Two weeks later, I returned to Detroit as the DIA was showing
The Glassworker, Pakistan's first ever hand drawn animated feature film
at the DIA's Detroit Film Theatre.
Visually, it was like watching 'Ghibli-lite', and that's not a criticism. If
you're going to study the art of animation, you'd be hard pressed to find a
better example than Studio Ghibli. Story-wise, it was... interesting. It felt like there were no heroes in this story, just a lot of normal people who were victims of circumstances beyond their control as well as experiencing the consequences from the bad decisions that they made. There was a fair amount of complexity and there were some interesting explorations between patriotism and pacifism, classism, along with a very unexpected twist at the end. Mano Animation Studios and director Usman Riaz are off to a good start. Looking forward to seeing what they do next.
Afterwards, in keeping with the theme of the film, I took a moment to appreciate some of the glassworks in the DIA's collection.
It was Spring and time to make a drive down to the Detroit Institute of Arts in order to see the Academy Award Nominated animated short films program. My typical plan for this event is to show up a couple hours early and wander the museum drawing inspiration by the art, then have a nice meal, and finally watch the films. Sometimes my wanderings are to gather information for my History of Animation class. Other times, I'll thinking of a theme (like food) and search for works of art that match the theme. This time though, after looking at a few paintings, I found myself mostly seeking out three-dimensional art like glassware or sculptures.
Kingfisher, Cicada, and Willow Tree, from the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, 1700 Unknown Artist, China
Vase with carnations, 1886 Vincent van Gogh
Water Pitcher, "Pomona" Glass, 1885/86 New England Glass Company East Cambridge, Massachusetts
After some musings about how the artwork was produced--and the tremendous skill it must have taken--I strolled over to the Detroit Film Theater. The films selected for the program were a bit on the longer side, so it was only a five-film screening consisting of only those that were nominated. Usually the program has a couple extra films from those submitted but not nominated in order to pad out the presentation to a full hour-and-a-half (ish). But this time, there wasn't any need for extras. As Zippy Films was kind enough to post a list of all the shortlisted films back in December, I debated the merits of looking up some of those short-listed films (you can view that article here). Wild Summon by Saul Freed and Karni Arieli looked particularly interesting, albeit a tad gruesome. The trailer for Humo (Smoke) by Rita Basulto had some very interesting visuals that left me wondering CGI or stop-motion? And the trailer for Eeva, by Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak, had both a visual style and story style that projected those quirky Eastern European sensibilities which would definitely appeal to me. Alas, these films got passed over, so will have to do some digging on the internet in the future to see if the filmmakers have uploaded them after their festival runs.
The films this year had a wide array of techniques and topics, though I suspect all had elements of CGI in their production processes, be it compositing, special effects, or animation.
Our Uniform [Iran]: This film had some interesting visuals--the animated short was made to look like all the characters, models, and backgrounds were made of fabric. But with regards to the story, I kinda felt like I'd already
seen this film when I watched Persepolis back in 2007. Not a
bad film, per se, but I had repeated feelings of déjà vu and was left wondering if the creator was inspired by Marjane Satrapi's feature (or graphic novels)?
Letter to a Pig [France, Israel] - I found the story in this film a little confusing. On the one hand, it was pretty straightforward: you have an
elderly Jewish man telling the story of his experiences during the Holocaust
to a classroom of kids who (on the surface at least) don't seem to be grasping the nuances of
what he was talking about--they fidgeted, some looked bored, I seem to recall one being expelled from the room for being disruptive. The portion of him telling his story about hiding from the Nazis on a farm was rather engaging. But I wasn't sure about the point of the kids being disruptive. Was this an actual event or did the filmmaker script the kids' behavior for the film? Was the filmmaker trying to make the point that as more and more Holocaust survivors pass away, the younger generations become more and more detached from the horrors of their collective history? Then there was the girl who was visualizing the story she was being told before it drifted into daydreaming...
Well, over on the Hive Studio's YouTube channel, they have uploaded a pair of videos detailing filmmaker Tal Kantor's story and production process. I highly recommend watching them--especially the one on technique if you're a budding filmmaker. I found some of my questions being answered through this fascinating look into how she designed and constructed her film (videos aptly titled: 'The Story' and 'The Technique'). Others were left unresolved.
Interestingly enough, recently Tal Kantor popped up on my Facebook "Suggested Friends" list. Apparently we have ten mutual friends. After watching Letters to a Pig again, I might reach out to her and ask some questions about her film. This is one of those thought provoking animated shorts that I would really like to watch a couple more times to really let it sink in.
Pachyderm [France] - There were some really good visuals in this
film--hauntingly beautiful imagery and solid animation technique--but
sometimes the story being told is too abstract. During the screening, I didn't get the
fact that it was about abuse. On the bright side, it did plant enough seeds
within my consciousness that I looked up the film afterwards in order to get
some more context and interpretation on the story. Even if they don't "get it" during the first viewing, I think that inspiring someone to look deeper into your film's premise outside of the screening is a pretty good thing.
