoming work I'll be doing in the future especially my major film project for university, it has come to a very hard decision to put two of my biggest series on a big hold: Hammer King (not surprising) and Pink Color the Series (very surprising!). I'm sure its not a big deal that you guys are not looking forward to Hammer King, but a lot of you have been looking forward to the next episode of Pink Color and it upsets me that I will dis-continue the series. Of course this doesn't mean that it is canceled or scrapped. It'll be a matter of time until I bring the series back on track. And don't worry, it doesn't mean I will be ending my works of animations. I will continue to make music animations, web comics and my own experimental films.

And I have given you a treat by making an audio commentary of the pilot episode of Pink Color the Series.



I hope you enjoy and thank you to everyone for their support!

Monday, September 8, 2008

My Top Ten: Most Awesome Cartoons of My Childhood

Everybody loves cartoons. Unless you grew up as a heartless twisted freak or live in a place where TV doesn't exist, you can't have a childhood without seeing a cartoon show. And being the child of the late 80s and early 90s, there were so many great cartoons that kept me glued right close to the TV. So if you ask me one day what would be my favorite cartoon show, I would actually bored you to death by giving you my top ten list of my favorite cartoons. To make it clear, I'm giving the list of the cartoons I have seen as a kid, not as an adult. So without further ado, here is MY top ten list of cartoons that influenced me, entertain me and were just freakin AWESOME.


10. CAPTAIN PLANET AND THE PLANETEERS



With the whole global warming and environmental issues coming along in this world, I really wish Captain Planet was real, so he could clean this mess up. The show was so fun and ass-kicking to watch, while also being educational about saving the environment. The Planeteers have such wicked elemental powers with the use of their magic rings, but I still don't get the Mexican guy's power of Heart. Thats pretty cheap. And when these Planeteers combine their powers, you really start cheering for the flying homo-colored protector of the environment, Captain Planet! And to fully satisfy your viewing of one episode, the theme song at the closing credit is very catchy to sing along!

Opening credit


And here's its catchy theme song!


9. SWAT CATS



These cats got attitude. Choosing between them and Biker Mice From Mars (I like them too), I have to go with the cats! I mean, these boys got a freakin fighter jet! After rocking on the opening credit with its jamming guitar riffs, you get to see these boys take on the challenge of aliens, evil wizards, mutant plant zombies and more! Calling themselves SWAT Cats, they have a huge arsenal of bad-ass weaponry in their fight to save Cat City! Hey that gives one good reason why I like cats more than dogs!



8. DARKWING DUCK



Going from cats to ducks. I love Disney's Saturday morning cartoons back it is all about the adventure like Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers and Tale Spin, not when Disney starts marketing on the likes of Hanna Montana. One Disney cartoon that is both fun in design and badass in nature is Darkwing Duck! This guy is Batman if he was a duck. Sure he can be a klutz in most of his adventures, but that doesn't stop him from being so dark. He has own badass intro monologue every time he introduce himself to a villain. And after that, he gets himself in a pratfall. And his theme song has got to be the best out of all the Disney cartoons!



7. EEK! THE CAT


This cat can't get a break. I mean all he wants was to be with his fatass cat girlfriend, but Sharky the Dog gives him a whole lot of trouble. EEK! walks into accident by accident and you can feel the pain. And I sound very horrible laughing at the pain of this cat getting hurt minute by minute. In addition to EEK!, you have the Terrible Thunderlizards, which you have dinosaurs with guns! And they have a mission to kill off two simple cavemen and yet they can't even get them!



6. ANIMANIACS



I don't know what kind of animals they are, but they suuuuurrrely are wacky! Using the hilarity and techniques used for Looney Tunes, Animaniacs has so many clever and funny moments that parodies movies and studio executive lives. And suuurrrelly they can annoy anyone on Earth, including Satan! And who could forget when you see that fine-looking nurse, you would really have to howl "HEEEELLLLLLLLOOO, NURSE!!" Included with Animaniac are Pinky and the Brain, which they are so funny they get their own show. Man why did Warner Bros. have to turn towards animes?



5. EARTHWORM JIM



Love the freakin video game and love the freakin cartoon! Love the character of Earthworm Jim, love his big red gun and love his rocket pack! Love Pete the Pup and his crazy transformation into this crazy monster! Love Psy-Crow, love Evil the Cat and love Queen Slug-for-a-Butt! Hell I even love its freakin theme song!



4. ADVENTURES OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG



Man, before Sonic lost his ways in video games and his story was about crystals, emeralds, twin hedgehogs and other crap, this Sonic-based cartoon was just about one thing: Dr. Robotnik catching Sonic and Tails. It wasn't serious and dark as the next cartoons were trying to be, but just good old wacky fun. How funny it is to see Sonic, voiced by Urkel, ruining Dr. Robotnik's plans and after that, chilling out with a chilli dog! Man, I seriously had to get up at 6.00am in the freakin morning just to watch the opening credit!



3. ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE



Before Nickelodeon gave us Spongebob Squarepants, they have Ren and Stimpy. And in between, there was Rocko's Modern Life, probably my only favorite Nickelodeon cartoon ever! And its funny because its true! There's no funnier way to show life sucks than through the life of a wallaby, taking crap from his jerk neighbors, his jerk boss and probably everyone else. He can't get one good day whether he goes off to the fair, goes skiing or just going groceries. Along with Rocko, all of the characters are just so awesome life Heffer and Filburt! Oh and lets not forget the catchy theme song.



2. BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES



Damn, if Christopher Nolan got it right with The Dark Knight, then Bruce Timm got it right for this animated series. When I first saw it as a little kid, I never knew how dark the story of Batman was. Last time I saw animated Batman was in the 60s with the Super Friends, fighting while smiling. The writers of this show gave all the characters and villains real depths and motives into their beings, making the story flesh out and more dramatic than its usual Saturday morning fanfare. There was nothing about smiles and fun in this show, but the darkness and its ass kicking. And how epic is the opening credits!



And last but not least....

1. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES



Thats right! I'm a turtle-head! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rocked my childhood! They got to be the most radical, most coolest group of shellheads to ever grace with ninjas, skateboards and pizzas! Whenever I see a new TMNT toy on shelves, I would literally throw a tantrum to force my parents to buy that toy. And if it wasn't enough, I would dress up as a Ninja Turtle (dressed as Donatello, my favorite turtle) every Halloween! Dude, every time they sport out a catch phrase, I wouldn't miss out in shouting them out, including "Cowabunga!!" and "Turtle Power!!". And hell, it was a momentous moment when I get to see the live-action movies! While the third movie was not that great and the CGI was ok, the first two were the sh*ts! The new TMNT is ok to watch and I do like how they add the element of Anime into it, but it can't never as awesome as the original! And one thing alone that makes this show ever more awesome, it has the most freakin grand epic awesome theme song ever!!!




That is my top ten list! What are your favorites?

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Bonus Stage

If there is one thing that got me into Flash animating and creating webcomics based on random and witty humor like the Max J Studio comics, then that is the web cartoon I grew up watching since senior high school called BONUS STAGE. To me, its one out of two most funniest Internet shows I have ever seen (and the other being Red vs. Blue). And it seems I couldn't let go of the show. Its witty clever writings and dialogues are forever stuck in my brain and its quirky animations and humor have me in stitches. You can see that he's really inspired by animators like Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. What it is about is just a bunch of slackers named Joel and Phil who unpredictably gets random wacky adventures every week along with Elly, Craig, Rya and other people too. Even with Matt Wilson not anymore producing anymore episodes and him absence from the Internet, the show are still getting alot of fans. You seen my gallery and how I always create fan illustrations of the show. A show that has that impact on me meaning its that good!




What makes me so happy now is that I just discovered that Matt Wilson is back on the Internet, working on new projects while working on shows shown on TV such as Kappa Mickey. And that Matt posted the entire episodes of Bonus Stage on Youtube! And I'm recommending you guys! If you need some inspirations for awesome animations and clever writing that matches Scrubs or you just want good laughs, then go check out his site http://bonusstages.com/ or his Youtube site http://www.youtube.com/user/BSMattW



Here is a Youtube video of my most favorite Bonus Stage episode:

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

I'm now 22... no biggie..

Yeah, today is my birthday as I turned 22. The age 21 was kind of a big number and it was meant to be celebrated with a huge party with 50 to 100 of friends and family, but now at 22, there is not much need to have a party. While I like to have fun, I'm not really a party person. There is really the need to go out clubbing at night when I was young, but now as I get older, you'll realize that partying isn't needed to make your life exciting. I still got my health, I'm doing what I love doing, I still hang out with my friends, I have a lovely girlfriend, I'm studying for my Masters and I watch so many different movies I rent from the video stores and from the school library.

That is however the good part of my life. The more worry part is that soon I have to move out and find a very stable job soon. Responsibility gets higher and, I'm sorry folks, but thats life. I'm too having trouble coming to this realization. Even if you young kids saying to yourself "you'll fore come these realization of responsibility", wait till you get a little older and know how hard it is to know what you have to do as an adult. I know I'm sounding like doom and gloom, but I have to come the fact that, that is life.

All I can say is just enjoy life. Grasp every opportunity and achieve every goal you can. You ain't staying young for a long time, so might as well do something meaningful. I might giving a lecture to anyone who is reading about life but its the least I can do to give a bit of advice. Thanks to all my friends and family who have support and encourage me throughout my life and I'm happy to be doing what I love doing.



Jordz

Monday, September 1, 2008

The Dover Boys

I was studying the life of Chuck M. Jones, known as the legendary animator, who worked on many great Looney Tunes cartoons, Tom and Jerry and the Grinch who Stole Christmas, and came across something that brought me back to my childhood. The animated short was called "The Dover Boys of Pimento University" or just simply "The Dover Boys", which was made in 1942 and I remembered watching this short over and over again when I was 5 and played it on my Beta player!




I had the chance to watch it again on Youtube and it was still brilliant to watch. There were clever jokes I didn't get when I was a kid that finally came to my head. You're wondering what is this animation is about. Basically its just a parody of classic juvenile melodrama which involves a team of heroic boys, a helpless damsel and a deceitful villain. Just by looking at it, the design, colour and drawings are just beautiful, only to be topped by timeless and classic humor.

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This work became the drawing influences to many inspiring animators that uses the methods and techniques used in this piece, including the blur animation. The characters just are fleshed out and nails the spot on satirizing its melodramatic personalities. One villain named "Dan Backslide" is probably the most developed and most funniest in the short. Just hearing him saying "A runabout... I'LL STEAL IT! NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!" is a work of a genius.

Go and check it out.