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Obscure animation

BrianR

BrianR

Randomly Variable Anomaly
Every time I see the "Vintage Animation" thread, I get excited thinking it's full old old cartoons. So, I figured I'd start a thread full of.. old cartoons!

I love animation. I've always loved it. When I was little, I'd watch all of it I could, trying to pay as much attention to the animation as the cartoon itself. Once in a while, I'd catch a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes process in a documentary or something. Fascinating. After high school, I really wanted to go work for Disney. In retrospect, the 90s wouldn't have been the greatest time to be there, but maybe that's just me rationalizing.

Anyway, here's a bunch of fairly obscure films I've dug up. Feel free to add your own findings.

Technological Threat, by Bill Kroyer and Brian Jennings. I've got this on a Siggraph highlight reel from 1988, given to me by a friend that worked at Discovery Networks. This, along with Tron, was one of the factors that influenced me to get into 3D modeling and rendering. The way the traditional animation was combined with the 3D is really neat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiTgoRR3tbk

Reynard the Fox, Hungarian folk tale. I really like the style going on here. The characters have really pleasing designs and some of the animation is really well done. Overall, it's a little jerky feeling, but still a neat cartoon. The music's great too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7wumnFR8dI

Das Rad. German short film, done in stop-motion. Rockpiles watching human evolution. I love the switches from 'rock time' to 'human time'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT13GuPZHMA

Pinchcliffe Grand Prix. More stop-motion, this time from Norway. I love the detail put into the mechanical things in this.
Part 1, I was having a hard time finding the part 2 that goes with it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUuQwPOfQ1M

The Tell Tale Heart, by UPA. Pretty self-explanatory. And maybe this one isn't truly obscure, but I don't think I've ever seen it outside Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJb150JRqpQ

It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House, by Paul Fierlinger. Very charming and heart-warming. With a good dose of dry humor and wit.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA5_ECBFd0M
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh-qqUQOrfk

Nu Pogodi! Soviet-era cartoon series from Russia. Kinda boils down to being their Tom & Jerry. Pretty entertaining.
Episode 3, the rest are pretty easy to find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvWcLtr9jWI

The Man Who Planted Trees. Absolutely stunning film. Not much to say about this, you just have to see it. It moves at its own pace, but pays off.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BnmPUCKK0E
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DF02_zC7bg
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh8q8Febqyw
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcGV446u3KI

I'll wrap this up with this Soviet adaptation of Ray Bradbury's There Will Come Soft Rains. Just, wow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfI69DC_jaw
 
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The oddest part?, i've seen some of those before - particularly "technological threat" (I have seen the rock on as well). My dad has several VHS's and dvds of early computer animation, such as Mind's eye and a collection of various works that are all digital. Really cool stuff, one of the ones I remember most is Grinning evil death, funnier than it sounds. Actually, mind's eye looks a bit dated today, but considering what they had to work with, it's still stunning.

A couple somewhat obscure movies I like; The triplets of belleville, good french (I think) animation, a overall great movie, but the hand-drawn look is what really gets it. And "the secret of kells", which is stunningly animated, and detailed...I think part of the belleville group worked on it as well.

Oh, and a classic which works pretty well here, the original video for "Welcome to the machine" cool 70's animation. Not sure if that's obscure...Raplh Bakshi isn't obscure, but man, his animarion style certainly fits the somewhat off character of many little-known animation films.

That last video was amazing, russian animation is a sometimes bizarre thing, but it has a feel to it that can really lend itself well depending on the subject, and that was a perfect fit:yes:.
 
mackinthebox said:
not really obscure, but it might be for some...

the original Astroboy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3UbaB7oPTw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0zfgWHM9QU

I dont know if this one applies but I love this one as well

Black Magic M66

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQc1y...x=0&playnext=1
Click to expand...

You know, I haven't actually watched the old Astroboy stuff. Which is inexcusable, because I love Tezuka's work. Thanks for bringing that up!

M66 is cool too. It's been a really long time since I've seen it. Masamune Shirow's work is pretty incredible, though a lot of the time it seems like the manga works better than the anime. Dominion: Tank Police is evidence of that.


33&athird said:
The oddest part?, i've seen some of those before - particularly "technological threat" (I have seen the rock on as well). My dad has several VHS's and dvds of early computer animation, such as Mind's eye and a collection of various works that are all digital. Really cool stuff, one of the ones I remember most is Grinning evil death, funnier than it sounds. Actually, mind's eye looks a bit dated today, but considering what they had to work with, it's still stunning.

A couple somewhat obscure movies I like; The triplets of belleville, good french (I think) animation, a overall great movie, but the hand-drawn look is what really gets it. And "the secret of kells", which is stunningly animated, and detailed...I think part of the belleville group worked on it as well.

