In honor of Halloween, I will be writing about stop motion and claymation, since they are the most-used formats of Halloween-themed animated movies. These two terms refer to animation techniques that are nearly interchangeable. Stop motion is created by a figure that is manipulated across many images, giving it the illusion of movement, and since the figures are usually made of clay, the two terms are interchangeable for a lot of animated movies.
Gumby
It's hard to talk about claymation without mentioning Gumby or Wallace and Gromit, two of the earliest and most well-known ambassadors of the genre. Gumby is an animation-based franchise consisting of a popular, long-running t.v. show and a toy line, and due to its nostalgia, reception, and successful merchandising has secured its place in popular culture. Modern films and t.v. shows have also alluded to it, keeping it firm in our minds.
Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit, a film franchise,has become synonymous with British culture and claymation due to its critical success. One of the movies in the franchise,Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, has won multiple awards and become fairly well known from its reception and association with Dreamworks.
This ties into Halloween because of two directors; Tim Burton and Henry Selick. These two directors/producers have become well-known for their use of stop motion animation and claymation to create horror-themed animated movies. These movies are usually critically and publicly well-received, and have become well-known and staples of both the animation technique and Halloween. One of these movies, Coraline, is about a little girl named Coraline who discovers a secret door to an alternate version of reality where everybody is nice to her and has black button eyes. It is the Other Mother (video), who is her alternate mother, that is in charge and is trying to keep her locked there. This movie is a very creepy movie, but at the same time it is compelling and interesting. The animation style helps achieve this. Stop motion animation is choppier and allows for more grotesque images, both of which can make characters look psychotic and terrifying. When the Other Mother's true form is revealed, it is terrifying and nightmare-inducing, and that is partially due to how it is animated. Her movements are individual and non-flowing, so she looks monstrous in the way she moves. That is caused by stop-motion animation.
A fairly new movie, Frankenweenie is a interesting movie about a young boy who brings his dog back to life (video) in the same fashion as Frankenstein. The interesting thing about this movie is that it is completely black and white, despite being made in 2012. This was a bold and unique decision, especially considering it is animated, but I think that it just adds to the effect of the movie. Thanks to the black and white claymation, we get a both cute and disturbing movie that shows both the pros and cons of bringing something back to life. The Nightmare Before Christmas is easily the best-known and most well-received movie in this genre, and for good reason. It is the perfect combination of sweet, scary, and funny. Jack Skellington is a main character we root for and can relate to, yet are still scared by. By using stopmotion for a Christmas and Halloween musical mash up, we get both a light-hearted and terrifying movie. The animation is also adapted to fit different parts of the movie. When Jack is in Christmastown (video), the colors are bright and cheery and the characters are rounded and cute. On the other hand, in Halloweentown (video), the characters are gruesome, mishappen, and ugly. The fact that this style of animation can suite both of these vastly different worlds within the same movie and make them seem like they can coexist is amazing and a grand achievement. It wouldn't have the same effect in other mediums. To conclude, stopmotion and claymation, while not the cleanest or most beautiful animation, are the right mixture of charming and terrifying to create perfect animated Halloween movies.
I know I have already blogged before about Gravity Falls, but the newest episode, episode 18 of season two, called "Weirdmageddon Part I" is an episode that deserves to be blogged about. Thus, the rest of this post will be my reaction and review to this episode, and obviously, spoilers for normal people who don't fangirl over a cartoon...