Ninety-Five Senses [USA] - This film was a slow burn. An entertaining story
told by an old man at the end of his days as he reminisces about his life. It
was a very compelling story that drew me in from the start and ended with a startling reveal. Now, I'm not
going to say that "this is the film that should've won", I've long since given up on trying to determine how the Academy members will vote. But what I will say
is that if you only see one of the films nominated this year, it should definitely be this one.
War is Over [USA] - This was an nice film. A bit overly saccharine for my tastes, but it had a decent story (two soldiers on either sides of the war playing a game of chess with moves relayed by carrier pigeon). I honestly thought that it was more interesting to see how the film was created using Unreal Engine (using a video game engine to create an animated short film). What I think really made this film shine is that the concept was strong enough to stand on its own. I don't think that they needed the John Lennon song. Not saying the song's presence was bad or unnecessary, just that it was a solid concept with good storytelling and competent execution in and of itself.
So, all-in-all, I found this to be a very good program of films which were filled with a wide variety of animation techniques and visual styles. It was well worth the drive down to Detroit. Now, time to see what animated features the Detroit Film Theater will be showing this year so I can start planning return trips.
Well, I made it to Detroit to see the animated short films that were nominated for the 2023 Academy Awards. And while I don't follow the Oscars, per se, I do have some friends that are voting members of the Academy--and watching the shorts program at the DIA's Detroit Film Theater is a fun experience, so off to the Motor City I went.
I spent a couple hours drifting around the DIA, mostly looking at paintings and sculptures up in the third floor -- the Dutch Masters galleries. Then had a brief, yet pleasant talk with one of the docents about 'Veiled Lady', a marble sculpture by Giovanni Maria Benzoni from back in 1872. A quick lunch later, and I checked out the Impressionists gallery to see that the four van Gogh paintings owned by the DIA were back in their home again.
After which, it was time to see the films!
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It.
This is the story of a salesman working in a call center who has an existential crisis. It's a clever concept with competent execution. I don't think that they broke any new ground with the story or animation here but it was an entertaining film with good production values.
For the time being, you can watch this film on the Troy | Movies | Videos YouTube channel at this hyperlink.
The Flying Sailor
Always good to see the National Film Board of Canada with a film in competition. And when the film is directed by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis, you know that it's going to be entertaining. This one was the story of a Canadian sailor who was caught in an explosion when two ships collide. It was a really trippy film that looked at the nature of existence but without becoming pretentious or drawn out for too long. If you've ever had a near-death experience (or thought you were having one), you'll relate to what transpires on the screen. Watch to the end because even when you think that it's over, this film sneaks in a really good endcap.
For the time being, you can watch this film on the New Yorker's YouTube channel at this hyperlink.
Ice Merchants
Delightfully quirky with a good payoff. This film reminds me of the fun and quirky films that I would see at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. The story is all about a father and son who live on the side of a cliff, harvesting ice and selling it to the townspeople below. I was able to figure out the payoff at the ending about halfway into the film, but wow was it a fun ride to get there. This was my choice for the Oscar. Unfortunately, it lost out to 'Boy, Mole, Fox & Horse', but having seen all the contenders, you pretty much knew who the Academy members were going to cast their votes for.
For the time being, you can watch this film on the New Yorker's YouTube channel at this hyperlink.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Gorgeous visuals and smooth animation. There was some clever dialog throughout the story of a boy learning life lessons from animals whilst finding his courage. A little too saccharine and simplistic for my tastes, but it was adapted from a children's book, so you know what to expect going in. It's worth seeing once and I'm sure that parents will enjoy watching this film with their children. Definitely stay seated through the ending credit sequence and pay attention.
Last I knew, this film was only available to watch through the Apple+ streaming service.
My Year of Dicks
An interesting, entertaining story. Visuals were reminiscent of Joanna Priestley's Voices with some nods to Richard Linklater's Waking Life. The main problem with this film wasn't the story--a teenage girl who decides that she wants to lose her virginity and the hi-jinks that follow--no, it was that the music and sound effects drowned out the dialog, so there was a lot of nuance and character development that I ended up missing. It was a quirky film with some interesting notes and the final sequence was painfully funny and relatable to men and women alike. Honestly, I'd watch it again (though only if it came with subtitles). This short film is rated "R" for content, however, overall it was pretty tame. I don't recall any nudity or anything like that, just some foul language and its mature subject matter. The DFT and Shorts International did it right: before the film was announced, they gave time for parents to remove their children from the theater. I don't know where this film is available for viewing right now, but if you're into "coming of age" stories, this one is worth a look.
And to end this blog post with the obligatory foodie photo, I have to say: the DIA Cafeteria has a superior bowl of chicken soup!
I stopped watching the Academy Awards many years ago, pretty much when an anonymous studio exec admitted publicly that he (or perhaps she) never watched the animated films in competition. Since then, we've heard stories from other members of the Academy about how they just ask their kids what animated feature they like and then they vote for that film. Personally, I'm of the opinion that if you're not invested in that particular category, then don't vote in that category at all.
At that point, the awards lost all meaning for me. If I was a voting member, I'd only vote for the animated feature, animated short, and SFX categories because those are the only areas where I have an interest to watch all the films in competition--and where my both my knowledgebase and experiences in filmmaking lie.