Oh, and a classic which works pretty well here, the original video for "Welcome to the machine" cool 70's animation. Not sure if that's obscure...Raplh Bakshi isn't obscure, but man, his animarion style certainly fits the somewhat off character of many little-known animation films.

That last video was amazing, russian animation is a sometimes bizarre thing, but it has a feel to it that can really lend itself well depending on the subject, and that was a perfect fit:yes:.
Click to expand...

Huh, yeah. I remember renting some of the Mind's Eye series on VHS in the mid 90s. Even then I kinda wondered who picked the animation for those. It seemed really uneven. Some was really great, and some not so much. You could easily tell which ones were done by artists and animators and which were done by software engineers demoing the latest tech.

Grinning Evil Death is pretty interesting. I swear the style of the 2d animation looks familiar. Must just be some Bakshi influences showing through.

I need to see Triplets of Belleville and Secret of Kells. I'd seen a preview or something of Secret of Kells, pretty sure it was mentioned a few times over on cartoonbrew.com.

Some of the old Soviet-era Russian animation is amazing. It can be so rough and incredibly beautiful at the same time. Guess it makes sense for a place with such a rich art history that was under an oppressive regime.

Keep it coming! I love this stuff!
 
This one isn't a cartoon short, but is rather one tableau from a feature-length animated film by Bruno Bozzetto. The title of the film is Allegro non Troppo, and it's similar in concept (but not in execution) to Disney's Fantasia. Here's the link:

Valse triste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Oc_J1Lu-o
 
Oh wow, I keep forgetting about that one. I've only ever seen little pieces of it on Youtube. The one you linked is extremely powerful. Wow, thanks!
 
screenersam said:
is that Italian for 'Allegory done while tripping'? really off the wall stuff.
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Lol! The first part especially seems to be a case for this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhgOAR4Xq4Y

Don Hertzfeldt is a favorite animator of mine. I had the pleasure of seeing his short film "Everything Will Be Ok" on the big screen at The Animation Show in Atlanta a few years ago. Everything of his is very highly recommended. Very interesting guy. He animates everything on paper and shoots it on film. www.bitterfilms.com

Intro to Everything Will Be Ok: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbecmZdIh0E

Clip from the sequel: I Am So Proud Of You": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q_DOroGG8A
 
Dr Tinear said:
This one isn't a cartoon short, but is rather one tableau from a feature-length animated film by Bruno Bozzetto. The title of the film is Allegro non Troppo, and it's similar in concept (but not in execution) to Disney's Fantasia. Here's the link:

Valse triste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Oc_J1Lu-o
Click to expand...

I have the complete film. This was meant as a lampoon of Fantasia. At one point, the director gets a phone call, from "Hollywood", accusing him of copying a film by "a certain Prisney." Another part in the beginning shows him keeping the orchestra, made up of old ladies, locked in a dungeon. It's a hoot!
Here is one of my favorite parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K_APlv8TC0
 
dr*audio said:
Another great obscure animated film is Fantastic Planet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys8AkwMRvgo
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I actually have that on DVD. Not really sure what to think of it. Definitely a cool artistic style. I can't imagine animating something apparently hand drawn and shaded like that although the animation itself is a little rough.

I watched Secret of Kells last night on Netflix. Very enjoyable movie, if a bit predictable. The imagery and animation though, kinda blew me away. It looks like you could pause on any frame and it'd be a great image. Definitely recommended.
 
BrianR said:
I watched Secret of Kells last night on Netflix. Very enjoyable movie, if a bit predictable. The imagery and animation though, kinda blew me away. It looks like you could pause on any frame and it'd be a great image. Definitely recommended.
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Yeah, a little predictable, but overall a decent, if not good story and presentation - some pretty scary stuff, as I recall. But the real charm is the animation, you said it best - every frame is a great image - seeing it in a old theather was amazing (it's one of the movies that makes me want to get a blu-ray player, just for the details). Pretty unique artwork as well, you don't see the celtic-ish style much.

Not obscure, but I actually like "Final fantasy; the spirits within", which gets a ton of hate, somewhat rightfully so...the story is a mess, however - and I stand by this - the visuals are outstanding, it came out in 2000, I think, and the cgi almost looks "real", and still hold up well, though it is showing its age compared to the most recent cgi work (such as the tech demo of Emily, which is almost mid-blowingly sophisticated digital/comp. animation)
 
BrianR said:
Yeah, I'd say. That's pretty awesome, at least for the historical value of the animation. Can't say I'd spend $160 on it, but it'd be cool to have in the collection.
Click to expand...

Keep an eye on "that auction site", picked up a used copy earlier this year for under $40.
 
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