Ah, movies how we love thee! You give us all kinds of escape from the mundanity of everyday life and we are all the richer for your presence in our lives, especially when pandemics seem to go out of their way to make reality even bleaker than it is normally. Continue Reading
Animation
The short and the short of it: “Away” by Florian Petiteau
SNAPSHOTTheCGBros Presents Away by Florian Petiteau. Away, [the] short story of a dreaming stone, is a 3D animated short directed by Florian Petiteau with music composed by Valentin Petiteau. Away is about a stone stuck on his mountain dreaming of going to see the sea. (synopsis via YouTube) There is Continue Reading
Get ready for Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade (review)
Have you ever wondered where Easter got its start? No, not the religious start which I think we can all agree has been rather fittingly and exhaustingly documented; rather, how did all the eggs and a particular bunny and all the other colourful parts of the holiday come to be Continue Reading
Up goes the Easter Beagle! Decorating my Easter tree with five pop culture ornaments – Tigger, Snoopy and Woodstock, Bugs Bunny, Taz Devil and Charlie Brown
I have an Easter tree! Yes, that is a little unusual to most people but dig down into the community of fervent Christmas tree decorators, of which I am a happy part, and you will discover that decorating for the festive season twice a year (yes, Christmas in July is Continue Reading
Second life art: New York artist explains why he paints pop culture icons into discarded old paintings
SNAPSHOT“It came to me at a thrift store. I wanted to take something that had been forgotten and change it in a way that didn’t affect its aesthetic and to see if that, in and of itself, would make it wanted again.” (artist Dave Pollot via Laughing Squid) Op shops, Continue Reading
Saturday morning TV: Inch High Private Eye
SNAPSHOTThe titular character of Inch High Private Eye is a miniature detective (literally one inch high), who attained his diminutive stature by way of a secret shrinking potion. Inch often enlists the help of his niece Lori (sometimes written “Laurie”), her muscle-bound friend Gator, and their dog Braveheart to help Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: Pixar’s Wind (Sparkshorts)
SNAPSHOTSet in a world of magical realism, Wind sees a grandmother and her grandson trapped deep down an endless chasm, scavenging debris that surrounds them to realize their dream of escaping to a better life.” Wind is both written and directed by animator / filmmaker Edwin Chang, who has been Continue Reading
Movie review: Raya and the Last Dragon
Animation by its very limitless nature is always predisposed to taking us to places that enchant and enthrall our imaginations. In a world that, for all its wonder and expanse, has quite firm parameters on what can and can’t happen, animation offers the chance for filmmakers to go all out Continue Reading
Lessons from the Screenplay: The Soul of character design
SNAPSHOT[This video examines] two fundamental elements of character design—want and need. Pixar’s film Soul puts these aspects of story structure right on the surface, and demonstrates why they’re so critical to creating a compelling, emotional character arc. (synopsis via YouTube (c) Lessons from the Screenplay) Soul is a beautiful, funny, Continue Reading
The short and the short of it: The bear and fleeting fame of The Moon’s Not That Great
SNAPSHOTAfter an astronaut returns from her lunar mission to find that the public lost all interest in the moon, the stories of the astronaut, a film director, and a bear intersect. (synopsis via Laughing Squid) There is a compellingly beautiful heart to this most attractively animated of short films. The Continue Reading