Amid Amidi of Cartoon Brew maintains a pretty good series of articles that discusses this problem in depth--including 'should read' links to previous articles (Cartoon Brew). If you're interested in reading more about this problem within the Academy, I'd start my research there.
Now I have several friends who are members of the Academy and are very diligent to watch the films that they're voting for, meaning: it's kind of a delicate topic. Add to that, I have one of those Academy-related memories that is near and dear to my heart: seeing Nick Park's Wrong Trousers winning the Oscar in the Spring of 1994 and wishing I could watch that film--then, seeing the whole film at my first-ever Ottawa animation festival that Fall. So, while I've given up on the Oscar show itself, I still make it a point to watch as many of the Academy-nominated animated features and shorts as I can--which is made very easy by the Detroit Institute of Arts/Detroit Film Theater having a shorts screening program every year. It's a good use of your time: you take the better part of the day to walk around the DIA looking at artwork, have a nice lunch, then watch an hour-and-a-half's worth of animated shorts. And if I have time, I go back into the DIA to be further inspired by art. It's really tough to find a better way to spend a day.
This year was only slightly different. The DIA had hooked up with Eventive.org to stream the yearly Academy Awards shorts program to our homes (for a nominal fee, of course). So while it wasn't the full theater experience, I still got to see the nominated shorts along with a couple that were in the running but didn't make the cut.
The ones that really struck a chord with me were:
Burrow. Created by Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat as part of Pixar's SparkShorts program, Burrow was as delightful now as it was the first time I saw it. And having interviewed Madeline back when she was a student at CalArts, it's been a very fun experience to watch her career progress and how she continues to grow and mature both as an animator and as a storyteller.
Genius Loci, by Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise. Y'know, this film was visually engaging, especially with their willingness to use the 'white of the paper' or the open spaces in their backgrounds. But I found the story convoluted and difficult to follow, so it really detracted from my enjoyment of the film. Visually, it reminded me a lot of the beautiful Brazilian feature Boy and the World. Might be worth a watch on it's own, not as a part of a larger program.
The Snail and the Whale was a nice story--good for the kids market. But it went on for way too long. I think it would've made a much better ten to fifteen minute film.
And finally, DreamWorks' To Gerard, which was a very heartwarming and enjoyable film. Not really impressive from a technical perspective, I don't think I saw anything visually that they hadn't done in their features, but it was a wholly enjoyable story. I'd easily watch this short before a feature film on family movie night.
This week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the nominations for the 92nd Annual Academy Awards.
The following are the films nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Animated Short Film.
Best Animated Feature:
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - Dean DeBlois, Bradford Lewis, and Bonnie Arnold
I Lost My Body - Jeremy Clapin and Marc Du Pontavice
Klaus - Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh, and Marisa Roman
Missing Link - Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner, and Travis Knight
Toy Story 4 - Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen, and Jonas Rivera
Best Animated Short:
Dcera (Daughter) - Daria Kascheeva
Hair Love - Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver
Kitbull - Rosana Sullivan and Kathryn Hendrickson
Memorable - Bruno Collet and Jean-Francois le Corre
Sister - Siqi Song
Additionally, the following two animated feature films had nominations in the category of Music (Original Song):
'I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away' from Toy Story 4; Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
'Into The Unknown' from Frozen II; Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
As always, for those who would like to see these short films before the awards ceremony, they will be playing at the Detroit Institute of Arts' Detroit Film Theater in January and February.
The schedule from the DIA's website is as follows:
Friday, January 31, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 1, 2020 - 2:00 PM
Saturday, February 1, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 2, 2020 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 2, 2020 - 6:00 PM
Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Friday, February 7, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 8, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 9, 2020 - 1:00 PM
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Thursday, February 13, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Friday, February 14, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 15, 2020 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 16, 2020 - 1:00 PM
The Academy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, February 9, 2020.
Congratulations to all the nominees and to all the filmmakers who submitted their films for consideration.
* The Academy Awards and the Oscar are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
It's been a decent year for animated feature films. Between the Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit Film Theater and my local theaters, I've been able to partake of a number of features in the first half of the year.
The first was Tales of the Night, by Michel Ocelot.
There's just something about watching a modern feature using an old-school animation technique, in this case silhouette animation. Make no mistake, this is a film for the younger kids and tween crowd, but there's still a lot there for us older fans to enjoy.
If you're interested, the following link is to the GKIDS webstore where you can purchase this film on DVD: "click me".
* * *
Next on my line-up was Danmachi: Arrow of the Orion.
This film takes place in the Orario setting of Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon? series. And while there are appearances from our favorite characters in the Loki Familia, the story focuses mainly on the Hestia Familia. And while the story was a bit predictable, it was a fun look at the relationship that is building between Bell and Hestia along with some tantalizing hints of what's going to happen in the next season of Danmachi. If you're fan of the series (and of it's spinoff Sword Oratoria), you'll enjoy Arrow of the Orion.
* * *
Then there was Mirai, the latest from Mamoru Hosoda, director of Summer Wars and Wolf Children.
