Also Nominated for Best Animated Feature is Princess and the Frog (evidence I may have employment one day), Coraline (pulling on my Gaiman allegiance), The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the Irish dark horse The Secret of Kells.
I have been lucky enough to see The Secret of Kells recently, and I was absolutely in awe of the quality of animation. It was gorgeous, done in the style of a medieval illuminated manuscript.
The character designs were to die for. Very shape oriented and simplistic, each character had a distinct silhouette and dynamic lines.
There is also something sorely missed in the world of animation these days. It doesn't happen in 3D animation, and rarely happens even in anime. In a good feature animation, there is a quality of the movement that always takes my breath away. When I first saw Tiana and Charlotte moving around on the movie screen, my heart nearly broke for joy. Their movement was so pure and free. I was even more in awe at Kells. Their characters moved like dancers or water. It was so lyrical and smooth. I miss that. I may have become an artist because of that beauty. The world needs to see more of that movement.
No kidding about the movement! I've only just begun to notice it in the past year or so, but it is such a beautiful thing. Just like you describe it! I first noticed it when I was watching the Iron Giant... and The Princess and the Frog was lovely too, I was enraptured with the art the whole time ^^ I haven't seen the Secret of Kells before, but I've heard of it and would absolutely love to see it. How did you get to see it?
ReplyDeleteMy friend and roommate got a copy through the magic of the internet. We took a rainy afternoon and watched it. I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteThrough my drawing professor and the Drawn to Life books, I have become enamored with gesture. The movement in good animation is an evolved, complex form of gesture. It was eye-opening to watch an animation after learning about gesture.