When Lucasfilm released The Clone Wars movie late in the summer of ‘08 I was anything but thrilled. The visual style, which seemed to borrow a bit of its cartoony exaggeration from Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars shorts from ‘04/’05, came off as pretty lacking on the big screen, especially when you look at what Pixar and Dreamworks were up to. Add that with a story that, in my opinion, failed to deliver on the promise of showing the Clone Wars–it was the damn title, for crying out loud!–and I had nothing but a masochistic interest in what the weekly, half hour show would be like.

Color me surprised when I watched a few assorted episodes during the first season’s original run and found myself liking the show quite a bit. It is by no means perfect, but when it hits I have to admit it comes pretty damn close. Season One just came out on DVD so I’ll be writing every few episodes, noting the highs, lows and in-betweens of The Clone Wars.

Episode 1, “Ambush”

The first episode struck me as very similar in plot to the Clone Wars film. In it, Yoda is send to Toydaria–homeworld of Watto the junk dealer–to bargain with their leaders for permission to build a base on their world. In the film, they went to Tatooine to make a similar bargain with the Hutts, which only goes to show they could have used the movies plot for an episode and taken advantage of a theatrical release for something much bigger in scale, but I digress. Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress were at Toydaria to surprise Yoda with a sneak attack in space and putting his skills as a Jedi to the test on the planet’s surface. In the end, Yoda and the three clone troopers he escaped to the surface with come out on top thanks to stronger moral fiber and the fact that Yoda is freakin’ Yoda.

This was a bit of a middle of the road episode. On the down side it had an unnecessary amount of droid humor. The battle droids are exceedingly stupid, which is odd considering they should have, in theory, been built to kill and not in the comedic sense. Their one liners are painful and their ineptitude inexcusable, but my theory is that a) this all makes you root for the good guys even more and/or b) explains why in the original trilogy the Empire uses human soldiers with bad aim instead of robotic soldiers with bad aim and a worse puns. There also wasn’t really much going on or at stake here. It was clearly a case where the good guys would win. It was the first episode after all and though Star Wars does bleak, it never does it right out of the gate. You knew how things would end as soon as the premise was established.

Now for the good side. This was a great showcase for the Yoda that we saw in the original trilogy. He’s wise, all powerful and the physical embodiment of what the light side of the Force stand for, but he’s also a funny, old guy with a really big heart. In one scene Yoda and his soldiers are holed up in a cave and Yoda takes the time to show them that they aren’t just manufactured soldiers, that though genetically they are identical, how the Force flows through them makes them each unique. It was very reminiscent of how he would speak so lovingly to Luke about what the Force is. Later on, when it came to kicking ass we get to see a cross between uber-ninja Yoda from Attack of teh Clones and Revenge of the Sith and the cracked, goofball Luke first meets on Dagobah. He toys with the droids he’s hacking to pieces, by while their slapstick generally goes unappreciated, Yoda’s antics were befitting of the personality that was established for him in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Episodes 2, 3, and 4–”Rising Malevolence,” “Shadow of Malevolence,” and “Destroy Malevolence”

The three episode Malevolence arc are a great example of what this show does well. The action is rooted smack in the middle of an important Clone Wars conflict, namely the Separatists new, seemingly unstoppable super-weapon, the flagship Malevolence. Armed with a powerful ion cannon it had been engaging and destroying Republic forces totally unmatched. The episodes follow the efforts of Jedi Master Plo Koon, and later Anakin Skywalker, his apprentice Ahsoka Tano and Obi-Wan Kenobi, to track down and destroy the ship.

The action scenes in these episodes are well crafted and fast paced. Plus, in addition to being a blast to watch, they managed to get back to that classic Star Wars feel without winking at the audience. From the hulking Malevolence blowing Republic cruisers away three at a time, to some dogfights and to, no joke, soldier-to-soldier combat in the vacuums of space it was the kind of adventure I’ve come to expect from Star Wars. Even the look of it–the technology, the environments, etc.–somehow managed to fit in so well with original trilogy design, something I never felt with the prequel trilogy. I mean they had friggin’ Y-Wings! The behind-the-scenes feature for one of the three episodes hits on the creators dedication to giving it that authentic feel. It’s nice to see that not just did they have noble intentions, but that they pulled it off.

