Alternate Animation of 2008

17 November 2008

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Combining the use of Flash classic animation and 3D filmmaker Ari Folman was able to transform his 2,300 illustrations into animation for his latest movie Waltz with Bashir, a feature length war film documentary that depicts the invasion of South Lebanon by the Israeli army in June 1982.

And although Dreamworks and Pixar still dominate the animation market, reigniting their rivalry this summer with the release of both Kung Fu Panda and Wall-E it's Waltz with Bashir that has really caught the eye and the attention of both the critics and the audiences.

But Waltz with Bashir just continues what has been a great year for alternate animation if, like me, you are getting a bit bored of the bog standard stuff that is being churned out by Hollywood. As always it's been another strong year for Japanese animation and leading the way is Studio Ghibli as Tales From Earthsea got it's DVD release at the beginning of the year which was the first film directed by Goro Miyazaki, son of Hayao Miyazaki.

In recent years Studio Ghibli, lead by director Hayao Miyazaki, has enjoyed more mainstream success with the likes of Spirited Away, which won an Oscar for Best Animated Film, and Howl's Moving Castle, which was nominated for Best Animated Film, breaking through to a western audience.

With Tales From Earthsea Goro Miyazaki takes over from his father Hayao, who has been responsible for producing some of the finest animation in recent years. There are plenty Ghibli hallmarks present in this film such as the environmental balance and the struggles with the darkness within the lead character.

As always it's visually stunning as the realisation of hort Town is beautifully brought to life, giving it the undeniable stamp of Studio Ghibli.

The studio's next project Ponyo on the Cliff has already caused a stir on the festival circuit as it was one of very few highlights at the recent Venice Film Festival. The film follows five year-old Sosuke lives high on a cliff overlooking the Inland Sea. One morning, while playing on the rocky beach below his house, he discovers a goldfish named Ponyo with her head stuck fast in a jam jar.

Sosuke rescues her and keeps her in a green plastic pail. Ponyo is fascinated by Sosuke and Sosuke feels the same about Ponyo. He tells her: 'Don’t worry, I’ll protect you and take care of you'. But Ponyo’s father Fujimoto once human, now a sorcerer who lives deep under the sea forces her to return with him into the ocean depths. 'I want to be human!', Ponyo declares. Determined to become a little girl and make her way back to Sosuke, Ponyo escapes.

But before she does it, she empties the Water of Life, Fujimoto’s precious store of magical elixir, into the ocean. The sea waters rise. Ponyo’s sisters are transformed into enormous fish-shaped tidal waves that climb as high as Sosuke’s house on the cliff. The chaos of the ocean world envelops Sosuke’s little town making it sink beneath the waves.

Also doing well is Japanese Anime as both The Sky Crawlers and Sword of the Stranger find themselves on the Best Animated Shortlist for the Oscar, but only three of the fourteen will make the shortlist for the award.

In the last couple of years French cinema has been gaining a foothold in the animation sector of the movie industry and enjoying major success. And this year led the political animation movie with the release of Persepolis from Iranian filmmaker Marjan Satropi. Shot in black and white the film is based on the graphic novels by Satropi which told of her oppressive childhood set to a backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, it went on to be nominated in the animation category at the Oscars.

Away from traditional animation is $9.99, an Israel/Australia collaboration, a stop motion animated movie for grown-ups based on the Short Stories of Israeli writer Etgar Keret. Tatia Rosenthal is director and co-writer.

$9.99 follows the life of the unemployed 28 year old who still lives at home, Dave Peck. In his struggle to share his find with the world, Dave’s surreal path crosses with those of his unusual neighbours: an old man and his disgruntled guardian angel, a magician in debt, a bewitching woman who likes her men extra smooth, a broken hearted man who befriends a group of hard partying two inch tall students, and a little boy who sets his piggy bank free. Their stories are woven together, examining the post-modern meaning of hope.

But Waltz of Bashir is shrouded in Oscar whispers and has captured the attention of the viewing public at a sting of festivals that it is perhaps the favourite to scoop the Best Animation Oscar and with the string of high quality movies that are to come this alternate animation may at last make it into the mainstream.

Waltz with Bashir is released 21st November

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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