Inspiring Animation for International Animation Day

ASIFA International is celebrating International Animation Day! We wanted to celebrate by picking some of our favorite animation clips – work that inspires them and makes them excited about animation. Here's picks from our animators!



From Beavan Blocker: I love this relatively simple and effective form of animation, and while the video isn't entirely animated by the creator of this video (there are video game clips etc) the animation is used to inject a great sense of humor and support his examination of the game in question, long story short, it's really funny and entertaining, and at the end of the day isn't that what this is all about?


From Kevin Koch: The Sinking of the Lusitania (Winsor McCay, 1918) Windsor may not have invented animation, but there is no one more responsible for what we came to know as character animation. What he doesn't get as much credit for is essentially inventing effects animation, as seen in this film. It would take decades before Disney and other studios matched the prodigious work that McCay almost single-handedly accomplished.


From Kevin Koch: Begone, Dull Care (Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart, 1949) One of the most amazing fusions of sound and image ever produced. The film was created by scratching and painting directly on 35-mm film stock to visually represent/complement jazz from the Oscar Perterson trio. Best viewed without distraction in a darkened theater on a large screen, this Youtube video doesn't begin to do it justice.


From John Durbin: When I first saw Pocoyo I was ultimately mesmerized. It's deceivingly simple. I thought, why not try something like this. Then I realized it's genius, was more than meets the eye. Every pose and every action read so clearly. At first glance you may think Pocoyo is simply on 2's giving it this snappy appeal. Some of that may be true, yet after tabbing through countless episodes I started to realize what seems like "pocoyo animation rules," are deviated from all the time, creating another layer of decision. The spacing and timing are heavily accented by the overlap and follow through of small things contrast to long holds. It's amazing how much mileage is covered by insinuating arcs and anticipation, with no motion blur and rarely a smeared frame. Once you are completely hypnotized by all the snappy pops and holds, suddenly a character may break out in fluid dancing, contrary to all that's been established. I love this show, and if I ever need to get a boost of inspiration to plow through the next project, all I need to do is watch a bit of Pocoyo.



From Jason Behr: Appeal, style, texture, timing and FUN... That is Chuck Jones and Looney Tunes cartoons. They are what I love about animation.