Formal Film Study: Live Action Animation

Roger Rabbit is probably the most well known and said to be the best movie that crosses live action and animation, not only that but it is one of my favorite movies. So I chose live action and animation movies as my formal film study because not only do like to watch but to them I like to learn about how movies were made.

 

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was to me obviously the first movie movie I had to watch. I remember even as a little kid watching this movie and being amazed that the toons could change the world around them and the people looked engaged with the toons they were acting opposite, unlike in Bed Knobs and Broom Sticks another movie I watched for this project. This time around after watching the movie I watched the special features to see how they made it all happen. The process of rehearsal started out with a walk through of the scene with rubber dummies to get the pacing and blocking set then they would take the dummies out and film the scenes. They spent a lot of time working on making sure the eye lines were correct, so it didn't look like the actor were looking some where different or that it looked like they were looking thought the toon instead of at it which if you watch happens in older movies. They also put the main actor Bob Hoskins through a mime course so he could act better to something that wasn't there. My favorite scene that show cases the amount of time they put in to this moive is when Roger comes to Eddie's office and leaves a hand print in a very dusty chair that  once belonged to Eddie's bother that was killed by a toon. 

There was a lot of time and effort put in to this movie and is always the case for live action animation but at least in this case it paid off winning them  four academy awards(1988). 

Bed Knobs and Broom Sticks also won an academy award for best special effects (1971). And for the time they were very good special effects but its clear when you watch the movie the actors were not given a point of reference to look at when working opposite animation. They seem to be looking through the character rather than at it, which is the effect that Roger Rabbit tried and succeeded in avoiding. Also the animation though prominently featured in the poster was only about fifteen minutes of this very very long movie. An other difference with this movie is that the live action actors were dropped in to a world of animation instead of the opposite, which at the time was easier. There was an un spoken rule in animation that you never move the camera and they kept to the rule with this movie.    

One live action animation movie that has been given a hard time is Looney Toons Back in Action. This movie if you ignore the somewhat cheesy plot is a really well made movie especially if you look at the animation. They use many of the techniques pioneered in Roger Rabbit like the way they shaded the toons and the way they blocked the scene with dummies. Brendan Fraser was much better at eye lines and interacting with the toons than Jenna Elfman his costar but she did a decent job. The key about having animated characters is for them interacting with the world around them to be subtle like you wouldn't think about a chair spinning slightly because Dafy Duck got on it because thats normally how a chair would react. This movie was really well made and is really funny with lots of great references that you don't get the first time you watch it. I feel sorry for the animators that and film makers that put so much time in to this movie.

It is obvious that live action animation has grown a lot but I think that to this day Roger Rabbit is still the one that got it right, because even thought it took an extremely long time there methods worked and will work for every other movie that uses them. 

1935 Moive: From Gags To Riches

FROM GAGS TO RICHES

Our movie takes place in the time of vaudeville it starts with Marx Brothers telling the tale of their two friends and our main characters, Arthur and Angela (Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger). They are sturgleing to find there way to the big time and in the midst of it Lilith Tansa (Mae West) it there to throw a wrench in to there plans. It's a finding your dream type of story for any movie lover. 

Its a large scale musical but it all takes place in one very detailed set of the Tansa  Night Club. We chose RKO studio's to host our movie not only because they had the rights to Astaire and Rogers but because they were very familiar with the musical genre.
We chose the Marx brothers for their amazing comedy skills and there past in vaudeville, we got them on lone to RKO. We also acquired Mae West on lone and chose her to bring a  bigger male audience to see the film and we wanted an alluring villain. We chose Fred and Ginger for there amazing backgrounds in song and dance. 
For our crew we chose Greg Toland to do the camera work because with such a different set we wanted some one inventive. Mark Sandrich is our director, becuase he directed Top Hat, one of the most loved movies with Astaire and Rogers. 
Things I would have changed in our movie.... Though it would have made our movie more complex I would have like to had Cary Grant as  temptation to Angela which was one of our original ideas and is something I liked. 

MYST: Captain America..... 4/5 Supernovas

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

I have to admit I didn't know what expect going in to this film. I saw the Avengers first which did make watching this more confusing and made the Avengers less. But over all I'm really happy with this movie.
          The movie centers around Steve Rogers (Chris Evans)a small boy from Brooklyn with many, many, many health problems who is determined to help in World War II. He is found by Dr Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who chose him to become the worlds first successful super soldier. Along the way to defeating the Nazi division, Hydra and its new super weapon Rogers falls for the amazing Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).

I was scared going into this movie because I don't tend to like warish movies. But the fights scenes were just long enough to keep my interest in the movie. I also think that they used some type of filter over the film to give it an older feel. One thing I did not like at all was the make up or CG or what ever it was on the the main villain of the movie it look fake and it was hard for me to believe.