As soon as the episode began we knew we were in for something different, as the first thing on screen was Bill Cipher, laughing manically with the rift behind him overlooking the fire-painted town. We then get one heck of an opening scene, with Bill showing his true form and an unconscious Mabel getting trapped in a bubble with her shooting star. Bill then assumes control over the dimension and unleashes his hench-demons, who have some very original and slightly terrifying designs, as well as total madness and weirdness, in the form of weird bubbles that alter reality and even scarier monsters, as well as distorting and mutilating people. The show even pokes fun at capitalism. Inanimate objects become animate. The once small grow to stories high, and people are taken captive. And this is all before the theme song. All in all, it is a brightly colored, psychedelic, nightmarish apocalyptic scene that suits its name of 'weirdmageddon' (weird + Armageddon) well. The theme song itself is altered, with Bill and his henchmen taking the place of the Pines family and everything being adapted to fit the apocalypse theme. The music is also distorted, helping to create the sense of delusion and madness of the entire episode. Personally, I like this altered theme. It was fun to see the creators even go so far as to manipulate the show's opening. It is very uncommon to see, and it is something that helps prove how unique and fun Gravity Falls is. Plus, for an episode that has no artistic laws and was purposely made to be as weird and unorthodox as possible, it really fits. The video used is the alternate theme and can be found on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWvdqkl2UH4 The rest of this episode is just a freight train of weirdness and shocking, awesome moments to the very end. Dipper is strained to the very edge of what he do, after Ford and Mabel are taken by Bill and the journals are destroyed. These moments left the audience on the edge of their seats and rooting for him. Fortunately, Dipper meets up with Wendy and Toby who team up with him. Wendy is the character that has the most awesome moments in this episode. She frees Dipper, helps him free Mabel, and inspires him to do so in the first place in a very touching and emotional theme. Dipper explains what had happened between him and Mabel and Wendy knocks some sense and fight into him. She has the most empowering quote in the entire episode, and is the entire reason Dipper keeps fighting. Wendy also demonstrates how awesome, she was when she escapes from Gideon's men and drives away in the truck. Finally, Gideon has a 180-degree turn of character when he switches sides. It shows he actually cares about Mabel and has a sense of morality. An aspect of Gravity Falls that I really like because it excels at it is in character development. This show can take a hated character and in one episode turn them into a sympathetic, likable character. This was seen with Robbie in "The Love God", Pacifica in "Northwest Mansion Mystery", and now, in "Weirdmageddon Part I", Gideon. In a scene that is only a couple minutes long, Dipper convinces Gideon to fight for Mabel and be her hero, which causes Gideon to fight Bill's minions and help out Dipper. All in all, this is a very different and strange episode, albeit a good episode, that stretches the animators' and artists' capabilities and imaginations. Bill is just as awesome as ever, but a couple of the lead characters, namely Dipper, Wendy, and Gideon, get notable moments that further develop their characters.
Montages are a filmmaking technique where there is no dialogue spoken and instead just footage or animation is condensed, often to indicate a passage of time or to save on run time. In my opinion, montages can be a good technique when used correctly, but often times are just overused and cliche. Fortunately, for animated movies, montages are usually quite good and effective.
"Immortals"-Big Hero 6
This scene is from a relatively new movie, but gained a lot of fans due to its emotional core and lovable characters. In this scene, Hiro, the film's protagonist, develops new super suits for his college friends to help them defeat the masked man. The reason this scene works so well is that it balances each of the characters and shows each of their capabilities, all to a great song choice that gets the audience pumped for the upcoming battle. It also shows that nerds are the greatest people ever and helps convince kids that science and robotics are cool.
Brave has one of cinema's most fierce and fiery female characters, Merida. This scene, which serves as an introduction to her character is very empowering and free-spirted, just like Merida herself, and shows that women can be strong too. Plus, the animation is beautiful and the song is perfect, with the lyrics being a sort of anthem for Merida's conflict.
An inspiring and upbeat movie, Tangled has a notable montage right when Rapunzel enters the kingdom. This scene starts out with Rapunzel sight-seeing, but about halfway through, she starts a dance in the middle of the town square. At this point the scene starts to get really good. The scene continues as the dance draws more and more people in and the music builds and builds, until the dance ends and nightfall comes. What makes this scene so invigorating is the music. The dance that starts halfway through begins simple and elegant, but as the dance grows and the scene reaches its climax, it is an immersive and powerful piece of music that draws the audience in, making an effective montage that gets people smiling with its fast pace, energy, and pure joy.
A bit slower-paced than your average montage, "Forbidden Friendship" is a beautiful scene that explores forming the unbreakable bond between Hiccup and Toothless. It is simple but charming; with lots of cute Toothless moments and little details that make you re-watch the scene over and over again. Hiccup's facial expressions and actions are especially fun to watch but easy to miss, like the little wave he gives to Toothless or the guilty walk he does when he annoys Toothless. Toothless himself also has plenty of little things to watch for, like the hesitation he has before touching Hiccup's hand, or his eyes widening when Hiccup first reaches out his hand with his eyes closed. Another thing that makes this scene so good is the music. The music is beautiful and unique, and builds to a magical moment when Hiccup decides to trust Toothless and Toothless decides to trust Hiccup.
You saw this one coming. This scene has become well known for its emotional impact on the film and the audience. While the unusually sad ending to this scene is good and makes it unique, it is not the only good part about this scene. People have been saying that 'Pixar told a better love story in ten minutes with no words than Stephanie Meyer (the author of the Twilight series) did in four books'. And it's true. There is not a single word of dialogue in this entire scene, yet it still manages to tell the complete story of a couple from marriage to death. One of the ways Pixar does this is through the emotional core of this scene and the simple, believable characters that just experience life like any other person would. There is nothing too remarkable about Carl and Ellie's married life, and that is what helps the scene resonate so loudly with the viewers. By having the characters in believable situations, like broken bones and infertility, and showing that eventually death will come and you will grow old, it evokes a personal connection between the audience and the movie. It says so much with so little, and that is where the true beauty of this moment is.