There were also a lot of good character moments. Plo Koon is an interesting Jedi, and I like to see that they are willing to give as much time to characters other than the movies’ main protagonists. He, like Yoda, stresses to his soldiers that he doesn’t view them just as clones and this works well in contrast to General Grievous, who without hesitation will decapitate one of his droid underlings or use the Malevolence against a medical outpost. This is a key difference between the Jedi/Republic and the Sith/Separatists. Despite both armies being mass produced, the good guys value theirs while the bad guys view theirs as being expendable.

Anakin also shows some steps forward. The movies didn’t really have enough time to show him grow organically–plus Phantom Menace more or less sidelined the guy–but this series has the potential to fill in some gaps and make him a much more compelling character than the prequels turned him into. He’s taking some responsibility now that he has taken Ahsoka as an apprentice but he still maintains those sparks of rebellious/dangerous attitude that will lead him to question and turn his back on the Jedi. The jury, by which I mean myself, is still out of Ahsoka. She’s a little too sassy for my liking, especially given that she’s supposed to be a Jedi, but her bond with Plo Koon and her personal stake in the mission to rescue him sort of reigned her in a bit. I flat out hated her after seeing the Clone Wars movie. Now I’ve stepped it down to a dislike/general ambivalence towards her. That there’s maturity and personal growth. Here’s hoping she continues to show some through out the season.

See what I did there?

MTFBWY, kiddos…

Saludos muchachada!

Recogiendo el invisible testigo lanzado por Isma en su blog De todo un poco, me dispongo a inaugurar una nueva sección para el día más deseado desde que empieza la semana.  Celebrando cada viernes os propondré ver un capítulo de la magnífica serie El Laboratorio de Dexter, ahi queda eso!

¿Qué no sabeís de que trata la serie? Pues haberlo dicho antes! La serie transcurre en un universo paralelo lleno de simios, donde Dexter descubre un cacho del Pirulí, o del Monumento a Colón, ya no me acuerdo bien, semienterrados en playa. Evidentemente, estaba de broma, si quereis saber de que trata la serie teneis dos opciones, dadle al play, o pinchad aqui. En ambos casos vuestras dudas se verán atendidas.

Si amigos y amigas, Genndy Tartakovsky es todo un maestro Jedi, rendid clemencia ante él!

Hasta otra, zagales!

Fa-Kun

Siempre Dibujando

(Aquí tenemos a Dexter, junto con sus grandes amigos. El dibujete es obra de Bill Wray).

“El laboratorio de Dexter”, era una serie que me encantaba. La premisa, es sencilla: Un niño genio, enano, malhumorado, y con gafas llamado Dexter, tiene un laboratorio secreto en el que crea nuevos y maravillosos inventos (como la máquina de clonación, por ejemplo), y la única persona que sabe de su existencia es..su hermana Dee Dee. Ella, es un monstruo con coletas amarillas, que ama el ballet, y que cada vez que entra en el laboratorio..pues ni que decir tiene, que se arma la de Dios. Las explosiones, el caos, y la destrucción se apoderan del laboratorio, gracias a esa niña con ojos azules claros. ¿Y cómo nos vamos a olvidar de esa madre que siempre lleva los guantes de cocina puestos, y de ese padre buenazo con gafas? Además, por alguna razón inexplicable, se llaman “Papa”, y “Mama”. No tienen nombre, realmente. Se llaman así, y punto.

El creador de todo este universo rimbombante, y surrealista es..Genndy Tartakovsky. Hoy en día, este señor ha creado maravillas como “Samurai Jack”, así que no es de extrañar, que si un día me lo encuentro por la calle, me ponga a besar sus zapatos de forma repetitiva. Este señor es un genio, y es una de las claves de la animación de hoy en día. Hay series que intentan imitar su estilo de dibujo..pero Tartakovsky es único, ¡no acepten vulgares imitaciones!.

El “toque Tartakovskiano”, consiste en dar alma a unos personajes que, aunque a primera vista, parezcan dibujados de forma sencilla, en realidad, tienen más sentimientos que todos nosotros. Ese “toque” se puede ver en algunos de los cortos dirigidos por él, en los que en muchas ocasiones, no hay diálogos por parte de los personajes (es en sí, un homenaje a esas películas mudas), y se deja que sean los mismos dibujos los que expliquen la acción, a través de sus acciones. Y eso es algo que me maravilla, que me fascina.