Over all I really liked it, the story was really compelling and there was just enough of violence, I give it 4 out of 5 Supernovas!   

Formal Film Study: Neil Gaiman

The three movies I watched for my formal study were all movies related to the one and only Neil Gaiman. I watched Stardust and Coraline, which are based off of books he wrote, and MirrorMask, which he wrote the screen play for.  In each film you could most definitely see Neil's touch. The almost equal balance of deeply profound and  utterly bonkers that he's known for.

The things I noticed about all of the films were they all had one: a strong youngish protagonist, two: an evil woman, and three: a fake out ending. The fake out ending I think is the one I going to focus on the most because of what it did to me a the viewer. It gave me a sense of the story is over and done with then shoves it back in my face. As a frequent Doctor Who viewer I pride my self  being able to tell when the end is not a true end but with these films I was caught off guard and that impressed me.

Warning Spoilers Now!

In Coraline after the films namesake seemingly recuses her parents and locks her "other mother" away in her world of nightmares everything seems perfect with the world. Coraline and her parents are getting along and she goes of to sleep. Then she has a dream (dream scenes are also a common thing with Neil) of the previous children that the "other mother" had taken. They warning Coraline that her fight was not yet over and that as long as she had the key to the other world she was still in grave  danger. So she sets off to rid herself of the key in an old well by her home where she is attacked by a metal skeleton like hand of the "other mother" that found its way through to her world. Only after her and her friend crush it with a rock and send it down the well with the key is everything turely done with.

In MirrorMask the fake out ending is quite as happy as the one in Coraline. Just as Helena and Valentine find the mask and are about to use it to send her back to her own world, the evil princess that took over Helena's life pulled down the last of Helena's drawings and closed the last portal. The end seemed complete and impossible to get Helena free, the princess went out and reviled in her victory. After a few long minutes and after I had given up hope the door to the outside slammed shut to reveal a chalk drawing and Helena took back her life. Leading to the inevitable happy ending that followed.

Lastly in Stardust Tristan returned to Stormhold to rescue his lovely falling star Yvaine from the three evil witches bent on eating her heart for eternal youth. He and the prince fight the witches leaving the prince and two witches dead. Tristan turned to fight the third but found that she had released Yvaine and seeing no point in living forever without her sisters let them go. Seemingly out of dodge they head for the door but they shut just before they make it and one heroic fight later the film is over.

Neil's movies are filled with twists, deep thoughts, cats, and smart kids. He has quite a unique stamp on everything he does, but if you ever are reading or watching a Neil Gaiman project expect an unexpected ending.  

MIYST: The Art Of Getting By 4/5

The Art of Getting By is a great story of a socially awkward boy named Goerge. He believes that there is no point to trying in high school or in life. He just lives on with his art skills and lack of friends until he meets Sally. Together they teach eachother the art of getting by.

I found this movie incerdably real. Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts brought these people to life with amazing reality. I found myself contencted to the story of the high school slakcer. The shots and music gave the film a indie feel which is definatly waht it was. The film it self was kind of soft focus, more real than the perfect clarity of the new movies now.

I would definatly recomend this movie to any highschooler or parent of a teenager. I give it 4/5 supernovas.

Review of the Reviews

The Lorax

In the review of the Lorax By the New Yorker  Bruce Diones sets a very judgmental tone for his review. He focused on the fact it did not do justice to Suess's orginal tale. He went on to say that the animation was "to busy" and the voice work was "trying to hard.  Accusing the movie of being padded with an over romantic subplot is was clear that this reviewer was not a fan of the film. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum you have Roger Moore's review on TribLive . Roger praises the Lorax as a  gorgeous and glorious new film. Pulling quotes from the movie to prove his points he not only talks of the movie but the themes and points that run through its heart, such as the threat of pollution. Roger also goes on to talk about how the animation its self is very close to the style of Suess with the color and lines of the film. Over all you could feel his enthusiasm rise from the text. 

I would have to agree with Diones when he says,  "it betrays the elegant simplicity of Geisel’s vision." The Lorax is a bit over the top and the plot has been added to for the sake of the film. Though with that said I think that it still embraces the Suess feel. Just as Moore said, "Seuss colors and wonderful Seuss design -- all curvy, undulating lines and shapes."

If i had never seen the Lorax I would honestly listen to the Trib because there is so much soul in that review. Also personally I always give movies the benefit of the doubt or at least try to, that and I have weird taste in movies people can say that it's horrible or they wont like it but I will end up loving it.  

If I were to write a review I think I would have to include my opinion of the film and the key points I thought really made the film good (or bad). I would also have to put in what i thought of the music because thats something I always pay attention to when I watch movies.