The film the Incredibles is made in animation, but contains a lot of adult material. The first thought in my mind when viewing a cartoon is a light comedy; this film threw me for a loop. There were messages about affairs in marriage, sexual innuendos, and death. Those are not things usually seen in a movie directed at children. I found the movie highly enjoyable, but I feel like children would be lost when trying to completely understand the plot. The idea of displaying superheroes as actual human beings, with real life problems, was very refreshing. The storybook characters can become kind of bland when seen over and over again. They even aged the characters when they settled in to their homemaker lifestyle, a very small but awesome touch. If I would have only read the script I would have never guessed that it was going to be a film of animation.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Snow White
The animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was created in 1937, and it led the way for all future movies of its genre. In comparison to current movies of this variety a person can see how far animation has advanced.
In Snow White, the color value and density is dim. The background in the scenes appears to be water colored with earthy, dull hues. This makes the dominate character easy to focus on. The detail is only observed with items are being used by a character in a scene. This is viewed when the dwarfs first enter the cottage and the door is highlighted, and again when the cymbals is emphasized when the dwarfs are playing music. The characters are sketched with thick black outline, except Snow White. She has a blurred filter around her; giving the ambiance of an innocent and humble girl. The color red gives symbolism to significant items throughout the film that define the storyline. The color appears on the heart box, the apple, Snow White’s lips, and the Prince’s cape.
The movie’s first and last scene is the castle being the dominate item in the shot, this ties the beginning and end together. Also, newer animated films give the viewers multiple angles. Snow White is mostly drawn with the characters centered in the screen, and a straight on angle. To be the first of its kind, Snow White has stood the test of time.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Citizen Kane
The final statement from the journalist on how Kane's life and the search for Rosebud was all a jigsaw puzzle is a perfect analogy for the way the movie was arranged. The flashbacks were not in chronological order making the story a puzzle to figure out. The short montage at the beginning of the film gave the viewers a timeline of his life to be able to place the flashbacks. This left no confussion on where the story was headed.
The acting in the movie was impressive for the era; realistic, believable, and not over the top. The transitioins between scenes were also very artisitcally done; it was not just snapping from one scene to the next. There were elements of fading, focusing, and zooming. That catorgory of the movie was the most intriguring for me. The film was done in a time period where special effects were limited, and is still amazing to watch. I now understand why it deserves a place in American Film Institutes, Best American Movies.
With that being said, my one critique is the ending of the movie. The feeling of depression set in knowing that the unveiling of "Rosebud" would be forever lost to a fire. I hate sad endings.
The acting in the movie was impressive for the era; realistic, believable, and not over the top. The transitioins between scenes were also very artisitcally done; it was not just snapping from one scene to the next. There were elements of fading, focusing, and zooming. That catorgory of the movie was the most intriguring for me. The film was done in a time period where special effects were limited, and is still amazing to watch. I now understand why it deserves a place in American Film Institutes, Best American Movies.
With that being said, my one critique is the ending of the movie. The feeling of depression set in knowing that the unveiling of "Rosebud" would be forever lost to a fire. I hate sad endings.
Wizard of Oz
"Toto, I've a feeling were not in Kansas anymore." This quote from the movie The Wizard of Oz, along with many others, has always struck a nostalgic tune for many. It drives them straight back to the first time they encountered this Technicolor masterpiece.
The whimsical music storyboard and over-the-top visuals are what make this movie stand out in a crowd of musicals. The music in the movie is easy to hum along too even after only seeing the movie once. The most memorable song "Somewhere over the Rainbow," is repeated eight times throughout with different tempos. This type of repetition makes a song very hard to forget. The reoccurrence of a melody happens again with the "Witch's Song," which appears every time she does, inevitably to invoke the suspense of the protagonist.
The dialogue is spoken at a very fast rhythm for the majority the movie with sing-song undertone. A person would have to be much focused to understand every word spoken. Even with the fast paced dialogue the storyline is easily conveyed through the emotions of the actors and the music.
There was also multiple times when foreshadowing gave viewers a preview to the movie. The situation that stands out the most is when the audience is first introduced to Dorothy’s uncles. They all give tag lines to their characters they play in the Land of Oz. The final observation was that Professor Marvel actually plays four roles in the Land of Oz; the original door keep, the carriage driver, the guard, and finally the Wizard of Oz. The staffing on set must have been lacking that day of filming.
This movie is a legend that will continue to be remembered for generations to come.
The whimsical music storyboard and over-the-top visuals are what make this movie stand out in a crowd of musicals. The music in the movie is easy to hum along too even after only seeing the movie once. The most memorable song "Somewhere over the Rainbow," is repeated eight times throughout with different tempos. This type of repetition makes a song very hard to forget. The reoccurrence of a melody happens again with the "Witch's Song," which appears every time she does, inevitably to invoke the suspense of the protagonist.
The dialogue is spoken at a very fast rhythm for the majority the movie with sing-song undertone. A person would have to be much focused to understand every word spoken. Even with the fast paced dialogue the storyline is easily conveyed through the emotions of the actors and the music.
There was also multiple times when foreshadowing gave viewers a preview to the movie. The situation that stands out the most is when the audience is first introduced to Dorothy’s uncles. They all give tag lines to their characters they play in the Land of Oz. The final observation was that Professor Marvel actually plays four roles in the Land of Oz; the original door keep, the carriage driver, the guard, and finally the Wizard of Oz. The staffing on set must have been lacking that day of filming.
This movie is a legend that will continue to be remembered for generations to come.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)