For those of us who grew up with DBZ on Toonami, we remember it’s music, a mix of techno and hard rock intensifying with the suspense and action. But for those of us who lived or visited outside the US and watched it there saw and heard a different DBZ. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for category Animation
DragonBall Z’s Music
Aug 28
Ever since I stumbled upon his 1989 film, “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, on television many years ago, Hayao Miyazaki has been a favorite director of mine. At the time I didn’t really understand what it was or where it came from, but I did recognize that what I was seeing was something truly extraordinary. Gorgeous animation with a peaceful, charming setting whose thoughtful serenity poised itself as a stark contrast to anything I had ever seen in an animated movie before. Now Disney has brought over Miyazaki’s latest film, “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” (or just “Ponyo”), for Western audiences to enjoy.
The End of Toonami
Sep 22
Bang.
And just like that, Toonami is gone.
It comes as no surprise considering it’s diminished presence on the network. Naruto was the only thing keeping the block afloat with new premieres, while reruns of older shows were used to pad out the schedule in the absence of other successful new shows. It had become a shadow of it’s former glory, and yet, even though I saw this day coming, it’s still hard to imagine that Toonami is really gone. To dwell upon what went wrong seems pointless now. What’s important is that the good memories are all still there.
“Building You A Better Cartoon Show”
It might seem strange to think that people could become so attached to what was just a programming block, but anyone who grew up with it knows that Toonami is different. It changed things. There was nothing quite like Toonami at the time. Toonami gave American action cartoons and the relatively small amount of Japanese animation in syndication at that time a comfortable, daily, cable TV presence. Shows which had previously found little success in the wasteland of syndication were given a noticeable, regular presence and soon found places in the hearts and minds of children who had never been given the opportunity to see shows of this caliber.
Pixar’s WALL-E
Aug 8
Pixar has always brought quality to the table and WALL-E is no exception. First thing I noticed about this movie was how unusual it is in comparison to other family-oriented 3D fare these days. Visually, what Pixar manages to accomplish with WALL-E is amazing and I certainly got the feeling that this movie makes the most of it’s three-dimensional nature, as opposed to other CG-movies that you can tell are only animated with 3D models because it’s fashionable at the box office these days. That may certainly be the case with WALL-E, but the art direction is so superb that it just feels right. The way the movie takes cold, robotic, inanimate objects and manages to breath vivid personality into them is truly admirable, as are the astounding landscapes of a crumbling, abandoned Earth, which contrasts heavily with the clean, bright setting of the later portions of the film. The movie succeeds brilliantly in conveying emotions without the use of words, which is definitely one of the most admirable characteristics of the movie and the antithesis of movies like Shrek and Madagascar whose success hinges on the amount of pop culture references they can pull off in rapid succession.
Thematically, WALL-E is also a treat. Chronicling the exploits of an abandoned Earth clean-up robot in an adventure that eventually takes him from the barren Earth to the depths of space, I found WALL-E to be a surprisingly intelligent film considering it’s target demographic. I never thought I’d see a Pixar movie take place in what is essentially a post-apocalyptic world. It’s not hushed up very well for the kiddies either, with several melancholy shots that even I found chilling.
It’s hard to watch the movie and not associate it with the “Go Green” craze these days, but even if that bothers you (I don’t see why it should, honestly), this movie is simply a reminder of the fragile nature of our planet. In that sense it shouldn’t irk you, no matter what agenda you seek to promote. It’s good fun and it teaches an important message that has been unfortunately politicized. I definitely recommend it to pretty much anyone.
That said, there was one thing in the film that definitely brought me back to contemporary politics. It’s not really a spoiler, but I’ll discuss it after the jump for the sake of those who haven’t seen the movie (shame on them!).