Legend of Korra Can Save Us From Ourselves
We are accelerating toward a real-time extinction the show could help us solve, should we choose to embrace it.
animation that matters
Goro Miyazaki’s Anxiety of Animation Influence
My father’s generation lived through and after the war, and basically had nothing. They forged their paths with their own hands, and created their whole world themselves.
We Are Bilbo, Heading Off To Perpetual War
It is no irony that Jackson’s cinematic adaptations of Tolkien’s work have arrived in a world at war
Genndy Tartakovsky Schools Hollywood On Cartoon Physics
“We moved to completely copying realism. Maybe this is a good time to start going back to the old ways, where anything can happen.”
Exclusive: Frankenweenie Reanimates Vincent Price
Price’s influential spirit inhabits some small or large part in almost everything Tim Burton has ever made.
Ren and Stimpy’s John Kricfalusi Wants Another Shot of George Liquor
My Dad’s Canadian,” said Kricfalusi.
Legend Of Korra Is The Smartest Show On TV
“Its core message is not about trying to exploit power differences between the haves and have-nots. It says that real power is what you have between your ears.”
Geek The Beatles: Yellow Submarine Plays Lead On Psychedelic Animation Classics
Even The Beatles, who were descending into bitter dissolution and didn’t even record their voices for the film, were ultimately swayed by its animated ambition. And they weren’t alone.
Legend Of Korra Upgrades Avatar’s Mythic Epic
A psychokinetic steampunk upgrade with a fearless female hero leading the charge.
Director Brad Bird On The Iron Giant, Animation And His Fist Live-Action Film
I love that The Iron Giant has had a resilient afterlife. It was kind of rough when the film came out, because we all worked really hard on it. No one really seemed to know what it was when it was released, and not that many saw it in theaters.
The Last Airbender Reincarnates As The Legend Of Korra
Think the original series, plus Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke, and you’re probably there.
Futurama: The Sci-Fi Toon That Wouldn’t Die
Payback is a shiny metal ass, fully bitten.
Most Ambitious Man Of Steel Movie? All-Star Superman
All-Star Superman is an absolutely refreshing break from that capitulation. Here’s hoping Hollywood is watching, and learning.
Sym-Bionic Titan Merges Rene Descartes, I Am Legend
The situation is made worse by the bot’s relationship with the hottest human cheerleader in school, and by his realization that he can analyze Jackson Pollock‘s splatter art in multiple dimensions but still can’t penetrate its meaning.
Brad Bird Leaves Animation (at Gunpoint)
Is Ratatouille director Brad Bird leaving feature animation? Not if Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg take their guns out of his face.
All Hail Our Robot Overlords! Sci-Fi’s Best Bots
Czech playwright Karel Capek popularized the term robot in the 1921 play R.U.R., spawning a deluge of artificial life forms in popular culture.
Best of 2010? Inception, Batman, Sym-Bionic Titan, Iron Man…
“Animation has always had the problem of being perceived as purely for kids,” Tartakovsky told me before Sym-Bionic Titan’s stellar launch. “I think things are better than a few years ago, but the stigma still exists.”
Robot Chicken’s Final Star Wars Spoof
I talked to head Chickens about sympathizing the Star Wars biggest assholes Emperor Palpatine and Boba Fett, George Lucas’ evil chuckles, and more for Wired.
Aeon Flux’s Peter Chung Launches Cross-Species Firebreather
Infamously risky but rewarding animator Peter Chung has finally made a film for everyone.
Nastiest Villain On TV? Sym-Bionic Titan’s Xeexi
The monstrosity rams its entire body down your throat, where its tentacles overtake your body while its crustacean-inspired head lodges inside your mouth.
Samurai Jack Sensei Genndy Tartakovsky Powers Up Sym-Bionic Titan
Cartoon brainiac Genndy Tartakovsky revitalized American animation with anime-inspired knockouts like Samurai Jack and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Now he’s crashing mecha convention.
Must-See Cult TV, From Danger Man To The Middleman
David Lynch and Mark Frost’s indispensably surreal soap opera ripped apart television tradition as it riveted viewers with a ceaseless mix of dream-noir intrigue and persistent humor.
Avatar’s Cinematic Compression Implodes
M. Night Shyamalan’s compression of Nickelodeon’s stunning animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender has serious boots to fill. And it needs much more time to fill them.
Airbender Posters Whip Up Anticipation
High expectations for the film exist in a space apart from the trepidation found in some corners of the Airbender nation…
In Praise of Ralph Bakshi, Animation Pioneer
One of animation’s most influential artists, Ralph Bakshi made his mark on pop culture by refusing to sacrifice his singular vision to popular tastes and trends.