This post will include spoilers for the anime Soul Eater. The opinions expressed in this post are opinions, not facts. I do not own Soul Eater. Also, the character Crona has been stated to have an ambiguous gender, although they are referenced as a girl in the manga and a boy in the anime, so I will avoid assigning one to them. All video clips are dubbed.
Soul Eater is an anime about a school run by Death that trains people that can turn into weapons, or demon weapons, and their wielders, or meisters, to hunt kishin eggs. Kishin eggs are the souls of humans who have turned to the dark side and committed multiple crimes, such as murder, against humanity. Each weapon-meister pairing is responsible for collecting 99 kishin eggs and one witch soul, and when that is completed, the weapon will turn into a death scythe, or a personal weapon of Death himself.
This anime is very dark and has underlying psychological themes, particularly about madness, which is similar to a disease in that it is something that can be caught by anyone, although some are easier to infect than others. Madness manifests itself differently in individuals, and there are multiple types of it. There is one character in particular that struggles with madness, and that is Professor Stein. Stein had always struggled with madness, but after the kishin Asura is revived, his madness accelerates to the point where he goes completely insane, causing him to want to dissect everything, join Medusa, and evil witch, and attempt to hurt his students and weapon partner, Marie.
Stein's struggle is reminiscent of an individual affected by antisocial personality disorder, though not fully. Antisocial personality disorder is a personality disorder where the affected individual feels no empathy for others, cannot distinguish right from wrong, and may have delusions and hallucinations. Stein has always had a desire to dissect anyone and everything, may it be himself, others, endangered animals, or his own child. In this sense, he exhibits traits of antisocial personality disorder. These actions separate him from society and hurt others, but Stein doesn't feel remorse. In fact, he enjoys it. But, when he is able to keep his madness at bay, he is an intelligent, accomplished meister, and a father figure to his students. He obviously cares about his students, although he claims he doesn't, and that is what separates him from antisocial personality disorder. If he were to truly have it, he wouldn't care about his students.
The video is from episode 41 of Soul Eater, "Twirl 'Round and 'Round – A New World in Which the Doc Dances?", and 0:00-2:05 and 3:21-4:16 is one of Stein's hallucinations after he has gone insane.
Crona is a character that isn't as strongly affected by madness, but still exhibits traits of mental illness, particularly the anxiety disorders. The child of Medusa, Crona was neglected and mistreated as a child leading them to be extremely socially inept. This character has very low self-esteem and is afraid of almost everything, especially failure, betrayal, and social situations. Crona is timid and shy and has difficulty meeting friends. Crona also acts depressed. Where the difference occurs in this interpretation of Crona is that anxiety disorders are not caused by a poor upbringing, whereas Crona's problems were caused by being reared by Medusa.
The video is from episode 21 of Soul Eater, "May My Soul Reach You – A Dry Heart inside Unbearable Isolation?" and is a flashback inside Crona's soul.
Another character that isn't directly affected by madness but still shows symptoms of a disorder is Black Star. He has very strong symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, which show in his belief that he is superior and will surpass God. He is extremely arrogant, vain, and cocky, but yet, doesn't handle losses well. When he does lose, he tries his best to get back at the victor and belittle them, often by fighting them until he wins. The one area of narcissistic personality disorder he doesn't show as much is the 'lack of empathy' symptom. Despite his violent and vain personality, Black Star does care about his friends really deeply, as evident in episode 11 when he withstands beating by a village to help support his weapon partner Tsubaki.
The video is from episode 2 of Soul Eater,"I Am the Star! The Big Man Is Showing Up Here?". There are mic sounds in this video, so don't turn up the volume too loud.
Finally, Death the Kid has a crippling case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. This is partially cased by him inheriting the madness of order, but Kid has taken it to extreme lengths with his obsession over symmetry, This obsession over symmetry, and all of the compulsive actions that come with it, leads him to stop midway in a battle just to check and see if a painting is even, or fold the ends of all of the toilet paper rolls into triangles. His OCD usually works against him- whenever an enemy is perfectly symmetrical he is unable to fight it, but in other cases, it works for him- whenever the enemy is unbearably asymmetrical, he becomes enraged and beats it up. In fact, the only issue with this theory is that Death the Kid is over-the-top and unrealistic when it comes to the lengths of his OCD. Nobody, not even those with the most chronic cases of OCD, will risk their life just to fold toilet paper.
The video is from episode 43 of Soul Eater, "The Last Magic Tool – Mission Impossible for Unarmed Kid?".
Famous actors and actresses are some of the most recognized people in society, and are often considered really talented, for their portrayal of a character, actions, and expressions. Voice actors/actresses, despite not physically appearing in the movie, t.v. show, or other media, can be equally, if not more talented.
