Daily Archives: April 16, 2023

Rick and Morty is a very popular adult-animated cartoon. Recently, one of the episodes featured the main characters visiting a Panda Express, a popular fast-food chain found around the US. Not all product placements are as obvious as characters visiting a known restaurant. Some more subtle examples are; main characters drinking certain branded drinks in scenes, for example RuPauls Drag Race features a new alcoholic beverage every season that the drag queens exclusively drink. Branding can also be found on the clothing the actors wear, the cars people drive or even restaurants shown in the background of a scene. The list is endless.

The Czech government refused to distribute Jiří Trnka’s short film “The Hand” because it was considered subversive. Czechoslovakia was under communist rule at the time of the film’s release, as mirrored in the film’s protagonist’s inability to free himself from the ruling hand (of the government). The protagonist is a puppet who is seen caring for its plant and working on pottery; at one point, we see the hand forcing the puppet to craft a relic of the hand. As the puppet and the hand go back and forth, you get the feeling of oppression the communist party is known for.

Private Snafu – Fighting Tools was a series designed to instruct GIs in military techniques and utilized humor to encourage the troops and emphasize the consequences of not following orders. In this short, Private Snafu discovers what happens when his rifle isn’t properly cleaned when encountering an enemy Nazi.
This episode uses voice when both Snafu and the Nazi sing songs regarding the various weapons that Snafu had neglected to clean, and there are even rodent and duck characters who sing as well. Drawing and movement are also used. While the short is in black and white, shadows emphasize sizes and shapes, for example, the size difference between the Nazi and Snafu. I believe the story itself is the most powerful tool because, in the end, Snafu becomes a POW, all because he didn’t take care of his tools properly.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a groundbreaking movie when it was released in 1937. Utilizing the multiplane camera, animation reached new heights. Though all seven dwarfs were animated similarly, with large heads and cartoonish squat bodies, each had different personalities and visual traits. For example, Bashful blushed when Snow White guessed his name and moved in a way that showed his childlike shyness, fidgeting, and hiding behind his knotted beard. Another dwarf named Grumpy was drawn with a scowl and snapped back when Snow White asked, “How do you do?” Grumpy had narrow eyebrows, his body language was stern, and his arms were crossed, signifying he was not interested in socializing as the other dwarfs were.