Sangram Mathews

Prompt 1 : Studio Ghibli’s work often has themes about conflicts between man and the natural world. Pick one of the films they produced and explain how this theme is integrated into the story. Which characters represent the natural world? How is the conflict shown? Is it resolved?

Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli. Princess Mononoke is set in the late Muromachi period of Japan (approximately 1336 to 1573 CE), but it includes fantasy elements. The story follows a young Emishi prince named Ashitaka, and his involvement in a struggle between the gods of a forest and the humans who consume its resources. Mononoke represents the connection between the environment and humans, but also demonstrates that there is an imbalance in power between the two. The hidden message of this anime is that all the corruption in nature is caused by the human race. Technology isn’t bad on it’s own, but we can use technology in a way that only benefits ourselves and is destructive for others. And that is why as we get to Princess Mononoke, the film’s curse is a human curse, and it comes from gods being attacked with technology that was created with the intent to destroy. The conflicts in this anime can be described as 3 parts: Man vs nature, Man vs man and finally man vs self. The end of this film portrays the idea of wrestling with internal struggles is something all humans can relate to. Ashitaka had to choose a side between humanity and nature. He have seen all sides, and since he’s approaching the fight from a place of empathy, and a real desire for understanding, he’s able finally to broker peace between them all and chose to take side with San aka princess mononoke.

Prompt 1: Disney and other big studios closed their 2D animation divisions by the late 1990s/early 2000s. Why did they make this decision? Do you believe it was a good one? Can you find/describe examples of 2D animation thriving today?

While Disney is most known for some of their classic 2D animations like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, Disney has not created a 2-D animation since The Princess & The Frog, released in 2009. There are couple of reasons why Disney decided to stop producing 2D animated films:

• 2D animations became an excuse for weaker storytelling
• CGI animation is cheaper and faster than hand drawn animation
• 3D animated films are more profitable

According to some animators, the amount of work that was needed for the hand-drawn 2D animation somehow outweighed the content of the film. With animators throwing all their hard work into the hand-drawn 2D animation, this often led to the actual story of the film being neglected. This was a major reason that Disney took a step away from 2D animation, as there was too much focus on the form of the film rather than telling a memorable story. With the use of CGI, 3D animation makes animation easier so that the filmmakers can focus on all aspects of the film rather than expending all their energy on the animating process. Yet another reason for Disney to switch to 3-D animation.

Disney’s first 3-D animation Toy Story was exceedingly profitable upon release, especially compared to Pocahontas and A Goofy Movie, all of which were released the same year. Disney experimented with 3D animation after this point, alongside Pixar, and found that 3D films are more profitable than the old-fashioned hand-drawn 2D animation. 3D animated films cost less to make, and they make more money at the box office.

There are still lots of 2D animated series and films still thriving today like

• Family Guy (1999– )
• Undone (2019– )
• Rick and Morty (2013– )
• The Simpsons (1989– )
• South Park (1997– )
• Bob’s Burgers (2011– )
• The Owl House (2020– )

Also a lots of 2D anime are very popular nowadays. I think 2D animations are very satisfying and aesthetic till now.

Prompt-2: What is today’s most popular (in term of audience) Japanese animated TV show in the US? What genre does it belong to? What is the general storyline? On what platform is it distributed? Why do you think it resonates with American audiences? Is it as popular in Japan?

Attack on Titan is a Japanese dark fantasy anime television series adapted from the manga of the same name by Hajime Isayama that premiered on April 7, 2013. It has aired on NHK General TV in Japan, and Aniplus Asia in various Asia-Pacific countries. In the USA and Canada, the series has streamed on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, in addition to airing on Adult swims’s Toonami programming block in the U.S.
Main storyline: Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the remains of humanity live behind walls protecting them from giant humanoid Titans, Attack on Titan follows protagonist Eren Yeagar, along with friends Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert. When a Colossal Titan breaches the wall of their hometown, Titans destroy the city and kill Eren’s mother. Vowing for vengeance, Eren joins the elite Survery Corps, a group of soldiers who fight against Titans. Attack on Titan chronicles Eren’s journey with the Survey Corps as they fight against the Titans while investigating their origin and history. According to the popularity chart listed on the official website of IMDb, Attack on Titan is the most in-demand show currently airing in the United States. I love the thrilling and intense storyline of it, unlike most other anime this anime shows the ultra-realistic consequences, psychologically complexed with a lot of twists and most importantly no good or bad sides.