Live action actors/actresses have to rely on their expressions and appearance to successfully play a character, while voice actors/actresses only use their voice to do the same task. Thus, voice actors/actresses can be extremely versatile, with some of them portraying hundreds, even thousands, of different characters. Mel Blanc, the man who played nearly all of the Looney Tunes characters, has had over 1100 roles. Compare that with some of the most prolific actors like Christopher Lee, who has just under 300 roles. That's nearly four times as many roles!
This aforementioned ability to use only their voice to play characters is something that really helps voice actors/actresses shine. They don't have the luxury of facial expresses or body movements to help them achieve the desired emotion; that is the animator's job. Therefore, voice actors/actresses work hand-in-hand with their respective animators to get a character just right. Sometimes, voice actors/actresses will go to extreme lengths to achieve the desired effect. For example. Vic Mignogna, an English dub anime actor, well known for his role as Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, was recording a scene after Edward had been beaten up and had a swollen cheek. In order to make Edward sound like someone with a swollen cheek, he stuffed a miniature doughnut in the side of his mouth and recording the scene with that doughnut. I doubt live action actors/actresses would be willing to do the same thing.
Some voice actors/actresses even play characters of the opposite gender. For example, Tara Strong, a fairly well known cartoon character actress, has starred in over 400 roles, with a number of those roles being male characters. These male roles include Timmy Turner from The Fairly OddParents, Terrence from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and Ben Tennyson from Ben 10. Yet, she can also play the most feminine of characters, like Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls. These roles are very diverse and impressive. It's hard to tell it's her, and I doubt that live action actors would be able to pull off roles like these with just their voice. Plus, she had her first major role as Hello Kitty in Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater when she was only 14 years old!
There are some live action actors/actresses who are good at voice acting, and the best example would be Mark Hamill. This actor, well-known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, has also made his mark in the world of animation, starring as Skips in Regular Show, Alvin in Dreamworks Dragons, Hobgoblin in SpiderMan, and, easily his best and most-known role, the Joker in various shows like Batman: The Animated Series. His role as the Joker is very well done and one of the best interpretations of this psychotic character I have seen.
Lastly, some voice actors/actresses don't get to see the animation before they record a scene, so they are completely in the dark about what the character looks like at that moment. It is for this reason, as well as their versatility and emotions, that I believe voice actors are better than live-action actors. So the next time you watch something animated, listen to the voices. They may sound familiar to you.
There are a couple cartoons that are just plain creepy, but still good. For this post, I will only be counting in western animated (there are way too many creepy anime) television shows (there are also too many creepy movies). In my opinion, there are two cartoons that stick out above the rest as terrifying.
Invader Zim
This show was about an alien named Zim who comes to Earth to conquer it for his home race, the Irkens. He disguises himself badly, setting off a warning inside Dib, a budding paranormal investigator, who is the only one who recognizes him as an alien. The rest of the show is about their back and forth interactions as Zim tries to take over the Earth and Dib stopping him and exposing him as an alien.
There are many reasons why this show is so creepy, and the main reason is due to its premise and the creator. The creator created other shows and comics about homicidal killers, and one would expect a creepy cartoon from such a guy. Some of the creepiest episodes include "Bestest Friend", "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom", "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy", and especially "Dark Harvest" (video). These episodes include ripping peoples' eyeballs out ("Bestest Friend"), scary monsters and insanity ("Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom"), and reducing an individual to nothing by destroying their past ("Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy"). And then there's "Dark Harvest", whose plot about organ collection makes it feel like a horror movie. After learning that he has different organs from humans, Zim goes around the Skool and steals peoples' organs, replacing them with stuff, until he is an abomination of too many organs. The scariest scene is when Zim chases after Dib, the last healthy individual who still as all of their organs, in the vents, eventually cornering Dib and stealing an organ from him.
This show is about a dog named Courage who literally lives out in the middle of Nowhere (seriously, that's the name of the town) with his two elderly owners, Muriel and Eustace. As the title suggests, Courage is a very cowardly dog, and in his hometown, a lot of creepy things happen, and Courage is responsible for saving his owners.
The main reason why this show might be so creepy is the monsters themselves. Since this is a show about fear, there needs to be something to fear, and this show does an excellent job at that. There are too many creepy episodes of this show, as well as creepy moments within some not-so creepy episodes.
The creepy moments
As mentioned previously, there are moments within tame episodes that are scary when compared to the rest of the episode. The best examples of these include the episodes "Courage in the Big Stinkin' City", "King Ramses's Curse", and "Perfect".