Todo empezó en 1995, en ese gran proyecto de  Hanna-Barbera para Cartoon Network,  llamado “What a Cartoon!”. El bueno de Tartakovsky, aprovechando la oportunidad que se le ofrecía, no lo dudo enseguida, y decidió presentar su proyecto en las oficinas de la productora. Poco después, el proyecto fue aceptado, y Genndy se puso manos a la obra para crear el “piloto” para “El laboratorio de Dexter”. Las cosas marcharon bien, y al final..un señor con traje, corbata, y mirada inexpresiva le dijo a Tartakovsky “Vas a hacer una serie”. Entonces, Tartakovsky saltó eufórico, y quedó suspendido en el aire (a forma de globo). El primer corto (el “piloto”, vamos) de Dexter, fue uno en el que Dexter y Dee Dee juguetean con un aparato, y son continuamente transformados en animales (el corto no está en Youtube, ¡los malditos derechos de copyright, amigos!). Sencillamente genial.

Ahora hablemos de “The Big Sister”, la 2ª aventura del niño inventor (emitida originalmente, en el bloque de “What a Cartoon!”) : Se abren un montón de puertas, y por fin vemos el laboratorio.  Se ve a Dexter levantando un plato de galletas de chocolate, en una pose magnífica a lo científico malvado. A los pocos segundos, aparece una mano que avanza lentamente para coger una galleta, y vemos que hace su aparición Dee Dee, el niño genio corre a evitar que se coma la galleta. Dexter le explica que esas galletas “no son para la especie humana, y sólo son para las ratas del laboratorio”. Dexter se enfada con ella, diciéndole que se vaya del laboratorio, y Dee Dee acepta sin rechistar..El pequeño geniecillo, decide darle la galleta a un pobre e indefenso ratón, y comprueba sus efectos (ahora el ratón, tiene dos cabezas), después, podemos ver a una Dee-Dee con un traje cutre de rata, Dexter la confunde con una rata de verdad, y le da una galleta. Poco después, empieza la TRAGEDIA. Dee Dee aumenta de tamaño, y provoca el caos en la ciudad..Si queréis ver como acaba esto, aquí os dejo el corto (en castellano, claro está. Si tenéis alguna queja sobre el doblaje, no os quejéis aquí..hacerlo en Youtube, cabrones):

Mención especial a ese tipo parecido a un Pedro Picapiedra soltero, que es cogido por la mano gigantesca de Dee Dee. No puedo parar de reírme cada vez que le veo mover de esa forma la cabeza, gritando de terror.. Sin duda, este corto era toda una declaración de intenciones por parte de Genndy Tartakovsky, y era tan sólo un avance de lo que iba a venir después.

Es una verdadera lástima (ahora que lo recuerdo), que con el paso de los años la calidad de los guiones fuera descendiendo a una manera vertiginosa, hasta su cancelación definitiva. Sobre todo con la época de Chris Savino (ahora productor de esa mierda, con perdón, llamada “Johnny Test”), un animador que fue el que contribuyó a crear ese “nuevo Dexter”, con modelos mucho más sencillos, y tramas realmente aburridas e infumables. Esa época, es mejor NO RECORDARLA (lo pongo en mayúsculas, para que se note que es importante). Sin duda, esto se debió al abandono de Genndy Tartakovsky de la serie, para trabajar en un proyecto mucho más ambicioso llamado “Samurai Jack”. Pero, recordemos los buenos tiempos: Un capítulo de la grandísima 1ª temporada, llamado “El viejo Dexter”. Imaginaos que este jovenzuelo con una mente sobrehumana, de repente, se ha convertido en un viejete, por culpa de uno de sus inventos. Mirad los estragos de la edaaaad:

La 1ª temporada estaba cargada de risas. Aún no me puedo olvidar de ese segmento llamado “Marca M, para MONO”, protagonizado por un mono que vive en el laboratorio de Dexter, y que en sus ratos libres es..un superhéroe. Sin duda, nunca llegaré a entender, porque duró tan poco ese segmento, y porqué fue sustituido por “Los amigos de la justicia”. Esas “fascinantes” aventuras en el piso del Mayor Glory, Val Hallen (a ver si pilláis el chiste), y Krunk (Hulk es un mindundi comparado con este monstruo de color morado).

¿Gente que trabajó en “El laboratorio de Dexter? Pues fueron muchas, como por ejemplo: Craig McCracken (sí, sí. ¡El creador de las ñoñas Supernenas!), Paul Rudish, Rob Renzetti (creador de la magnífica “Mi vida de robot adolescente”, y gran animador), o incluso (redoble de tambores)..Seth McFarlane. Sí, el creador de  “Padre de familia”, la serie que más “flashbacks” tiene por segundo, también trabajó como guionista (aportando, además, storyboards).