Prompt-2: We see that animated advertising became more prominent during this period. Pick an animated current commercial. Write about why you think it works, or doesn’t work, in terms of movement, color and storytelling. Include screenshots.

Coca-Cola created this iconic animated ad back in 2006. It takes us on a journey through a Coca-Cola vending machine into a magical world full of wondrous characters that work to bottled and chilled the coke before it being delivered to the outside. The images convey to the audience how much effort is put into every single bottle of Coke. The advertisement gives the idea of a brilliant and happy place that the coke is made, it shows a place filled with happy workers that all live to make the drink. Besides the intriguing fantasy storyline, the main point of this ad is the incredible execution of the 3D animation and the details.

Prompt-1 : After WWII the world could be divided (broadly) into two worldviews: that of the Western (capitalist) and Eastern (communist) blocks. How were these differences expressed in animation? What were some of the thematic, aesthetic, and financial differences between Western and Eastern national productions?

We can see how the differences between communism and capitalism were expressed in animation films if we review some of the animation films created between 1940’s to late 1960’s. “Animal Farm” (1954) by John Halas & Joy Batchelor was based on George Orwell’s anti-communist parable. George Orwell’s novel ‘Animal Farm’ was a fable that worked as a bang-on critique of the Russian revolution and Stalinism. In it a group of mistreated farmyard animals rise up against their owner and overthrow him. Different animals represent different people. The wise old pig Old Major represents Karl Marx and the beginning of communist teachings; Farmer Jones is Czar Nicholas II and represents the old regime; Napoleon and Snowball the pigs are respectively the ruthless Joseph Stalin and idealistic Leon Trotsky; the pack of dogs are the secret police and violent state enforcement; Boxer represents the hard working peasants; Benjamin, the wise but powerless individual; the sheep the unthinking masses. “It’s Everybody’s Business” was produced by John Sutherland. This film does a great job of demonstrating the basic concepts of capitalism. It explains how business and competition works.

Some other animated films were made to glorify anti-capitalism. Including Interplanetary Revolution which depicts a Communist triumph over free-market forces on Mars; China in Flames warns against capitalist interference in the Chinese Revolution; The Shareholder proclaims the superiority of the Soviet economic system; and Proud Little Ship takes on capitalist aggression.

Prompt 1: Many of the films we saw this week show stereotypical versions of the enemy. Watch “Bust the Axis”, made in the UK directed by an American and “Momotarō no Umiwashi”. How is the enemy portrayed in each of these films? What negative stereotypes are depicted? What means are used in terms of drawing style and movement? What are the behaviors demonstrated by the characters?

Bury the Axis (1943): Bury the Axis was directed and animated by American Lou Bunin It was part of a British plan to showcase the enemies of Britain as truly evil in the eyes of the public in order to continue the war effort. Kenneth Clark, as head of the Films Division of the Ministry of information that was re-established at the start of the war, argued in 1940 that the public must be convinced of German brutality, stating ‘we should emphasize wherever possible the wickedness and evil perpetrated in the occupied countries’. The film uses stop-motion animation in order to portray its story. This includes clay puppet models of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito. It begins with Hitler singing a little song about how he’s taken over several countries and will do more, until he gets to Moscow.

Momotarō no Umiwashi (1943):  The film is a Japanese propagandistic perspective of the bombings of Pearl Harbor and the offensive on the Pacific theatre of the Second World War. Director Mitsuyo Seo went out of his way to portray the brutality of war with the prolonged live footage of the bombings inserted into his film, something that flew right past the naval supervisor censors who saw this as a victory lap of their strategic achievements at that point in the war. The main character Momotaro sends a sneak aircraft attack to sink the ships of Demon Island, using his animal companions as crew members and pilots. Which basically portrays the attack on Pearl Harbor.