"Courage in the Big Stinkin' City" is semi-creepy, and involves Courage taking a trip to the city and meeting a cockroach named Schwick who tells them of an unseen monster. The creepiest part of this episode comes when Courage is opening and closing doors in Schwick's flat, and runs into a girl with her back to him playing the violin. She then turns
around, revealing herself to be a terrifying monster. This scene is so scary thanks to the bad claymation and the effect of the jump scare. We weren't expecting what happened, and the different animation style makes it stick out.
A different animation style was also used in "King Ramses's Curse", on a mummified King Ramses who haunts the farmhouse. The bad computer animation used to create him makes his movements unnatural, and when partnered with his creepy voice, it creates one of the most disturbing scenes in Courage the Cowardly Dog.
Finally, creepy scenes are achieved in this show by way of character design, as seen in the episode "Perfect", where Courage creates an imaginary teacher who trains him to be perfect. The creepy scene in this episode is Courage's nightmare. As this imaginary teacher drives him more and more to the brink of insanity, he has a nightmare featuring a thing floating in blackness saying 'you're not perfect'. What makes this scene so bad is that it is impossible to tell what the thing is. It sort of looks like a fetus or a head, but it has no definite form. Its strange and unnatural movements, hypnotic voice, and form combine to make one of the most infamous scenes in all of this show.
Just like there are creepy moments within tame episodes, there are episodes that are fully creepy. These episodes are often spoofs of horror movies, and include episodes like "A Night at the Katz Motel", "The Demon in the Mattress", "The Great Fusilli", and "Freaky Fred".
"A Night at the Katz Motel"(video) has Courage, Muriel, and Eustace stop at the Katz motel for the night. The motel is run by a smooth-talking cat named Katz who in actuality is going to feed them tor a nest of giant spiders hidden within the motel. This episode similar to Psycho, and the giant spiders are very scary. The Katz Motel is certainly one place I wouldn't want to spend the night.
In the episode "The Demon in the Mattress"(video), Muriel orders a new mattress from a company claiming that 'they are the best' and that 'they have been waiting for her'. When the mattress arrives by way of two rats and a horse-drawn carriage, Muriel goes to lie down in it upstairs and locks Courage out of the room so she can sleep. Courage, reading the signs and realizing that the green-tinted mattress isn't good, peaks in on Muriel and witnesses her being possessed by a demon that lives in the mattress. Courage then has to perform exorcism on Muriel, sending the demon away and returning her back to normal. They then return the mattress, The creepy scenes in this episode occur because this episode is almost a direct spoof on The Exorcist. Muriel acts just like Regan when she is possessed, even having the iconic 360 degrees head spin scene. You know a cartoon is creepy when an episode is based on one of the most scary horror movies out there.
"The Great Fusilli" isn't visually scary, but it is very thematically disturbing. An alligator comes to town and offers Muriel and Eustace the opportunity to perform for a reasonable amount of money. This episode is disturbing due to its ending, which involves Fusilli (the alligator) turning Muriel and Eustace into puppets, and Courage, unsure of what to do, playing out his life like normal with their dead puppet bodies. The fact that Courage is unwilling to accept their demise and instead still pretends his life is normal and they are alive is psychologically unsettling and scarring.
Finally, the creepiest episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog is the episode "Freaky Fred" (video). In this episode, Muriel's nephew Fred comes to visit. Fred is a barber who is obsessed with shaving people, and when Courage is accidentally locked in the bathroom with Fred, he is abused by Fred who starts shaving Courage's fur off. Courage calls the asylum to take Fred away before it gets too serious. By the time Muriel is finally able to reopen the bathroom the only fur that Courage has left is on his tail, and Fred is taken away in a straight jacket, smiling at Courage. This episode is creepy in a number of ways, To start, it is a spoof of Sweeney Todd, a well-known horror movie. Second, the whole episode is narrated by Fred, who tells the whole thing in rhyme. He also has a very creepy design, with green eyes ,wild, unkempt hair, and a crazed smile of crooked teeth. In other words, he looks like a madman. Finally, the way the episode plays out is scary. The different flashbacks and stories throughout the episode are a foreshadowing tactic, and help illustrate how insane Fred is. This is Courage the Cowardly Dog's creepiest episode.
Animation is used in live-action movies to achieve greater character designs or 'cheat' on the special effects budget. There are some movies that use it too heavily and create superficial worlds that are almost out-of place with the actual actors. A good example of this would be Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Almost all of Wonderland is animated, as well as some of the characters, such as the Cheshire Cat and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, creating a disorientating and strange movie that is almost ugly, especially with Tweedle Dee and Dum (pictured), who are very hideously designed and should have just been portrayed by actual people.
In other cases, animation is used on just a couple of characters or visuals, and when used correctly, can aid in bringing a non-human character to life. An excellent example is in Guardians of the Galaxy, which used animation to create both Groot and Rocket (pictured), who are a tree alien and talking raccoon. The animation is used in modesty and helps create incredible-looking characters that look real, which is what makes it better than Alice in Wonderland, which slams you in the face with over-the top visuals.