Mirai wasn't bad... it was just a little too "kiddy" for my tastes. Is a good film for parents to watch with the pre-teen crowd. But honestly, I had more fun hanging out with fellow ASIFA member Gary Schwartz and his wife before the film than I did in the theater. I think that if I had kids, I'd enjoy the film more since there were a lot of events and situations in the film that I just couldn't relate to.
Well, with Studio Trigger's Promare coming up in September the week before the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the Fall looks to be a very animated one!
In March, the 'post-Winter and yet still pre-Spring' doldrums were setting in. The snow was almost gone, leaving patchy brown grass in its wake. The sky was still grey and overcast. And although the time change left us with more light during the day, still, the warm sunlight was noticeably absent other than the occasional glimmer at sunrise and sunset. Rain and sleet were pervasive.
In order to get the much needed pick-me-up that would carry me to the first few days of Spring, I engaged in my time-honored tradition of appreciating some art.
As fortune would have it, the Detroit Film Theater was showing the English-dub version of Ruben Brandt, Collector. I had already seen this visually engaging film at TAAFI a month earlier, but I leapt at an opportunity to see it again. At TAAFI, they showed the English-subtitled version. And while I don't shy away from watching films in their original language, a film like 'Ruben Brandt' with all it's surreal visual imagery (and artistic Easter eggs) needs to be seen in a format that allows you to take it all in without having to split your attention between the film and the subtitles.
Still Life with Yellow Apple, 1858
John F. Francis
However, before the film, I decided to spend the better part of the afternoon looking at paintings. After observing the watercolors in the newly refurbished Asian wing, I headed upstairs to spend time with the DIA's lone Monet painting. Sadly, 'Rounded Flower Bed' (formerly known as 'Gladioli') wasn't on exhibition, having been loaned out to another museum for the next six months, but it did offer me the opportunity to do a little exploring of other works of art. I soon found myself tracking down one still-life painting after another with the common theme of 'food'.
The Sinfonia (Family Portrait), 1671
Michiel van Musscher
Other than an appreciation of the paintings themselves, much of what I was looking for with this little exercise were instances of near-realism within these paintings--like the use of color to create the illusion of three dimensions within a two-dimensional image.
A week later, I made a day trip over to the West side of Michigan, starting with Meijer Gardens up in Grand Rapids for their yearly exhibition of butterflies. I'll be honest, I wasn't feeling it. After struggling to navigate hordes of toddlers and crotchety older people for a half-hour in order get a decent photo, I switched tactics. Instead of standing over a butterfly, patiently waiting for it to spread its wings only for the insect to be scared away by a little kid or hear a nasty remark from an older person who wanted to get by me, I started looking for the butterflies that were simply resting. If you've ever been to a butterfly conservatory, you know that this pose is far more common (as seen in the picture below).
The pressure off, I left Meijer Gardens about an hour later with some beautiful photos of butterflies and plants that I was really happy with.
No idea what this is, but it looks like it could start
singing and dancing at any minute!
After a quick lunch at a Chinese restaurant by the gardens, I made my way down to the Riveria Theater down in Three Rivers for a screening of the documentary 'Loving Vincent, the Impossible Dream'.
Loving Vincent is a very captivating film and watching the documentary provided a very revealing look into the making of this singular feat of animation. It is the "world's first fully painted feature film", after all. And while I did find learning the background of the directors and their struggle to get this film financed and into theaters entertaining enough, I was honestly more interested in the nuts-and-bolts of the production.
For example: I found the transformation of an empty warehouse into an animation studio filled with curtain shrouded cubicles containing built-in projection systems for rotoscoping with oil paint to be far more fascinating.
What also piqued my interest was the process that they used to weed out all the experienced oil painters that they needed to create the 65,000 frames of film as well as how the painters were apparently paid per painting. If I understand correctly, on the production, the more paintings you produced, the more you got paid. No small feat when you look at the complexity of the images in the trailer below:
Loving Vincent is now available for viewing on various streaming services (like Amazon Prime, Hulu and YouTube), as well as available on DVD and BluRay. So if you have an afternoon, it is highly recommended viewing.
My cousin Circe dressed as Ruby Rose
from the animated series: RWBY.
Well, the last gasp of Winter was bittersweet this year as it was, what would be announced about a week after the convention, the last Shuto Con to be held in Lansing.
There were rumblings of declining quality, increasing prices, and financial instability over the past few years, but I took them all in stride as I had been attending my local con since it's inception in 2011.
This year, the con had scaled back to a fraction of its original size as the owners fulfilled the final year of their contract with the venue.
The mood that weekend alternated between festive and somber, depending on who you asked.
Don't get me wrong, I made a decision to have a great time no matter what, and I was not disappointed. However, my worst fears were realized when the convention owner went on social media with the announcement that they were throwing in the towel and ending the con for good--leaving Lansing with one less venue for animation and one less place where I felt like I belonged.
Shuto will always hold a special place in my heart as they were the first venue that provided me space and equipment to do presentations and screenings on the history of women animators. Even though they were a Japanese animation and culture con, they saw the value in my work and for that, I will be forever grateful.
