Monday, 23 February 2009

Pixar Short Film Collection:
Volume 1
(2007)

Watching these in chronological order - as they are presented on the disc - one sees a clear and mathematical technical progression that is quite staggering. Although the earlier animations possess more human qualities, despite their technical primitivism, the latter cartoons reveal a technical prowess, matched with storytelling skills, that are second-to-none - certainly much better than Dreamworks or Disney. The tale never wags-the-storytelling-dog so that each never becomes merely a means of demonstrating a technical effects

The problem here however is that the stories are never fully developed beyond mere whimsy and never fully exploit the medium of the short story. This betrays the fact that the filmmakers were obviously bursting, instead, to make feature-length movies, for which these are little more than dry runs.


Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.

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Science:



No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power.



Jacob Bronowski… (1908 - 74), British scientist, author. Encounter (London, July 1971).


Sleep of Reason:



The dream of reason produces monsters. Imagination deserted by reason creates impossible, useless thoughts. United with reason, imagination is the mother of all art and the source of all its beauty.



Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes… (1746-1828), Spanish painter. Caption to Caprichos, number 43, a series of eighty etchings completed in 1798, satirical and grotesque in form.


Humans & Aliens:



I am human and let nothing human be alien to me.



Terence… (circa 190-159 BC), Roman dramatist. Chremes, in The Self-Tormentor [Heauton Timorumenos], act 1, scene 1.


Führerprinzip:



One leader, one people, signifies one master and millions of slaves… There is no organ of conciliation or mediation interposed between the leader and the people, nothing in fact but the apparatus - in other words, the party - which is the emanation of the leader and the tool of his will to oppress. In this way the first and sole principle of this degraded form of mysticism is born, the Führerprinzip, which restores idolatry and a debased deity to the world of nihilism.