Antes de que todo se echará a perder (gracias a la “resurrección” de Dexter en el 2001), en el 1999, se hizo un especial de casi 1 hora de duración, llamado “El viaje de Dexter” (“Ego Trip”). Sólo voy a decir una cosa: Si eres muy fan de la serie de animación, DEBES ver esa película. Cargada de grandiosos momentos, de viajes en el tiempo, y de Mandarks..

Será mejor que salga a salvar a Dexter para evitar que esos tiernos animalillos, se lo coman. ¡Siempre le pasa lo mismo, oigan!

PD: No confundir al Dexter de dibujos animados, con el Dexter asesino de ESTA serie. Aunque, pensándolo bien..quizás sean la misma persona, ¿quién sabe? (música de tensión)

Hacía tiempo que quería hablar de un corto de animación en especial: Boid “N” Woim”. Y hoy es el día. Este corto fue uno de los primeros que se emitieron en el bloque “What a Cartoon!”, que formaba parte de una hábil estrategia para intentar “resucitar” a la productora Hanna-Barbera. Fred Seibert (quién era el presidente de la productora, por aquel entonces) decidió dar una oportunidad a nuevos talentos de la animación. La cosa era tal que así: Los jóvenes animadores hacían un corto, y si la idea era buena (y a la gente le gustaba), ese corto (o “piloto”) se convertía en serie.  ¿Ejemplos? Hay muchos:  El laboratorio de Dexter, unas primitivas Supernenas, Johnny Bravo, Agallas el perro cobarde..Pero hay otros cortos del bloque “What a cartoon!”, que se han quedado en el olvido. Y “Boid “N” Woim” es uno de ellos.

Fue dirigido por C. Miles Thompson, y emitido en 1995. Este animador que trabajaba en un rincón oscuro en los despachos de Hanna-Barbera, decidió un día salir a la luz, y presentar un guión para el bloque de cortos, aprovechando la oportunidad que Fred Seibert estaba ofreciendo. Sus trabajos anteriores fueron como director de arte de “2 perros estúpidos” (él era el encargado de supervisar los escenarios, y dibujaba, ocasionalmente, algunos storyboards, o guiones gráficos). “2 perros estúpidos”, fue un clon (de los muchos) de “Ren y Stimpy” (ya hablaré de eso otro día). Pero vayamos al grano. C. Miles Thompson fue uno de los primeros en probar el “experimento” de la rejuvenecida Hanna-Barbera, y el resultado fue más que excelente: Un corto lleno de colores vivos que recuerda en ocasiones a la psicodelia de los años 60. También tiene algún parecido al estilo de dibujo de Las Supernenas, y no es de extrañar, ya que años después Miles Thompson trabajó junto con Craig McCracken, para hacer los storyboards. El director de animación de “Boid “N” Woim”, fue ni más ni menos, que el mismísimo Genndy Tartakovsky, el genio creador de “El laboratorio de Dexter”, y “Samurai Jack” (esta última recomendadísima, para todos los amantes de la animación).

Vamos a hablar del argumento:  En un desierto, una lombriz, sentada en una maleta, espera a que alguien le lleve a California. A lo lejos, aparece una furgoneta azul, conducida por un pájaro refunfuñón, y la lombriz decide hacer auto-stop. El pájaro, al verle, acepta, y le lleva en coche. Mientras el pobre pájaro sufre el horrible cantar de la maldita lombriz recorriendo la solitaria autopista, la lombriz con gafas (en un momento determinado) le despista, y estrella el coche sobre un captus. Es en ese mismo momento cuando empiezan de verdad, los problemas. Deciden vagar por el desierto, y es ahí donde se descubre la extrema maldad del pajarraco azul. No os pienso contar nada más, aquí os dejo el “Boid “N” Woim”, y os aseguro que hay momentos realmente perturbadores, pero que me encantan:

Quizás la animación no sea del todo perfecta, pero yo soy un gran fan de este corto. Uno tiene la sensación de que cualquier tiempo pasado, fue mejor, y nos damos cuenta de los buenos tiempos de Cartoon Network. Pero no voy a perder las esperanzas, ya que hay un proyecto que acaba de empezar a andar llamado “Cartoonstitute”. Uno de los que están detrás de este ambicioso proyecto es Craig McCracken, y la premisa es similar a la de “What a Cartoon!”. Ya se sabe que se van a mostrar los nuevos trabajos de gente como Genndy Tartakovsky, o Aaron Springer (animador de “Bob Esponja”). Me he alegrado mucho al leer esto, puesto que esto puede que signifique el fin de la falta de ideas en el mundo de la animación, de estos últimos años. No sé vosotros, pero yo estoy deseando que eso ocurra..