Regardless, it "is" times like this when I wish I lived in a bigger city with more opportunities to be social and engage in activities that interest me. Such is life.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released the nominations for the 90th Annual Academy Awards and as per tradition, the Detroit Institute of Arts' Detroit Film Theater will be showing their annual shorts nominee program in February and March.
This year, the following animated films have been nominated (click on the links to see the trailers):
Napping Princess, Japan/2016—directed by Kenji Kamiyama
If you're looking for something animated to do during the upcoming holiday weekend, the DIA's Detroit Film Theater has you covered!
Two things worth noting:
1. While all three films start at 2 p.m. on their respective days, an all-ages tea party will be held before the show begins. The tea party starts at 1 p.m.
with complimentary beverage and snacks available for purchase.
2. All three screenings are FREE to the public!
During the New Year's Eve weekend, the DFT's 'Tea Time Theater' presents the following films:
"GKIDS proudly presents the latest film from visionary director Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex), coming to select US cinemas this September. NAPPING PRINCESS is a thrilling sci-fi fantasy set it the near future, which follows the journey of a young girl, Kokone, and her friend Morio, as they set out to find Kokone’s missing father who has been accused of a crime. Kokone soon realizes she must tap into a world only accessible through her dreams in order to solve the mystery."
"Paris, 1941. A family of scientists is on the brink of a powerful discovery when a mysterious force suddenly abducts them, leaving their young daughter April behind. Years later, April carries on her family’s research in secret with her cat, Darwin, but soon finds herself at the center of a shadowy conspiracy and on the run from government agents, bicycle-powered airships and cyborg rat spies! A rollicking adventure set in an imaginative alternate universe, April and the Extraordinary World is "beautiful, inventive and uncannily satisfying!” (Glenn Kenny, The New York Times) (Original Title - April and the Extraordinary World) - 2016 Universal City Studios. All Rights Reserved."
And on December 31st, they will be showing Studio Ghibili's Whisper of the Heart.
"Shizuku Tsukishima is a bit of a book-worm, spending her last summer vacation in junior high school reading and translating popular foreign music into Japanese. With aspirations to one day become a writer, Shizuku can't help but notice that the name Seiji Amasawa appears on every one of the books she borrows from the library.
Through a series of curious and magical incidents, she comes to meet Seiji and discovers he has dreams of becoming a famous violin maker in Italy. While their life-long goals pull them in two different directions, Shizuku and Seiji are determined to remain true to their strong feelings for one another."
So if you're looking for a chance to escape the weather over the holiday weekend, why not spend it watching some of the best animated films the world has to offer?
The Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit Film Theater is located at 5200 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan.
Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the nominations for the 89th Annual Academy Awards.
A lot of feelings regarding this year's nominees. On the one hand, I'm very happy to see that Kubo and the Two Strings was nominated in not one, but two categories. 'Kubo' was a beautiful film that deserved to do far, far better than it did in the box office. Travis Knight and the talented folks at Laika continue to impress with how they push the boundaries of stop-motion animation with every film they release.
And I'm very excited to see that Studio Ghibli was nominated for The Red Turtle. While a joint production between Ghibli and director Michaël Dudok de Wit, having followed the films of both for years, I'm really excited to see this film.
One sad note regarding the selections this year, there was only on female director nominated and it was for a co-directed film: Cara Speller for Pear Cider and Cigarettes. I'm not going to go off on a rant about the number of women creators in animation, however, I find it a little incredulous that there weren't enough women filmmakers making Oscar-worthy films in 2016 to garner more than one nomination, and for a co-directing position at that.
So, if you follow my sister-site 'The Women of Animated Film', this year is a little bittersweet. I was hoping to see more, especially after watching the trailer for the film Once Upon a Line, directed by Alicja Jasnia, which was in the running but didn't make the shortlist.
The following are the films nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Animated Short Film.
Best Animated Feature:
Kubo and the Two Strings - Laika
Moana - Disney
My Life as a Zucchini - GKids
The Red Turtle - Studio Ghibli
Zootopia - Disney
Best Animated Short: Blind Vaysha - Theodore Ushev Borrowed Time - Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj Pear Cider and Cigarettes - Robert Valley and Cara Speller Pearl - Patrick Osborne Piper -Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
Also worthy of note are the additional nominations in separate, non-animated categories:
Best Documentary: Life Animated - Roger Ross Williams
Best Song:
"Can't Stop the Feeling" - Trolls - Dreamworks
"How Far I'll Go" - Moana - Disney
Best Visual Effects: Kubo and the Two Strings - Laika
As always, for those who would like to see these short films before the awards ceremony, they will be playing at the Detroit Institute of Arts' Detroit Film Theater in January and February.
The schedule from the DIA's website is as follows:
Friday, February 10, 2017 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 11, 2017 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 12, 2017 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 12, 2017 - 6:00 PM
Friday, February 17, 2017 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 18, 2017 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 19, 2017 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 19, 2017 - 6:00 PM
Friday, February 24, 2017 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 25, 2017 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 26, 2017 - 6:00 PM
Friday, March 03, 2017 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, March 04, 2017 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, March 05, 2017 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, March 05, 2017 - 6:00 PM
The Academy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, February 26, 2017.
