I LOVE ANIMATION!!! Vol. 2

"Fun and wonder are the important elements [of great animation], in addition to quality in production and performance -- fun in the sense of cheerful reaction, the appeal to love and laughter, wonder in that we appeal to the constant wonder in men's minds, which is stimulated by imagination." - Walt Disney (From TAG Blog)

I have to be honest, until a few weeks ago I had not seen The Little Mermaid in its entirety. I know for such a fan of animation that sounds crazy but I hadn't and I wish I had. It's a great film, great story, and it has some fantastic character animation. Beautiful stuff! At times the animation feels so alive and three dimensional. It's an excelent film all around.

On the new DVD release there is a bonus short entitled The Little Matchgirl which has more great traditional animation. It's very "Fantasia-esque" and it seems as though it was destined for another edition of Fantasia that never came to fruition. I'm glad to see that it has found a home and audience with this DVD. I certainly hope that it gets the recognition it deserves come awards season. You can find out more about the short and see production artwork by clicking on the image above.

Animation Mentor released a reel a while back with highlights from student work and it's definitely worth a look. There is some really great character animation being produced by the students. I would love to participate in their program one day. Who knows maybe a few years down the road I will be posting animation assignments on this blog?!

And lastly, I was welcomed by a nice surprise when I got home from work today. I received my first screener for consideration for the Annies. It made my day!

I DO love animation...

I LOVE ANIMATION!!! Vol. 1