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Former Vice President Al Gore has been presenting a talk and slide-show around the country on the extremely serious problem of global warming. That presentation inspired the making of 'An Inconvenient Truth.' This movie presents information that the vast majority of the world's scientists say is accurate. They agree that global warming is a global catastrophe that can only be averted through immediate action.Usually, when the vast majority of world scientists say something is so it is so. When the vast majority of scientists said we could land on the moon, we did. When the vast majority of them said we could split atoms, we did. When the vast majority of them said we could fly faster than sound, we did. The guy standing there arguing with them usually ends up as a historical joke. I am going to trust the vast majority of scientists on this issue.Go see this movie. Take the kids. Watch a trailer for it here.
'Sébastien' is another student animation from the Gobelins school in France. I like this one's idea about creativity and its excellent backgrounds.Watch it here.
'The Thief and the Cobbler' is an animated feature film by three-time Academy Award winning director Richard Williams who was the animation director for 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit.'
This film was made over a 25-year period and was never released in the form intended by its maker. This version has been restored by fans and posted on the YouTube service in 16 parts. It incorporates some of the original scene sketches in place of missing parts, but the majority of the film is here and it's just fantastic.
It is obvious in the first five minutes that this thing is one of the great animated films. It far surpasses Disney's 'Aladdin' which obviously owes a lot to this film. As soon as the film begins, you know you are in the hands of an absolute master of the medium. It's not often that Candlelight Stories gets to recommend something this great so enjoy it while it's available.
You can watch the entire movie on YouTube by clicking here.
By the way, I originally found this via Xeni's post on BoingBoing.net.
Here's nice animation by Mike Adair. It stars his son's voice as the main character. The movie has great character touches and a nice simple design.Watch it here
The Hollywood Animation Archive has posted a complete copy of an excellent book on animation. It's called 'Advanced Animation' and it was written by Preston Blair in 1947. Blair used the characters he had been working on for Disney and MGM to illustrate his examples. He goes through all the requirements for animating, from drawing heads, hands, and complete characters to animating walks, runs, dialog and emotions. It's amazing. You can follow along and draw all the sketches yourself and you end up having taken a complete course in animation!
Go see it here.
'Badgered,' a film by Sharon Colman that was nominated for an Academy Award is done in a simple illustrative style. It tells the story of a badger who just wants some quiet time but can't seem to find it.The film takes its time telling its story and has a very effective audio track.Watch it here.
Studio AKA made this 1-minute CG animation that is supposed to be a commercial for the lottery in the United Kingdom. It's called 'The Big Win.' It is a really gorgeous little movie about a guy who gets a duffel bag full of smiles and plasters them on other people. It was directed by Marc Craste, who made a short CG film called 'Jo Jo in the Stars.' Thanks to Cartoon Brew for the tip.
Here's a feature animation that looks like a lot of fun. It's called 'Astérix and the Vikings.' It was produced by A Film in Denmark. They have put together an English-speaking cast but, so far, there is no release scheduled for the U.S.Astérix is a very popular French comic book character, created in 1959 as the hero of a series of volumes of comic books by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). Uderzo has continued the series since the death of Goscinny in 1977. Astérix is a small but fearless warrior who lives in a village of ancient Gaul, surrounded by Roman legions. He gets superhuman strength by drinking special potions brewed by a Druid. The comics contain humor that appeals both to children and adults.The movie has a great web site (all in French) with lots of pictures. You should try watching the really cool trailer for the movie. If you want to know more about the Astérix comics, check out the official Astérix web site.