Congratulations to all the nominees and to all the filmmakers who submitted their films for consideration.
* The Academy Awards and the Oscar are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Visually stunning and wildly inventive, Nocturna explores the mystery of the night in a sweeping adventure full of Alice in Wonderland-like characters and dream-inspired landscapes. Have you ever wondered why your hair looks funny in the morning or where the sounds outside your window come from at night? A young boy named Tim finds out after an unusual discovery plunges him into the secret world of Nocturna, inhabited by a vast herd of guardian cats led by a gigantic Cat Shepherd.
See more and buy tickets online at the DFT website.
DFT Animation Club: Welcome to the Space Show
Saturday, March 26, 2016
3:00 p.m.
(Japan/2010—directed by Koji Masunari)
With an intergalactic cast of thousands, Koji Masunari’s colorfully explosive debut feature sets a new high for visual spectacle, in what has to be one of the most gleefully surreal depictions of alien life forms in cinema. It seems like just another lazy summer for Amane and her cousin Natsuki, until they ind an injured dog in the woods—only to discover that he is not a dog at all, but an alien botanist sent to Earth to track down a rare plant called Zughaan (better known to Earthlings as wasabi root).
(136 min.)
See more and buy tickets online at the DFT website.
From the Detroit Institute of Arts/Detroit Film Theater website:
DFT Animation Club: Song of the Sea
Saturday, April 09, 2016
4:00 PM
(Ireland/2014—directed by Tomm Moore)
From the creators of the Academy Award®-nominated The Secret of Kells comes a breathtakingly gorgeous, hand-drawn master-piece. Based on the Irish legend of the Selkies, Song of the Sea tells the story of the last seal-child, Saoirse, and her brother Ben, who go on an epic journey to discover the secrets of their past. Pursued by the owl-witch Macha and a host of mythical creatures, Saoirse and Ben race against time to keep the spirit world from disappearing forever. (93 min.)
See more and buy tickets online at the DFT website.
Well, the Academy Award nominations were announced today. I'm terribly disappointed that the beautiful and touching film The Prophet didn't get nominated while the terribly disappointing film Inside Out did. I haven't seen When Marnie Was There or Anomalisa yet. Will hopefully get to see at least one of them before the ceremony, but I have high hopes for 'Marnie' being a quality Studio Ghibli film and 'Anomalisa' comes highly recommend to me by ASIFA San Francisco's own Karl Cohen. Both Shaun the Sheep and Boy & the World were delightful films. If you haven't seen either yet, 'Shaun' is out on DVD and 'Boy' was picked up by GKids, who have stated that it'll see a limited US theater run shortly--it just played here at the Detroit Institute of Arts/Detroit Film Theater.
The Best Animated Short films nominated were:
Prologue, by Richard Williams,
World of Tomorrow, by Don Hertzfeldt,
Bear Story, by Gabriel Osorio,
We Can't Live Without Cosmos, by Konstantine Bronzit,
and Sanjay's Super Team by Pixar.
Having so far only seen Cosmos, World of Tomorrow, and Sanjay, I'm really pulling for Bronzit and Hertzfeldt to take home the Oscar. Both World and Cosmos were delightfully quirky and touching films with more heart and solid storytelling skills than I've seen in most animated features.
For those who would like to see these short films before the awards ceremony, they will be playing at the Detroit Institute of Arts' Detroit Film Theater in January and February.
The schedule from the DIA's website is as follows:
Friday, January 29, 2016: 7:00 PM
Saturday, January 30, 2016: 2:00 PM
Saturday, January 30, 2016: 7:00 PM
Sunday, January 31, 2016: 1:00 PM
Sunday, January 31, 2016: 6:00 PM
Friday, February 05, 2016: 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 06, 2016: 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 07, 2016: 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 07, 2016: 6:00 PM
Thursday, February 11, 2016: 7:00 PM
Friday, February 12, 2016: 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 13, 2016: 2:00 PM
Saturday, February 13, 2016: 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 14, 2016: 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 14, 2016: 6:00 PM
See more and buy tickets online at the DFT website.
The Academy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, February 28th.
Congratulations to all the nominees and to all the filmmakers who submitted their films for consideration.
* The Academy Awards and the Oscar are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Over the New Year's holiday next month, the Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit Film Theater will be closing the year on an animated note with a special holiday screening of the Brazilian animated feature film: 'Boy and the World'. This film promises to be an audio-visual feast as it's bereft of dialogue but filled with music from the Brazilian Samba and Hip Hop scene.
The screening schedule is:
Tuesday, December 29, 2015: at 3:00 PM
Tuesday, December 29, 2015: at 7:00 PM
Wednesday, December 30, 2015: at 3:00 PM
Wednesday, December 30, 2015: at 7:00 PM
Thursday, December 31, 2015: at 3:00 PM
And the link to the DFT's page where you can buy tickets is right here.
