The 10 most pivotal moments in animation. [Archive]

MonkeyFunk

05-29-2006, 10:05 AM

Jerry Beck's written an article (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117944188?categoryid=1050&cs=1&query=jerry+and+beck&display=jerry+beck) on the ten most pivotal cartoons in history; it's only available to Variety subscribers, but he's posted the list on his forum:

GERTIE THE DINOSAUR (1914)

STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928)

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)

GERALD McBOING BOING (1950)

THE FLINTSTONES (1960)

FRITZ THE CAT (1972)

AKIRA (1988)

THE SIMPSONS (1989)

THE REN & STIMPY SHOW (1991)

TOY STORY (1995)

starlac

05-29-2006, 11:24 AM

Definitively pivotal moments in animation history here, they may not now be the best examples of the art today, but each one helped to change viewer opinion of what animation could be:

GERTIE THE DINOSAUR (1914)

The piece that prove to its audience that what it was watching was something truly new and not some sort of traced over drawings.

STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928)

The first "convincing" cartoon to combine image and sound, and one which single handedly rung the death toll for silent cartoons.

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)

It may not have been the first feature film, but it proved that the feature length format was a viable option.

GERALD McBOING BOING (1950)

When the rest of the world was trying to emulate Disney and trying to look as realistic as possible, along came UPA, who did the exact opposite; making all their films as simple and as graphically stylish as possible.

THE FLINTSTONES (1960)

The first renewed (had more than one season) animation to grace televisions most unforgiving timeslot, unloved by the critics but loved by the audiences of the time. It may have been a carbon copy of the Honeymooners, but it had enough fresh ideas of its own to stand the test of time.

FRITZ THE CAT (1972)

The first of Bakshi's films. Which proved that animation was not a children's medium. That it could use strong adult themes and social commentary that didn't just rely on the type of gags usually seen as "adult humor."

AKIRA (1988)

The film that proved to the rest of the world that animation needn't be what the west had so far made it.

THE SIMPSONS (1989)

The first of the truly excellent TV shows, with great characters, writers, and setups; which would go on to inspire almost everything that came after it.

REN AND STIMPY (1991)

Pushed the barriers of taste to breaking point, but managed to include some sophisticated humor along for the ride. With a style reminiscence of the classic era, only one that had been twisted to become almost unrecognizable.

TOY STORY (1995)

The first 3D film, back in the days were it was still a fresh and exciting medium. It also proved that GCI need take a back seat to the story (a thing that seems to be more forgotten today). Using toys to overcome the computers’ habit of making everything look perfect and plastic, the graphic became irrelevant next to a good story well told. Even if it did later cause a surge in CGI films.