Animation and illustrated books

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RobertP
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Animation and illustrated books

Post by RobertP »

ZZT'ers seem to be fond of animation, comics and illustrated books (HI NADIR), so here's a thread to discuss these fine artistic works!

De Witte Smid and I are big fans of the television series King of The Hill. It's written and drawn in a more realistic style than most animated series on TV, but it's concept is fairly comparable to that of the Simpsons or.. family guy. I suppose that most ZZT'ers know about the series, being American or at least more internationally oriented than most Dutch people I know, but I'll gladly talk about it anyway.

The show is about a Texan family in the fictive town of Arlen. The main focus is on Hank Hill, the father, who's generally portrayed as a good ol' boy. Other notable characters include his wife, Peggy, a substitute teacher/realter/mom with a tendency to over-estimate herself, although she also manages to succeed in the things she puts her mind to. It's hard to explain why she's hilarious, but she is. Dale, one of the neighbours, has a comic side that is more easy to explain: he's a skinny exterminator who tends to simulate being really cool, though in tough situations, he runs and whines like a child. He also believes in every conspiracy theory ever conceived.

The show is great because it mixes subtle satire with a sympathetic and rounded outlook on most of the characters in the show. The people of Arlen have well-worked out personalities and they grow on you as much as their more ridiculous sides make you laugh. It's not as biting as Southpark and it's more story and character-oriented than most other animated series, but when it is trying to get something across, it's usually more intelligent than what you expect from Southpark (and to a stronger degree - Family Guy or American Dad). From what I've heard, Americans often seem to consider the series moderately conservative, though it makes jokes about conservative/Texan culture, too. I get the impression that every oversimplified outlook on politics/life is mocked to a certain degree, which is something I particularly enjoy.

There are also references to (pop)culture throughout.

We've also bought a couple of books by Shaun Tan. The Arrival, a beautiful piece of pencil-art about a migrant's experience as a 'stranger in a strange land'. It has no words, but it has some of the best drawings I've ever seen. There's also Tales From Outer Suburbia, a collection of fifteen unconnected short stories. The artwork is a mix of paintings and sketchy pencil art. They have a fairy-tale quality to them, humorous from time to time, even with a couple of dark undertones. Then there's The Lost Thing. The writing is a bit more simple, but the artwork (acrylic, oils, collage) are fantastic, imaginative and beautiful. There's a grand and futuristic element to it, with pieces of odd machinery all about.

http://www.shauntan.net/
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Post by nps »

Propane
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Post by Zenith Nadir »

a lot of people (including americans who aren't southerners) don't "get" king of the hill but near as i can tell it's basically a cultural document of how life is in the south. i have never been to the american south though so i feel presumptuous for saying this. it is not always funny but it is not necessarily supposed to be. there's more humour in the ep-to-ep subtlties than in the stories of the episodes themselves, i always liked how lame hank's friends were (esp. dale, who was paranoid about everything but his marriage, which, well)

i haven't watched it in like, eight years but i still hold a fondness for it
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Post by RobertP »

=)

Yeah, it does seem to be more of a cultural testimony to life in the south and sometimes to America in general. I would advice watching some episodes again, particularly 24 hour propane people - it's critique of modern-day encouragement of self-gratification and the notion that 'fun' is the only word interchangable with 'worthwhile' struck a chord with me.* I also liked the blue-grass episode, and Pour some sugar on Kahn, where Kahn's father-in-law(the analogy of an intolerant and authoritarian spouse and a general responsible for several militairy coups was brilliant - "stand down, descendant of fishermen!"). Also because it features Kahn singing karaoke, off-key and with a passion. oh well, I could go on. The show has my greatest recommendation.

Has anyone of you ever heard of or read anything by Shaun Tan? His page showcases some of his work. In a weird way, some of his drawings remind me of Nadir's work in ZZT (their doodles are also somewhat alike). Particularly, this:

Image

Probably because it's so colourful and it fills the screen so well.

* - it also reminded me of the critical view of the 'spoilt-child psychology', by Richard Weaver, something that I feel confronted with a lot, today. It's also one of the few moments that I'd consider based on actual 'cultural conservatism', and thank God not the kind of neo-conservatism that's so popular in the south today.

So uh.. anyone else has a fondness they want to share?
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Post by Zenith Nadir »

i'll recommend something i like a lot later, but for now i'll just restate my love for tove jannson's moomin books

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Post by Pancake »

King of the Hill is great. I find the satire, personalities, and portrayal of southern life to be hilarious. Too bad Fox is taking it off the air to make room for some god-awful Family Guy spinoff (I hate Family Guy). American Dad is leagues above Family Guy, but still bleh. The Simpsons has been going downhill since like 2000. They're pretty much beating a dead horse with that series.

I've turned into a weeabo after having watched Rozen Maiden, Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star (feel retarded after watching it), Elfen Lied, and the Hellsing OVA. Guy told me to watch Kanon, and it was fucking awful, didn't understand it at all. I can't download much at a time due to not having a huge hard drive, so downloading a series is a big fucking deal.