one of my favorite, Episode L,
the Tale of X9. A suave fedora-donning robot working as a bounty hunter, comes to terms with his wrongdoings and turns to the love a little dog with a heart-shaped tongue, “lulu … sweet thing”. But then is blackmailed to beat samurai jack in order to get his love back

‘This is possibly the finest and most poetic animated episodes The mood is very melancholic and noir all the way through until the end, where it develops into a very suspense sneaking duel between both X9 and Jack. The scenes with the little dog (Lulu… sweet thing…) are beautiful, and the robot turns out to be more human than any of us. The music soundtrack is reminiscent of Miles Davis’ ‘Kind of Blue’, which was an absolute master stroke, and blends into the rainy, forgotten feel of the episode perfectly. We end up feeling great sorrow for X9 once he is killed by Jack, whose last dying words request of Jack to take care of the only thing he ever loved in the world, Lulu. This episode also deepened the character of Aku, who is portrayed as a more calculating, psychological villain than a mere cackling demon, as it is he who exploited X9’s emotion chip and emotionally blackmailed him to go after Jack by kidnapping Lulu, knowing he was sending the robot to his doom. Jack says nothing throughout the episode, and though he kills the robot as cold heartedly as he would any other, his expression shows profound regret when he hears him talk for the last time.”

It’s also interesting, that for the first time, we are made out to feel sorry for someone that Jack kills, right after that character shows a reflective human side and isn’t necessarily made out to be evil from their side of the story. The same things goes with Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader or The Joker or even MF DOOM?. There is always a questionable motive

At long last, Clone Wars comes to an end!

Written By: Bryan Andrews & Darrick Bachman
Directed By: Genndy Tartakovsky

It’s taken a bit, but finally I have reached the last installment of Clone Wars. For some this is a downer because of how much they liked the series, but for me it’s a happy moment because I can’t wait to get this series behind me. Coruscant, I know it takes place on more planets than just Coruscant but the most important action takes place there, is a fitting end to the series, in every way possible.

–The angling and detail of the animation is still very poor. The detail remains a problem anytime background characters take on a static nature in the middle of a battle and blankly stand still doing nothing while everyone else around them fights. The lack of cohesion in the angling department is particularly jarring. The best example is when the Clone troopers, Anakin & Obi-Wan are first attacked on Nelvaan. The Clone troopers open fire at the beast, but when the beast pushes them back they remain at the same angle, staring in the wrong direction and firing into the sky. That is sloppy animation, the type I expect from a high school project, not fro a production such as this.

–Yoda and Mace Windu almost singlehandedly ruin the Coruscant battle sequences with how amped up and over the top their powers are. Yoda riding on a mount in the middle of the battle takes the preposterous cake.

–The extended showdown with General Grievous is easily the best part of the entire series. The atmosphere and tension of the chase are brilliantly done. The action is exciting but still veers too over the top at times.

–I really like Anakin’s hallucination sequence. It’s the first time the series tries for something with the least bit of substance and it pulls it off surprisingly well.

–The ending is problematic, it doesn’t provide any closure. I didn’t need the series wrapped up in a neat bow, but I needed something to signal that that the story was over. Instead the final episode ends and acts as a cliffhanger for another episode that is never coming.

I know a lot of people will label my reviews of Clone Wars as too harsh, but I believe what I have written. Coruscant isn’t the worst of the series, but it is the most maddening. The sequences involving Grievous and some of Anakin on Nelvaan highlight how good the series could have been. Those are trounced however by the actions of Yoda and Mace, that is when the show is at its absolute worst. I need a reason to care, I need the series to mesh with the rest of the Star Wars universe. Clone Wars doesn’t gel with Star Wars at all, it is Star Wars in name only. Coruscant struggles to stake its claim as the best of the series, but being the best turd in a commode isn’t saying much.

Rating:

C

Cheers,
Bill

Fighting over hidden crystals, that’s the Jedi way!

Written By: Bryan Andrews & Darrick Bachman
Directed By: Genndy Tartakovsky

A multi-episode arc means no introduction paragraph, instead it’s time to get right into the dash points,

–The facial animation of Luminara Unduli is particularly harsh, why they chose to make her look like Captain Caveman I don’t know.

–Yoda’s abuse of his powers when he brain washes Captain Typho is appallingly shoddy writing. It’s a terrible act by Yoda, but it’s nowhere near in line with the character of Yoda, so I can’t fault Yoda or the Jedi for what goes down in that scene, the writers are to blame for their bad writing.