Finally, there are some movies that use actual animation in live action movies, the most famous of these being Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. This movie is absolutely amazing and memorable, using a combination of animated and real characters, wacky, original ideas, and renditions of all of your favorite childhood characters, like Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, to capture your inner child. It is movies like these that are the best use of animation in a live-action setting.
On Monday night, the episode "Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future" aired and proved to be well-worth its anticipation. This game-changing episode saw the conflict of growing up between Dipper and Mabel as they learned what their futures had in store for them. Dipper has the chance to become Ford's apprentice and Mabel is downtrodden at learning Dipper's plans and the reality of high school. The big part of this episode happens at the end (video in post), when Blendin Blandin returns to make a deal with Mabel; the rift in the portal for a time bubble that will prevent summer from ending. Mabel agrees, and Blendin reveals himself to be Bill Cipher, who then smashes the containment orb, opening the rift between his world and reality and unleashing the monsters from his.
This episode is absolutely phenomenal. It starts out very goofy as the twins plan their upcoming 13th party, but turns to sadness quickly when Mabel learns what her future will be like, leading her to have one of the worst days ever. In contrast, Dipper has an amazing day traveling with Ford to investigate the UFO landing from long ago, and entering into the UFO, which has been underneath Gravity Falls the whole time. He later saves Ford's life, proving himself to be a worthy candidate for Ford's successor, which he accepts. Mabel, after learning this, runs away and encounters Blendin Blandin, which sets off the aforementioned ending. This ending blew my mind and changed the world of Gravity Falls forever. It is the episode so far that has showed the fine line Dipper and Mabel's relationship dances on, and has strained their relationship the most. It got to the point where they were arguing and yelling at each other, which hasn't happened before this episode. I'm not sure if they will be able to resolve this conflict, like they have before.
Another scene worth noting is the credits scene. It shows Dipper and Mabel's birthday invitation blowing on the ground, with screams, sirens, and other apocalypse-themed sounds. It then blows away. I believe this to be very symbolical of Dipper and Mabel's relationship, or perhaps just Mabel herself. Since this invitation is for both of their birthdays (they are twins), it could mean that they will separate in the upcoming episode, or even worse, Mabel could die. We have gotten multiple hints that this might happen. One of the show's cryptograms stated that a 'shooting star will fall', and Mabel's symbol is the shooting star. [Alex] Hirsch, the creator, has stated a character will die, and that hasn't happened yet. Finally, since Mabel was the main advocate for their birthday, and since she was knocked out by Bill, it is very probable she won't survive the next episode. The invitation blowing away could be foreshadowing to this. In terms of my previous predictions, I was right about two things; that Blendin Blandin will return, and that Bill will unleash his master plan.
Nothing is ever for sure in Gravity Falls, but the next episode looks like it will be a big one, and we do know that nothing will be the same in Gravity Falls ever again.
'Animation' or 'family' are usually considered by cinema to be genres, but that is way too broad for the wide variety of movies that animation has to offer. Each of the other main movie genres, like action or romance, have representatives in the animated universe as well. This will only include western animation. Animated Adventure Animated adventure movies have the typical adventure elements, like epic quests and far off lands, as well as imaginative, compelling worlds that could only exist in animation. These movies usually have influences of other genres, particularly action, fantasy, and science fiction. The Indiana Jones franchise is among the most popular in live action. Some of the best animated movies in this genre are Treasure Planet, Peter Pan, and especially Up. While Up has romance influences, the majority of this movie is adventure. The romance between Carl and Ellie provides the backdrop to Carl's adventures in South America as he transports his house to Paradise Falls and meets Charles Muntz. This movie does an amazing job at keeping the, shall I say, 'spirit of adventure', alive, inspiring a generation of children to explore the world and make the most of their lives, living each day to its fullest.
"Adventure is out there!"- Ellie Fredricksen, Up
Animated Science Fiction Science fiction is known for aliens, outer space, space ships, and future technology, most commonly robots. Easily the most famous of the live action science fiction movies would be the Star Wars franchise. While animated movies have these elements, there are usually more talking aliens than any other of those aforementioned elements. The sci-fi animated movies that do this are often childish and immature, but there are good sci-fi movies that are animated, such as The Iron Giant, Lilo and Stitch, and WALL-E. WALL-E is a romance between two robots, Wall-E and Eve in a universe where Earth was so polluted, forcing all humans to have to live in space. This movie is distinctively sci-fi because of its setting, which is both in the future and in space, and because of the futuristic technology, like hover chairs and sentient robots. What really makes WALL-E so memorable is that it is a warning to us humans to watch our actions and how they affect our environment..