Up until recently, when they shut the festival down, the only way you could see films like 'Boy and the World' was to make the three hour trek into Canada to the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema. So be sure to take some time to support local theaters like the DIA's DFT that are bringing us animation. Ticket sales are how they know that there's a demand for anime and that they should bring us more! :)
Fortunately for me, Song of the Sea received a wider than expected release here in Michigan. So on Saturday, I drove to Detroit and saw not only Song of the Sea at the Main Art Theater in Royal Oak, but also the entire line-up of Academy Award nominated short animated films at the Detroit Institute of Arts' Detroit Film Theater.
I am now ready to watch the Academy Awards ceremony.
The 87th Academy Award nominees have been announced.
The nominees for the 'Best Animated Feature' category are:
Big Hero 6 (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
The Boxtrolls (Laika)
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (DreamWorks Animation)
Song of the Sea (Cartoon Saloon)
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (Studio Ghibli)
I'll be seeing The Tale of the Princess Kaguya this weekend at the Detroit Film Theater but unfortunately I'll have to wait until the first weekend in March to see Song of the Sea. I could watch it earlier, but I don't want to make a nine hour round trip to either Toronto or Chicago in order to watch a feature that I'll get to see in March where it'll be playing an hour away from my house. The gas prices are at record lows, so I am tempted to make a road trip... but, no. I'll exercise some patience and support a local theater--hopefully, they'll be encouraged to bring in more animated features. :)
While this years animated features are pretty strong I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed to see that neither Cheatin' by Bill Plympton nor Rocks in my Pockets by Signe Baumane got nominated. To be sure, independent animated features are a bit of a long shot with the Academy, but both films were strong contenders in their own right. It would have been wonderful to see either of them get acknowledged.
Given their wide theatrical releases, I'm assuming at his point everyone has seen Big Hero 6, Boxtrolls, or Dragon 2. So if you're in the Michigan area and you want to see either The Tale of the Princess Kaguya or Song of the Sea, here's where they'll be shown:
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
This film will be playing at the Detroit Institute of Art's Detroit Film Theater.
Friday, January 16, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, January 17, 2015 - 3:00 PM
Saturday, January 17, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, January 18, 2015 - 2:00 PM
Sunday, January 18, 2015 - 4:30 PM
Monday, January 19, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 7:00 PM
NOTE: Check the DIA/DFT website for this event before attending as some of the screenings are English dub and others are Japanese with English subtitles. The DIA/DFT link for this film is here.
Song of the Sea
This film will be playing at the Historic Howell Theater from March 3rd until March 8th. As it's about a month-and-a-half away, they haven't released any show times yet. But you can learn more about this film and watch trailers here while you're waiting.
The nominees for 'Best Animated Short' category are:
The Bigger Picture (National Film and Television School)
The Dam Keeper (Tonko House)
Feast (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
Me and My Moulton (Mikrofilm/the National Film Board of Canada)
A Single Life (Job, Joris & Marieke)
I caught both Feast, and Me and My Moulton at the Ottawa International Animation Festival last year. I don't recall seeing the other three there, however, we'll all have the chance to watch all five nominees at the Detroit Film Theater's annual screening of all the animated short films.
As I've mentioned in the past, each year before the Academy Awards ceremony, the Detroit Institute of Art's Detroit Film Theatre shows a program with all the animated short film nominees. Additionally, Shorts International usually sells a digital download on iTunes with all the animated short film nominees. So there should be ample opportunities to view all the shorts before March and pick my favorite.
Event details for the Detroit Film Theatre can be found here and the schedule at the DIA/DFT is as follows:
Friday, January 30, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, January 31, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 01, 2015 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 01, 2015 - 6:00 PM
Wednesday, February 04, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Thursday, February 05, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Friday, February 06, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 07, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 08, 2015 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 08, 2015 - 6:00 PM
Friday, February 13, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 14, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 15, 2015 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 15, 2015 - 6:00 PM
Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - 7:00 PM
Thursday, February 19, 2015 - 7:00 PM
The awards ceremony will be broadcast on Sunday, February 22, 2015. Until then, more coverage can be seen on the following websites:
The following article, found on Animation Magazine's website, has stated that Shorts International and Magnolia Pictures have just announced that the Academy Award nominated short films: animation, live-action, and documentary, will start showing in theaters this January 31st.
Please refer to my previous post to see the viewing dates and times for the DIA's Detroit Film Theater. And more on the DIA's screening can be found on their website. Information on the animated and live-action shorts can be found on this page. And information on the documentary shorts can be found on this page.
The 86th Academy Award nominees have been announced.
For the 'Best Animated Feature' category, we have:
Frozen (Disney)
The Croods (Fox/DreamWorks)
The Wind Rises (Disney/Studio Ghibli)
Despicable Me 2 (Universal/Illumination)
Ernest & Celestine (GKIDS)
I didn't see 'The Croods' in the theater as the character designs just didn't appeal to me. But, I'm a big fan of both Chris Sanders and Nicholas Cage and DreamWorks has put out some real gems recently, so will have to track down a copy and watch it before the awards ceremony. It's been getting mixed reviews in the animation community so I'll have to see first hand who's closer to my personal tastes. I'm happy to see that another Miyazaki film 'The Wind Rises' has received a nomination. Though I haven't seen it yet, according to Animation Magazine, the english dub version will be released in U.S. theaters on February 21st.
