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Special Topics in Film Genre: Animation
108 | CCN: 31669
Date and Time: F 230-4P, 142 DWINELLE
4 Units
We will study the major currents in international animation from the silent pioneering work of Emile Cohl, Winsor McCay, and Otto Messmer through animé, independent avant-garde work, and major currents in international 3D animation. The course revisits the best-known animation studios — Disney, the Fleischer Brothers, Warners, George Pal, and UPA — as the producers who helped redefine and Americanize narrative fantasy. We also examine Canadian, European, Eastern European, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese studios for the experimental alternatives to the American juggernaut, and study how new forms of animation – including early digital — respond to both political and artistic demands of avant garde movements. Along with the films, we trace the shifts and changes of animation theory as it illustrates and challenges animation practice.
Required readings: A course reader; Donald Crafton, Before Mickey; C[arlo] Collodi, The Adventures of Pinocchio