–There’s bad physical animation all over the place during Yoda’s fight against the droids. When he is running in the middle of the pack of droids he swings his lightsaber all over the place, but he never once visibly connects with any of the droids. Lo and behold the droids inside the pack fall down from his lightsaber swinging, and that is lazy animation.

This next part is especially telling of why Ilum as an arc, and Clone Wars as a series, is a colossal failure,

–Padmé Amidala would not use C-3PO as bait. Not only is that not in her character, but that is her husband’s droid, his lone tie to his childhood. She is not going to randomly use him as bait, and that is why that entire set-up is atrocious writing and direction.

–Why should we take the droid army seriously when they can’t hit a lone protocol droid walking towards them in a straight line? That’s not comical, it’s pitiful.

–The idea of Padmé using C-3PO as bait is bad enough, but to then have her toss a grenade right at C-3PO’s feet is so bad it’s beyond idiotic. She would never do that, not in a million years would she endanger C-3PO in that way. The explosion destroys the two Separatist droids and merely tosses C-3PO through the air in a fitting end to an abomination of a scene.

The dash points should spell it out, but Ilum is an abysmal entry in an already abysmal series. There isn’t a single worthwhile moment to be found in the arc. If I wanted to be the King of hyperbole I would go so far as to say that Ilum is hands down the worst Star Wars product ever made. Luckily I have been trying to stay away from the hyperbole, all I will say is that Ilum is a terrible arc, and you should avoid it if you can.

Rating:

F

Cheers,
Bill

Mace Windu destroying a whole bunch of droids!

Written By: Bryan Andrews & Darrick Bachman
Directed By: Genndy Tartakovsky

The easiest way to describe the Dantooine arc of Clone Wars is to tell you that it is as over the top as the series can get. Dantooine carries certain flaws with it due to various factors I have discussed in previous Clone Wars reviews. That being said, it manages to add more to the mix that I am not fond of in any way shape or form. I’m not going to rag on what I have already ragged on in previous reviews, but that still leaves me with far too many issues in Dantooine.

For me it all goes back to the over the top nature of this arc. The entire Clone Wars series is over the top, but Dantooine is so over the top that it’s painful to watch. Dantooine is like a Dragon Ball Z episode, and that much over the top frivolity doesn’t fly in Star Wars. Outside of the maddening heroics of Mace Windu the droid voice work is really bad in this episode, and we are given more questionable battle tactics. Why exactly would a group of Clone troopers stop fighting, stand still and stare at an unidentified vessel that has entered the battlefield?

In what shouldn’t be a shocker to anyone I didn’t care for Dantooine at all. It’s yet another bad entry in an all around bad series. If you like Clone Wars from the beginning then you will like Dantooine, but if you find yourself not feeling so crazy about the series then don’t worry about checking out Dantooine.

Rating:

F

Cheers,
Bill

That bald headed lady sure is angry, and a wee bit scary!

Written By: Bryan Andrews & Darrick Bachman
Directed By: Genndy Tartakovsky

The Rattatak arc of Clone Wars is a decent enough action piece. An action piece that is undone by its lack of connection with the rest of the series, an atrocious score and even worse voice acting in the form of Asajj Ventress. Before I get into any of that, I will say that the action in Rattatak is possibly the best in the entire Clone Wars series. It’s better than usual because for the most part it remains grounded and plausible, it doesn’t feel over the top, it feels like it belongs in the Star Wars universe.

Something that doesn’t belong in the Star Wars universe is Count Dooku’s dialogue espousing the fact that the Sith don’t fear anything. We know that the Sith were built on the notion that they accepted their fear and used said fears to their advantage. If this was meant to be a libelous statement intended to rile up Ventress then it was poorly executed because the scene doesn’t read that way at all. As it stands the scene comes across like a particularly terrible bit of writing where one of the most basic truths of the Star Wars universe was tossed to the wayside.

As I said earlier, the action scenes that are finally done right are ultimately undermined by a couple of things. First you have the music, a brooding and tone deaf score that doesn’t fit what is happening on screen. When the brutal voice work of Grey DeLisle is added into the mix the viewer is left with action scenes that look good but grab your attention for all the wrong reasons. Once the atmosphere of the action is lost then the entire Rattatak arc is lost. Above all else, Rattatak is most hurt by its lack of connection to the series proper. Not only does the action feel out of place, but the events that transpire feel like they belong in a different time and place. The fact that the events of Rattatak do actually take place at a different point in the timeline is never made known, yet another failing of the episode.

