Behind the Scenes of "Wolfwalkers"

by Nathaniel R

Today's must read is a memoir piece from storyboard artist Iker Madigan about working on Cartoon Saloon's Wolfwalkers.  There are all sorts of interesting tidbits including how difficult compositional choices are with the two dimensional "flat graphic style" that Cartoon Saloon is known for. Here's another interesting note. I've never heard animators described like this but it makes emotional sense:

Depending on the degree of freedom entrusted to them, story artists can exhibit qualities from both directors and writers. Truth is, they can be something like a cross between a second unit director and a script doctor. 

And the following, about artists who are part of "story teams" that most animated features employ, is the type of honesty you rarely get in such pieces...

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93rd Academy Awards: On the Best Animated Short nominees

by Nathaniel R

We'll be reviewing each of Oscar's categories before the ceremony. We've already explored the nominees in Best Animated Feature, Doc Shorts, Live Action Shorts, and Visual Effects.

For Best Animated Short it's a pity we can't honor Kapaemahu a beautifully evocative Hawaiian story of transgender spirits, with a spot near the top of this preference ranking but awards season can be cruel like that. Nevertheless you should stream it on Vimeo to see the one that got away. Otherwise, though, the voters chose fairly well. Here are thoughts on each nominee and where you can stream them...

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93rd Academy Awards: On the Best Animated Feature nominees

by Tim Brayton

With a day between us and the Oscar nominations announcement, it’s time to start digging into some of the categories that fly under the radar a little bit without the proper love and attention. For now, I’d like to walk you through the five films nominated for Best Animated Feature, ranked in order of how good I think their chances are of winning the big prize...

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FYC: "Ride Your Wave" for Best Animated Feature

by Cláudio Alves

There's nothing more wonderful about cinema, about art as a whole, than the ability to surprise. If I feel a film showed me sights I never thought possible, if it told me stories I could have never imagined, it instantly earns respect and a special place in my heart. Following that line of thinking, one must say that no other picture in this awards season surprised me quite as much as Masaaki Yuasa's Ride Your Wave. Mixing supernatural stylings and teenage melodrama, the Japanese director has managed to create one of the most painful portraits of loss and paralyzing grief in a long time. If you thought the sight of a girl talking to a water bottle would never make you tear up, think again…

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"What a character!"

by Nathaniel R

We're almost finished with the Film Bitch Awards in the Oscar parallel catgories but we took a wee break from that to continue the fun stuff, the "extra" prizes. We've already announced Breakthroughs, Juvenile Performances, Casting and Ensemble work so now we move on to best characters (and we'll end next week with "limited/cameo" performances plus incredible invidividual scenes). This is great fun for us each year so hopefully that cinematic joy is contagious...

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