A Brief History of Animation Part V - RECYCLATION: the 80s

Check out these 1980s cartoon title sequences. They're pretty indicative of what you were going to find after school or early Saturday morning circa 1983. There's not a lot of innovation going on in these. Just a bunch of repetition. Here's the basic formula:

1. Pick a subject everyone already knows. (celebrities and video games work best)

2. Steal a formula from an already successful show. (crime fightin' was the preference, crazy adventures came in a close second)

3. Crowbar a wacky pet in there. (preferably one that can talk)

4. Only pick subjects that you can make into toys.

For example: Hey, everyone knows Mr. T, right? And since Mary Lou Retton just won a fistful of Olympic gold metals, let's team Mr. T up with a van load (ala Scooby Doo) of gymnasts and have them...what else...fight crime!



Good thing they remembered to throw in a dog with a mohawk! Wacky pet, check! Here's another classic:



Popular character? Check! Darth Vader looking bad guy? Check! Stupid lookin' pets? Check! We've got a winner here, folks. Hmm, what other popular brand name can we exploit? Oh, I don't know...How about...



Or maybe...



Do you guys even remember Happy Days? Ever think to yourself, "You know what this live aciton sit-com about grouwing up in Miwaukee in the 1950s is missing? A time machine!" And did you notice Fonzie's dog, Mr. Cool? He IS cool! We're not done yet...



Remember now, Star Wars was pretty popular at the time. So get yourself a Chewbacca-looking dude, a princess, and a guy with a lazer sword. You know what else was popular? Transformers! And if it ain't fixed, don't break it...



Did you notice the robot? He's an R2-D2 rip-off PLUS a wacky pet! We in the cartoon business call that a two-fer! I also love it how the helicopter turns into an airplane. Like you would need that to happen. Like you're chasing a guy in your helicopter, but the chopper ain't gonna cut the mustard, so you up the ante with some wings...

Here's one that doesn't make any sense whatsoever...



I don't know what's crazier - the solid gold space station; the airplane with the olympic size pool that doesn't spill when the plane banks; or the way the girl can swing from a rope upsidedown by just pressing her ankle bones together. Wow.

You know, watching that video for the, I don't know, millionth time, I just realized something. It's pretty much the Paris Hilton story. Only Goldi Gold's life seems to make more logical sense. Anyhow. This next one came out in the early 90s, but it still has that cheesy 80s feel...



Can't get enough, huh? How about some Chuck Norris and Hulk Hogan?





Even girls got cartoons in the 1980s!





So did ultra-violent, R-rated movies!





Don't get me wrong. As corny as this stuff was, I loved it as a kid. Couldn't get enough. This next one was probably my favorite. Check out the wicked rotoscoping on the spaceship...



In 1991, however, something happened that would change the world of television cartoons forever. It was a game changer, and things would never be the same. The Nickelodeon channel did something no other cable channel had ever done before - they actually made original cartoons for their network! See, up until then, Disney and Nickelodeon merely played old cartoons that already existed. But now, under their 'Nicktoons' label, Nickelodeon came out with three cartoons, playing on a Sunday morning block. Rugrats, Doug, and Ren and Stimpy.







If you're wondering which is my favorite, the answer is easy - Ren and Stimpy. And here's a classic. "Space Madness." One thing you'll notice about Ren and Stimpy in general is the filmmaker's love and respect for all of the cartoons that have come before it. It's a great mix of 40sm 50s, and 60s animation wrapped up with a modern sensibility. (Note: It runs 11 minutes, so make sure you get the rest of your work done before you watch this one. Thanks.)


Watch Space Madness in Animation  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Since these three cable-made cartoos aired, network cartoons have pretty much gone goodbye, and cable cartoons have become big business. Goodbye Superfriends, hello Jimmy Neutron.

And in the feature film animation world...

The Modern Animation 'Arena'

John Kricfalusi, renegade animator and creator of Ren and Stimpy, has a blog in whcih he shares his musings on animation theory and history, as well as discusses his career as a lifelong cartoonist. I suppose you could call him an animation purist, or classicist, or something like that. It's pretty interesting stuff if you're interested in where cartoons come from and the theoretical structures behind traditional hand-drawn animation.

One story he's shared is about being invited by Dreamworks to come in and pitch an idea for an animated feature film. Unfortunately, it didn't go well. You can find Kricfalusi's blog entry recounting the incident here. (Be sure to read his entry before you continue on with this one.)

Here are a few of the films Dreamworks has put out over the years. Notice any of those 'arenas' the Dreamworks executives were describing to Kricfalusi?

An ant hill.

A bee hive.

A zoo.

An ocean.

Pretty groundbreaking and original, right? You get the right 'arena,' and this stuff writes itself.