What began with promise ends with a whimper and is endemic of how Clone Wars fails as a series. Rattatak could have been worth watching, but it ends up a fractured experience because of some mind boggling artistic choices. As has become commonplace with Clone Wars you can skip Rattatak, it’s not worth the effort of watching.

Rating:

D

Cheers,
Bill

Fighting underwater, Jedi style!

Written By: Bryan Andrews & Darrick Bachman
Directed By: Genndy Tartakovsky

I don’t have much to say about Chapter 5 of Clone Wars. As a standalone chapter it is naturally very short and leans one hundred percent towards action, not even bothering with any plot. Only one aspect of Chapter 5 ticked me off with its stupidity, the yin-yang belt buckle on Kit Fisto, so it at least has that going for it. Still, not being completely upset with the lack of offensive moments isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. Chapter 5 remains far too over the top, features the same awful animation style, but it does contain some okay action and it didn’t completely piss me off. Not an endorsement by any means, but you could do worse than this chapter of Clone Wars.

Rating:

C-

Cheers,
Bill

The first major arc of Clone Wars, my thoughts are bound to piss some people off!

Written By: Bryan Andrews & Darrick Bachman
Directed By: Genndy Tartakovsky

I need to get a few things out of the way before I begin my review. First, I’m not going to label a group of episodes as Chapter X, Y, Z, and so on, instead I will give each arc an unofficial name. For instance all of the episodes in this arc mainly take place on Muunilinst, so it is the Muunilinst arc. Also, the arcs aren’t clearly defined in any way, and I have tried to keep them together as tightly as I can, but by no means are these concrete arcs.

Next, because the episodes are so short and cover a lot of ground I won’t be employing my usual review style, rather for multi-episode arcs I’ll use the bullet point style, it makes the review easier to put together and much simpler for the readers to take in.

Before we go any further, a little warning, I didn’t much like this series the first few times I watched it. Maybe things will change this time, but I want you to be aware that I may be more on the negative side because Clone Wars never appealed to me and constantly frustrates me when I do watch it. I’m not sure if I’m in the minority or majority with my dislike of the series, but then again I could care less which group I fall in line with. Either way, keep in mind that I do like Samurai Jack, quite a lot actually, but that style doesn’t translate to Star Wars and that colors a lot of my views.

With that out of the way, let’s begin,

–I really like the silent effect for the Clone troopers, particularly the ARC’s. By keeping their chatter to a minimum they appear deadlier and like more of a cohesive fighting force. This also applies to the droid forces, they still aren’t handled like they should be, but in Muunilinst they do have moments where they appear to be an actual threat.

–I’m not a big fan of the animation style. It works in Samurai Jack, but it brings an entirely wrong aesthetic to Star Wars. It lacks detail, especially in the background shots and in the characters, all of whom have roughly the same facial features.

–The IG Lancer combat droids are an insanely stupid idea, made even worse by the fact that the Clones just happen to have lances of their own on hand. Star Wars isn’t a medieval tale Mr. Tartakovsky, stop trying to make it into one, it looks ridiculous.

–Everything is so exaggerated, from the numbers on the battlefield to the powers of individual characters. Combined with the visual aesthetic this creates a scenario that is too over the top and far fetched for my liking.

–I love the smartness of Obi-Wan Kenobi donning armor, but I could have done without the ridiculous cape on the outside of said armor.

–If Fordo, the ARC trooper, pumps Durge full of electricity while Obi-Wan is inside of him how is Obi-Wan not fried and, um, dead?

–No one notices the pieces of Durge slithering away? In a room full of clone troopers and a Jedi Master, who have already seen his regenerative abilities in action mind you, they somehow miss Durge slithering away to regenerate again?

–The fight between Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress is really cool and a lot of fun, if over the top, until Anakin’s cheesy scream at the end.

–General Grievous kicking ass is also a lot of fun and really cool.

–The actions of the droids in Chapter 21 are especially bothersome. They are attacked, run over even, but they stand in place and ignore the attack until the troop transport is far away. They also ignore the bombs dropped by the troop transport until much later in the battle. Not only is this bad from an art perspective, far too many background characters standing around doing nothing, but it makes the droid army look pathetic. How am I supposed to buy them as a threat if you make them look this incompetent?

–C-3PO’s unveiling of his gold plating has an oddly pornographic subtext to it.