I don't read much books because I don't have the general interest for it. :(
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Post by Zenith Nadir »

ugh, i forgot that i'm not very good at writing synopses until i started contemplating my thing, but whatever. this is probably disjointed to fuck

Image
(l to r: kuu, rakka, hikari, kana, nemu, reki)

anyway Nadir's Choice for this post is "haibane renmei", which translates roughly as "charcoal feathers federation". it is an anime by the same team who made "serial experiments lain" but it is way better than that headfuck

the plot of haibane renmei starts as follows: a girl called rakka awakens inside an egg in a strange world, after a vague dream of a crow attempting to save her from falling. she finds is the newest member of the haibane at the school house "old home", and now she must adjust to looking like an angel (all haibane have non-functional grey wings and halos) and life in her new environment, the town of glie.

the nature of glie is a mystery; it is surrounded on all sides by a high wall with only one gate, and nobody can enter or leave apart from a group of cowled nomad traders called "toga". the town is overseen by an organisation called "haibane renmei", which, among other things, organises employment for and looks after the haibane who live there. to its (mostly human) inhabitants glie is basically the world and they accept this, as do most of the haibane; however, wanderlust sets in for some haibane, as it did for rakka's closest friend, reki (the cool one who smokes & rides a scooter. i like reki).

reki was born black-winged and "sin-bound", and her ostracization from most of the rest of the haibane caused her to attempt to escape town with disastrous results. nobody really knows what the haibane actually are, but one thing is certain: if they leave the town, they are damned, and doomed to an eternity spent far away from glie (maybe the damned haibane are the toga????????????? nobody knows omg).

it is 13 episodes (about 5 hours total) long, the music is kow otani, the guy who did the shadow of the colossus soundtrack. if you have played shadow of the colossus you will know how completely ace that game's score is. there is a gross bit in the first episode when rakka's wings come out and there is blood, but otherwise the whole thing is pretty visually tame.

it is fucking rad, although it is not actually very exciting. the first few episodes are basically rakka adjusting to life in glie and getting to know her new friends at old home, then the actual plot starts when kuu, one of the other haibane, embarks on her "day of flight", a time that should come to every haibane (but does not if the haibane is sin-bound). the plot is basically about depression and suicide, but also about self-acceptance. at one point rakka spends an episode stuck down a well contemplating a crow corpse. if that sounds weird in a bad way, or gay as hell to you you probably shouldn't watch it but i really like it! that's my story. gonna watch it again sometime.
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Post by Commodore »

it only has a few illustrations, but I like My Father's Dragon and the sequels. favourite book as a young one. That and the black cauldron books that my mom read me.
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Post by Schroedingers Cat »

Zenith Nadir wrote:words
I will look into this.
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Post by superbowl shuffle »

Rocko's Modern Life!

A wallaby named Rocko attempts to get by in life but is consistently sidetracked into ridiculous situations by his needy friends and the inefficiencies of society. The show is full of double entendres that make you wonder how it ever got to air on Nickelodeon. There are few straight lines or right angles to be found and everything is exaggerated to extremes. It makes use of the cartoon medium masterfully to document the absurdities of that which we simply accept as a normal part of 'modern life'.

But perhaps you all knew this already.
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Post by Zenith Nadir »

however played out its jokes are now and horribly annoying its fans may be, but for me invader zim was the last gasp from the "old" nickelodeon i knew and loved as a kid, that shit seriously twisted my mind in the best way

pete & pete ren & stimpy rocko's modern life supremacy (and anything else i forgot. it's a tiny bit embarrassing to admit now but i loved old-school klasky-csupo)

also they showed the mighty max cartoon. i totally backed the right horse in being obsessed with mighty max when i was 10 years old because that shit was tight as h*ck and the cartoon was actually really good. i love to relive my misspent youth goggling at tv
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Post by RobertP »

Dutch Nickelodeon has started to dub all of their series and cartoons, which is completely retarted - all subtle jokes and double meanings are lost and the voice actors are usually trying to compensate by sounding really silly. My little brothers watch the shows without laughing, I think the suggestion that there's something funny going on (ridiculous voices, laughter on tape) is keeping them complacent.

I don't know why they started doing this. When I was young, every English and American show had subtitles. Perhaps they're targetting a younger audience, or a dumber audience. It's a shame.

I shall also look into some of the titles mentioned in previous posts!
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Post by Commodore »

that does seem odd, i was going to say if might be because it's cheaper or something, but it doesn't make sense that paying voice actors is cheaper than hiring one dude to do a lot of typing.

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Post by Zenith Nadir »

short version: Nickelodeon Has Sucked Since Nineteen Ninety Seven, At Least

i'm gonna write another thing up here sometime but i'm not sure what yet
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Post by Commodore »

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