Quick! We need an arena, stat! How About a fire station? Queue the clumsy Dalmatian with a heart of gold trying to earn his spots as the company's fire dog; queue the grouchy old pidgeon who lives up above the garage door and gets ticked off every time the the door opens and the trucks roll out; queue the sweet poodle who lives across the street at the nail salon and just knows the Dalmatian has it inside him to become a hero when – at the end of the movie – the fire station itself gets set on fire by - get this irony - a human fireman who leaves the oven one - and the dalmation must save all of the fire fighters who've treated him poorly the whole movie; queue the wacky feline sidekick who's always mocking the dalmation for not having spots; maybe throw in an organ-grinder monkey who’s always climbing a nearby apartment building and asking for quarters. Bingo! We've got our movie, gentlemen!

But I digress.

As you probably noticed in Kricfalusi's blog entry, that "desert arena with the plot of Casablanca" was already made...in the 1990s. Kricfalusi had a picture of the poster - Bugs Bunny in "Carrotblanca" (1995). Yes, it was a real theatrical short cartoon. So the execs at Dreamworks brought in a talented animator to get his ideas for a new movie, but instead ended up telling him to write a story that had already been made. And here it is. Give it a look.

Two questions:  1. What animated films from the past ten years or so, lackluster or otherwise, can you think of that were likely created using the 'arena method' of cartoon writing? (In other words, films in which the the setting came first, celebrity voices came second, and characters and story came in a distant third.)  2. Do you like "Carrotblanca"? Is it funny, original, engaging, and/or entertaining? Let me know what you think.

Saturday Morning Cartoons - 80s Style!

Check out these 1980s cartoon title sequences. They're pretty indicative of what you were going to find after school or early Saturday morning circa 1983. There's not a lot of innovation going on in these. Just a bunch of repetition. Here's the basic formula:

1. Pick a subject everyone already knows. (celebrities and video games work best)

2. Steal a formula from an already successful show. (crime fightin' was the preference, crazy adventures came in a close second)

3. Crowbar a wacky pet in there. (preferably one that can talk)

4. Only pick subjects that you can make into toys.

For example: Hey, everyone knows Mr. T, right? And since Mary Lou Retton just won a fistful of Olympic gold metals, let's team Mr. T up with a van load (ala Scooby Doo) of gymnasts and have them...what else...fight crime!



Good thing they remembered to throw in a dog with a mohawk! Wacky pet, check! Here's another classic:



Popular character? Check! Darth Vader looking bad guy? Check! Stupid lookin' pets? Check! We've got a winner here, folks. Hmm, what other popular brand name can we exploit? Oh, I don't know...How about...



Or maybe...



Do you guys even remember Happy Days? Ever think to yourself, "You know what this live aciton sit-com about grouwing up in Miwaukee in the 1950s is missing? A time machine!" And did you notice Fonzie's dog, Mr. Cool? He IS cool! We're not done yet...



Remember now, Star Wars was pretty popular at the time. So get yourself a Chewbacca-looking dude, a princess, and a guy with a lazer sword. You know what else was popular? Transformers! And if it ain't fixed, don't break it...



Did you notice the robot? He's an R2-D2 rip-off PLUS a wacky pet! We in the cartoon business call that a two-fer! I also love it how the helicopter turns into an airplane. Like you would need that to happen. Like you're chasing a guy in your helicopter, but the chopper ain't gonna cut the mustard, so you up the ante with some wings...

Here's one that doesn't make any sense whatsoever...



I don't know what's crazier - the solid gold space station; the airplane with the olympic size pool that doesn't spill when the plane banks; or the way the girl can swing from a rope upsidedown by just pressing her ankle bones together. Wow.

You know, watching that video for the, I don't know, millionth time, I just realized something. It's pretty much the Paris Hilton story. Only Goldi Gold's life seems to make more logical sense. Anyhow. This next one came out in the early 90s, but it still has that cheesy 80s feel...



Can't get enough, huh? How about some Chuck Norris and Hulk Hogan?





Even girls got cartoons in the 1980s!





So did ultra-violent, R-rated movies!





Don't get me wrong. As corny as this stuff was, I loved it as a kid. Couldn't get enough. This next one was probably my favorite. Check out the wicked rotoscoping on the spaceship...



In 1991, however, something happened that would change the world of television cartoons forever. It was a game changer, and things would never be the same. The Nickelodeon channel did something no other cable channel had ever done before - they actually made original cartoons for their network! See, up until then, Disney and Nickelodeon merely played old cartoons that already existed. But now, under their 'Nicktoons' label, Nickelodeon came out with three cartoons, playing on a Sunday morning block. Rugrats, Doug, and Ren and Stimpy.







If you're wondering which is my favorite, the answer is easy - Ren and Stimpy. And here's a classic. "Space Madness." One thing you'll notice about Ren and Stimpy in general is the filmmaker's love and respect for all of the cartoons that have come before it. It's a great mix of 40sm 50s, and 60s animation wrapped up with a modern sensibility. (Note: It runs 11 minutes, so make sure you get the rest of your work done before you watch this one. Thanks.)


Watch Space Madness in Animation  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Since these three cable-made cartoos aired, network cartoons have pretty much gone goodbye, and cable cartoons have become big business. Goodbye Superfriends, hello Jimmy Neutron.