My wife is out of town and I’m stuck at home all weekend trying to meet deadlines, so I’ve been watching some great animation to keep myself occupied. I rented Curse of the Were-Rabbit (a hilarious movie) and have been listening to the audio commentary in my studio as I work. Then during breaks I’ve been going into the living room to watching some classic animated shorts on DVD and enjoying the cool special features.
The Looney Tunes Golden Collection is of course full of classic characters and bits. But I’d forgotten how fun and charming the Tom and Jerry shorts are. One of the special features is an entire short in animatic form (crude storyboard drawings), and I’m amazed at how well it holds up. The animators told their stories entirely in pantomime–no dialogue, just expressive drawings, clear pose, and flawless comic timing. The Pink Panther shorts also tell a lot with a little (at least the ones I’ve seen so far). Again no dialogue, and practically no backgrounds. If you are a fan of the cartoon “retro” style (as I am), the early Pink Panther stuff is full of rich eye candy. If I get around to it I’ll try and post grabs of some of the funky backgrounds.
Well, I’d better get back to work….