"Wait, that doesn't look like Earth. Where's the blue sky? Where's the-the grass?"- Captain, WALL-E
Animated Horror
A rarer movie genre in terms of animation due to its scary nature, horror movies are very common in live action. Movies like The Ring and Saw are very well known and popular, whereas it is hard to even find an animated horror movie. But, there are two directors that consistently produce fine animated horror movies, it would be Henry Selick and Tim Burton. These directors are known for their stop-motion animation, which is usually dark and Gothic. Noteworthy movies that were made by one or the other, or both, include Coraline, Frankenweenie, Corpse Bride, andThe Nightmare Before Christmas. Coraline is a very dark movie about a young girl named Coraline who finds a secret passage to another ideal world run by a copycat of her mother named the Other Mother, who plans on keeping her in the false world by sewing buttons in place of her eyes and later eating her. There are multiple nightmare-inducing scenes in this movie, and it is scarier than some live-action movies. But, if kids can get past the scary parts, they will learn that sometimes the grass may seem greener on the other side, but in reality you should appreciate what you have.
" She spied on our lives through the little doll's eyes... ...and saw that we weren't happy.So she lured us away with treasures and treats...And games to play.Gave all that we asked...Yet we still wanted more.So we let her sew the buttons.She said she loved us.But she locked us here...And ate up our lives."
There has been a stereotype that modern, or within the last decade or so, cartoons are always awful and cliche, and can't hold a candle to their older counterparts. Instead, I believe that there are bad cartoons from both times, and that the considered quality depends on the generation being asked.
The Criteria
A cartoon in this post refers to a western animated show for kids, so no anime and no adult swim. To be an old cartoon a cartoon must have its original run somewhere before 2000, and to be a modern cartoon its launch has to be within the last 5-6 years. I know this leaves out about a decade of animation from the early 21st century, but nearly all of those shows are of high quality and by leaving them out, it helps narrow the number and time frame to cartoons that are still making new episodes.
Why they are considered bad
Modern cartoons are often considered to be bad or unoriginal. The main reason this may appear to be so is that since they are new, they are fresh in the mind and don't have the same nostalgia that the classics have. As such, they aren't as fondly remembered as the newer cartoons, regardless of the quality. They could also be considered 'bad' because they are aimed at a different generation. The newer generation has shorter attention spans and has become attached to electronics, while the older generation, thanks to the lesser prominence of electronics, has a longer attention span. Therefore, the older generation often calls newer shows random and hyperactive, since the newer shows often have faster pacing to account for the lessening attention spans of today's children. Finally, older cartoons are usually considered superior because there were more of them and they were on T.V. more often. Back then, there were hours of cartoons, usually on Saturday mornings, just for kids, so there were a lot of options for them to watch, meaning that they had the ability to just watch the good ones, so the cartoons of lesser quality were often ignored or forgotten in favor of the high quality shows. Nowadays, there are less and less cartoons, so there are fewer options for kids and their parents to watch, so the cartoons of lesser quality won't be ignored.
Why I believe they are good
Not all modern cartoons are bad, and not all older cartoons are good. In modern cartoons, the gap between the good and the bad is huge. The shows that are good often use the improved technology to their advantage, creating visual masterpieces with beautiful and clean animation. Not only is the animation improved, but these particular shows also have compelling, imaginative stories with memorable, likable characters and fairly good humor. Granted, modern cartoons like these are few and far between, but those few animated gems are superior to the best of the older cartoons. In both older and newer cartoons there are shows that aren't the best but aren't bad either, and the older cartoons tend to have more of that type, while the quality of the newer cartoons tends to be more spread out, making the best of the old and new the best of the newer cartoons.
The Inspiration behind Some
of Cinema's Best Dragons
Dragons
come in many shapes, sizes, and colors and that couldn't be truer in the How
to Train Your Dragon franchise. There are so many different species
and classes of dragons in this franchise, but for time's sake I will only touch
on a few of them.
In the
HTTYD (How to Train Your Dragon) universe there are between 6-8
classes of dragons, with each of the classes having a specific feature common
to all members of the class. These classes include Stoker, Boulder, Sharp,
Strike, Tidal, Tracker, Mystery, and Fear, with the last three in debate. While
dragons that share the same class have some similarities, there are certain
dragons that are distinctively based on something, usually one or more
animal(s), from real life.
Thunderdrum
The
Thunderdrum is a tidal class dragon that has a large mouth, long, thin tail,
and relatively flat body that is usually a blue, green or purple and speckled
with white dots. They are able to produce sonic booms and like all tidal
dragons, live in the water.
whale shark
baskng shark
These
dragons I believe are based on a combination of a whale shark and a basking
shark. They get their coloration from the whale shark and their body shape from
the basking shark. Even though both of these creatures are sharks, this dragon
is also based somewhat on an actual whale. For example, its personality is one
of compassionate within its social groups, but secluded otherwise. They are
also seen breaching in How to Train Your Dragon 2, a behavior
almost exclusive to whales.
