animation
Graham Rickson
Czech animator Jiří Trnka’s rise to international fame mirrored that of his contemporary Karel Zeman, both filmmakers producing work as sophisticated as anything from the Disney studios but utterly different in style. Trnka (1912-1969) was a polymath, a gifted puppet maker, graphic artist, illustrator, sculptor and costume designer whose earliest shorts featured conventional two-dimensional drawings. Stop-motion animation offered more possibilities; however, one reason for Trnka’s preference for puppets being that it was possible to show figures in a state of stillness, of contemplation. His Read more ...
Justine Elias
There's little reason to arrive early at the cinema these days, now that filmgoers are forced to endure as many advertisements as movie trailers. Once upon a time, though, the animated Looney Tunes were essential viewing before the main movie event. Now, 90 years after the first Looney Tunes short appeared, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig star in the franchise's first full-length feature.Surprisingly, The Day the Earth Blew Up is neither an exercise in nostalgia nor a cynical reboot, but an anarchic blast of 2D cartoon mayhem that will please adults and their kids. Even without Looney Tunes' biggest Read more ...