Drawing the Line 2
                   "Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere." -G.K. Chesterton

                                               

                                                        Bad icing on a Good Cake


Over the past 20 years, Disney has been doing remakes of it's animated classics. Now, some of the remakes I've actually enjoyed like Alice in Wonderland, but on the whole, I can't help feeling(and I speak for a lot of people) that most of these remakes are no more than bad icing on a good cake.

Let me explain, let's say you have two cooks wanting to make a cake. One cook takes all the time, thinking,  mixing the batter, adding the right ingredients and making their cake wonderful and original. But the other cook is too lazy and greedy to want to go through all the work while being original, and takes the cake the one cooks has already worked on just adds their own icing on it.

This is how I feel about too many Disney remakes. Even if the icing is nice to look at, there is no real originality. Disney was once a company where risks were taken and ideas were explored. People experimented with art and music combined like Fantasia, Melody Time and Make Mine Music. But it seems like nearly every studio, especially Disney, today has fallen prey to the 'play it safe'-'make a fast buck' routine.  The Disney Channel is no better, what with the same dull show idea of good-looking girls going only after the good-looking guys while doing stupid dances or wanting to be the next big rock star or cheer-leader.

I can still remember way back as a child in the 80s and 90s when movies were more original and fun.  Whether it was the Lion King, Toy Story, Jurassic Park or Babe, each studio had unique stories to tell. And even movies that weren't block-buster hits could still be fun to watch.
We've lost originality because we've lost taking it slow and THINKING.

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it." -Henry Ford

If we want to see great books and movies again, we have to go against the 'play it safe' grain, take our time and think through what can be original.  Nothing in life worth doing is gonna happen over-night.  Just like Rome, Disney, Star Wars and Pixar were not built in a day. This notion that you can have something without work is no more than a house on sand.

For aspiring artists and creatives out there, I urge you to be yourself in your work, dare to be original, dare think, dare to take your time.

That's all for now. 'Hope you enjoy my blog. Share comments down below. 

-K.Carver-artist, animator + writer

                                                         
                                                              Drawing the Line 1
                   "Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere." -G.K. Chesterton

                                                              It starts with a story

I have always loved classic animated films as far back as I can remember as well as drawing my own worlds and characters. Over the years, I've tried to figure out, what makes a classic a classic? Why does one film succeed while another is a bust? This blog is on all my thoughts and opinions of this beautiful art form and how to do it justice.
Everyone loves a good story. Stories stick closer to us than information. Almost as soon as we're born, we are surrounded by stories, from the Brothers Grimm fairy tales to Dr. Seuss.
What I have discovered for myself the past years in books and movies is there is a sore lack of good writing and good story-telling. Most animated films these days are no more than an excuse to show off popular western culture than about actually telling a good story. The best stories are often about escapism, which we seem to have lost in the film world today. If you look at the Chronicles of Narnia, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, the Wizard of Oz or even Star Wars, they all had one thing in common, taking you out of the world you knew into a world that was different and vibrant.

“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory." -J.R.R. Tolkien

Most studios out there are merely interested in making a fast buck than telling stories that draw you into other worlds. 

What you will also find is that while hand drawn animation is wonderful as an art form, if it does not have a good, solid story, it will not hold up no matter good the animation or how many special effects are added. It is no more than a house on sand. 

One example is Disney's the Black Cauldron. There was plenty of great animation in the film, and I admit I like to watch it to get inspired as far as character animation, but the story itself was too complicated and the animation at times could get overwhelming. 

When the Great Mouse Detective came out, this set Disney to it's Renaissance. The story was simple and you never lost sight of it's goal and the animation was charming. 

Even while something like Lord of the Rings is vast and complex, the goal remains simple: destroy the ring of power. 

For those of you who are aspiring artist, animators and writers out there, I strongly encourage you, study the classic, study good books. And no, I don't mean Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Captain Underpants, I mean classics like Homer's Odyssey, Tom Sawyer, the Charles Dickens novels, Narnia or the Beverly Cleary books. Then ask yourselves, what made these stories so great? Why have they stood the test of time? And yes, even the old Marvel comics can be used as research. 

One last thing, whatever story you make, whatever worlds you create, do what entertains you, what you find interesting. Please yourself before your audience. 

That's all for now. 'Hope you enjoy my blog. Share comments down below. 

-K.Carver-artist, animator + writer