Rumblehorn
Rumblehorn
rhino
This
newly added tracker-class dragon sports an interesting design. The Rumblehorn
is a heavily-armored, thick-bodied creature that is usually green in
coloration. It has a plated neck and three horns on top of its face, two above
its eyes and another on its nose. It also has a horn under its chin. The rest
of its body is very muscular and stocky, with a large, powerful tail and
smaller legs. Rumblehorns are able to shoot long-range fire and use their
builds similarly to rams and rhinoceroses- charging their enemies and using
their horns as the weapon. By far the most incredible power, and the ability
that marks them as a tracker-class dragon, is their ability to track faint
scents over very long distances.
crocodile
scarab beetle
The
Rumblehorn is a combination of a rhinoceros, as mentioned earlier, a beetle,
and a crocodile, with a little bit of ceratopsian influence as well (horned
dinosaurs like triceratops). The rhinoceros is seen in their behavior, as well
as in the horns and their builds. Their design heavily draws influence from
various kinds of beetles, in particular the scarab beetle. Their body is
armored and has almost a shiny luster to it, just like a beetle's, and they are
seen in the same coloration as beetles. This dragon also has remarkable
strength, a characteristic they probably also received from a beetle. Finally,
the Rumblehorn's design is based on a crocodile because of the rest of their
body that isn't armored, in particular their legs and tail. They are stocky, strong,
and lined with short spikes, much like a crocodile's.
Deadly Nadder
Deadly Nadder
This
sharp-class or tracker-class (depending on when you look at it) dragon is a
wyvern with extremely sharp and dangerous spikes that line its tail and are
able to be shot from it, and the hottest fire known to Vikings. It also sports
multiple spikes on its head and a horn on its nose, as well as a beak. Nadders
are known for their vanity, and come in a variety of bright colors.
parrot
T-rex
These
dragons are based on a t-rex, and more prominently, a parrot, or at the very
least a raptor of some sort. Nadders are bipedal and have huge, powerful legs
with sharp talons, just like a t-rex, and the rest of their body is similar to
the t-rex as well. They both have a long, dangerous tail, nonexistent (or
useless) upper arms, and a thin neck with a large head. The rest of the Deadly
Nadder's design, however, is based on a parrot. As mentioned previously, they
have a beak and talons, and no arms or front legs. They also behave much like
birds; with similar locomotive styles and the preening habit. Nadders also
squawk to communicate, like birds, and finally, they both come in a
variety of bright colors.
The Dragons that are
Copycats
Before I
discuss the last dragon, I'd like to point out that there are dragons that are
almost exactly like their animal counterpart.
The
Whispering Death (top) and the pacific black dragonfish (bottom)
The
Terrible Terror (top) and the gecko (bottom)
and
The Speed
Stinger (left) and velociraptor (right)
and last
but not least....
Night Fury
The Night
Fury is without a doubt the most recognizable species in the franchise, after
all, the main dragon, Toothless, is a Night Fury, in fact, he is more likely
than not the last remaining member of his species.
Toothless the Night Fury
A member
of the strike class, Night Furies are one of the smallest rideable dragons, and
have two large main wings, two stability flaps on their flanks, and two fins at
the end of their tail to aid in flight. Their body is sleek and free of any
spines, and they have retractable teeth, retractable back spines to further aid
in flight, and have ear flaps that allow for more expression. As far as we
know, Night Furies are always black in coloration, are extremely intelligent,
and are the fastest dragon. They are capable of producing a bluish-purple
plasma-based fireball, and have the aim of a sniper. They can also use
echolocation, and are able of summoning an alpha-mode, in which they are twice
as powerful and glow blue.
Black panther
Toothless's
behavior and appearance is akin to many different animals, the main ones being
a bat and a cat. His ability to use echolocation, flight maneuverability, and
stealth, as well as sleeping behavior and wing style clearing are that of a
bat's, but a cat serves as the main inspiration. The Night Fury's body shape
and design are that of a black panther, with the black coloration, smooth
scales, paw-like feet, ear flaps, and yellow eyes. Toothless doesn't just look
like a cat; he behaves like a cat too. He is one of the most playful dragons,
and has been seen doing things a cat usually does, like roll around in grass,
play with a laser pointer, and regurgitate their meals. The sound he makes is
even a combination of different animal noises, most of them being a
cat's!
Conclusion
The fact
that all of the designs are based off of animals in some way is very
interesting; and it probably applies to other character designs as well. In
almost all cases, humans imitate what nature has already done.