I'm also extremely pleased to see the delightful 'Ernest & Celestine' receive a nomination. This was one of my favorite films from last year's Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema and it is my personal hope that 'Ernest & Celestine' will walk away with the golden statue.
But as happy as I am to see 'Wind Rises' and 'Ernest & Celestine' get nominated, I'm even more utterly disapponted to see that 'Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury' got passed over. While not the most accessible film, 'Rio 2096' was a powerful film that confronted the brutality that exists in Brazil's history all through the lens of two lovers who struggle to reunite throughout the centuries. It was bar none my favorite feature length animated film from WFAC and I had hoped that an Oscar nomination would spur a U.S. theatrical run. Hopefully though, we'll see 'Rio 2096' at least get a U.S. DVD or iTunes digital download release. This is a film that I would really like to share with my friends who can't make it to the festivals.
For 'Best Animated Short' there is:
Feral by Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
Get a Horse! by Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
Mr. Hublot by Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
Possessions by Shuhei Morita
Room on the Broom by Max Lang and Jan Lachauer
I caught 'Feral' at the Ottawa International Animation Festival last year. And while a visually pleasing film with solid animation and art direction, it wasn't really to my tastes. Not a bad film by any means and is certainly Oscar worthy, it just didn't do it for me. Eh, everyone has their own subjective tastes in film.
Disney's 'Get a Horse!' was a fun ride made even moreso by the opportunity to meet Lauren MacMullin and Eric Goldberg at Ottawa. Ms. MacMullin and Mr. Goldberg showed their short film to the crowd then gave two presentations discussing how they made their film. A very appealing event to a room full of animators!
I don't recall seeing the other three films at the festivals last year, however, each year before the Academy Awards ceremony, the Detroit Institute of Art's Detroit Film Theatre shows a program with all the animated short film nominees. Additionally, Shorts International sells a digital download on iTunes with all the animated short film nominees. So there should be ample opportunities to view all the shorts before March and pick my favorite.
Event details for the Detroit Film Theatre can be found here and the schedule at the DIA/DFT is as follows:
Friday, January 31, 2014 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 01, 2014 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 02, 2014 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 02, 2014 - 6:00 PM
Wednesday, February 05, 2014 - 7:00 PM
Thursday, February 06, 2014 - 7:00 PM
Friday, February 07, 2014 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 08, 2014 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 09, 2014 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 09, 2014 - 6:00 PM
Friday, February 14, 2014 - 7:00 PM
Saturday, February 15, 2014 - 7:00 PM
Sunday, February 16, 2014 - 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 16, 2014 - 6:00 PM
Wednesday, February 19, 2014 - 7:00 PM
Thursday, February 20, 2014 - 7:00 PM
On a side note: I'm particularly pleased to see "Let It Go" from Frozen receive a nod for the 'Best Original Song' category. While I'm not a big fan of musicals, Idina Menzel's rendition of "Let It Go" during Frozen was easily the best song I've heard in an animated film in years. I think it would be fantastic to add another iconic Disney song to previous winners "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan, "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas, "Can You Feel the love Tonight" from Lion King, "A Whole New World" from Aladdin, "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast, "Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid, and "When You Wish upon a Star" from Pinocchio.
The awards ceremony will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2nd, 2014. Until then, more coverage can be seen on the following websites:
Well, the 2013 Academy Awards nominees were announced today. For the two animated sections that I personally follow, they are:
Animated feature film:
Brave (Disney-Pixar)
Frankenweenie (Disney)
ParaNorman (LAIKA)
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (Aardman/Sony)
Wreck-It Ralph (Disney)
Short animated films:
Adam and Dog (Lodge Films)
Fresh Guacamole (PES)
Head over Heels (National Film and Television School)
Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" (Gracie Films)
Paperman (Disney Animation Studios)
While I haven't seen "Frankenweenie", "Adam and Dog", or "Head over Heels" yet, I'm rooting for Disney this year. Both "Wreck-it Ralph" and "Paperman" were far and above two of the best animated films I saw in 2012. In my opinion they're the best out of the films selected for the Oscars--though I reserve the right to update my choices after seeing the three films that I haven't watched yet.
For those who haven't seen all the animated short films, the Detroit Institue of Art's Film Theatre has an annual screening in February where they show all the short films nominated for that year's Academy Awards--split into two sessions: animated and live-action.
Event details can be found here and the schedule at the DIA/DFT is as follows:
2013 ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINATED SHORT FILMS
Friday, February 01, 2013 – Sunday, February 17, 2013 Detroit Film Theatre
By day, I'm a mild-mannered forensic animator, but during evenings and weekends, I work on my own animated films and various artistic endeavors for clients. I'm a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology's M.F.A. Computer Animation program and a current member of ASIFA, MATAI, and the Toronto Animated Image Society.
Building upon the 2008-2009 project for the NY MET and Bard Graduate Center, I am currently animating gold-and-silk needlework stitches and managing lesson webpages for an online course presented by Dr. Wilson-Nguyen for her Thistle-Threads Historical needlework website.