–The last chapter, Chapter 21, is all over the place. Some of this is the fact that the resolution of the main Muunilinst arc is taken care of halfway through the episode. However, the second part of the episode never takes on any sort of solidity. Tartakovsky randomly tosses out emotions and imagery that are supposed to have some sort of meaning but don’t because he never puts them in any context where they can have meaning. The end of Chapter 21 feels like a college art film, a badly done college art film.

I hope that breaks it down for you well enough, unfortunately this viewing didn’t improve my outlook on Clone Wars any. Muunilinst has some good parts, but the worthwhile parts are sandwiched around some truly idiotic ingredients. I know I didn’t point it out in my bullet points but there is zero story or plot to be found here, this is action porn. Maybe that style does it for you, but I didn’t care for any of the style in Muunilinst, outside of the few moments I highlighted above. Like most of Clone Wars I can’t recommend Muunilinst, at least not if you want to watch good Star Wars television.

Rating:

D

Cheers,
Bill

My first foray into the film/television medium, video games don’t count, this will not be that interesting, I’d wager!

Written By: Bryan Andrews & Darrick Bachman
Directed By: Genndy Tartakovsky

Since this is the first micro-episode of Clone Wars I’ll save my introductory speech for the next review that will encompass a good number of episodes and the first story arc. For Chapter 1 I’ll stick to my basic thoughts and not go beyond them much, if at all.

As brief introductory episodes go Chapter 1 is pretty inoffensive. It offers a satisfying synopsis so that the viewers know just enough of what is going on in the galaxy and who the key characters in Clone Wars will be. There’s no meat to be found here, but the quick snippets of the main players is enough of a primer for the series as a whole.

However, even in this most brief of introduction episodes Clone Wars manages to be terribly uneven, a trait it will never drop. It offers easily the most touching and real moment of the entire series when Anakin stares from his starfighter into the apartment of Padmé, while she stares back and we are treated to the flotilla of the Grand Army taking off from Coruscant. This is preceded by a moronic Anakin heroic moment as he stands on the landing platform and shucks his cloak into the wind. That, my friends, is a sign of some of the idiocy to come and the uneven nature that will plague the series for its entirety.

As I said earlier, there isn’t much to Chapter 1. It is rather inoffensive and serves its purpose and there isn’t much to be said about it other than those simple facts. I don’t think this is a necessary episode by any means, in all honesty the people watching this show are already familiar with the Star Wars universe and the key players, but it’s not an episode you need to avoid in any way.

Rating:

C-

Cheers,
Bill

(Snorseman jam has to be my favorite)
I remember last year I checked out Pete Fowler’s exhibition at the stolen space down brick-lane, “bubblegum psychedlic” I think it was called. Proper colourful “tripped out”, LSD looking pieces that seemed to be inspired by 60s hippy movement. His style of drawing reminded me to that of Genndy Tartakovsky’s (Powerpuff Girls, Dexters Laboratory, Samurai Jack), Star Wars Clone wars.
Friend of mine Kevin Lanre of WNL / Street talk along with the Hot110 was able to sit down and chat with fowler about his work and upcoming clothing collaberation.
Have a look it’s awesome !

Kevin on twitter | Street Talk | Whores Never Learn | Hot 110 | Pete Fowler

Title: The Powerpuff Girls: Season Two
Year: 1999-2000
Network: Cartoon Network
Creator: Craig McCracken
Directors: Craig McCracken, John McIntyre, Genndy Tartakovsky, Randy Myers
Writers: Cindy Morrow, Paul Rudish, Chris Savino, David Smith, Clay Morrow, Charlie Bean, Lynne Naylor, Genndy Tartakovsky, Lou Romano, Don Shank, Chris Reccardi, Kevin Kaliher
Starring: Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, Elizabeth Daily, Tom Kenny, Tom Kane
Music: James L. Venable (theme song)
Distinctions: Emmy for outstanding animation (for Don Shank’s art direction)
Episodes: 13, at c. 22 minutes, with two cartoons each
Synopsis: three preschool-aged girls are superheros
How I saw it: on TV; on video (rented from Netflix), February 2009
Subjective Rating: 8/10
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography)

Pretty much the same quality as the first season, although with slightly fewer episodes that stand out as great.

Title: The Powerpuff Girls: Season One
Year: 1998-1999
Network: Cartoon Network
Creator: Craig McCracken
Directors: Craig McCracken, John McIntyre, Genndy Tartakovsky
Writers: Chris Savino, Don Shank, Cindy Banks, Kevin Kaliher, Dan Krall, David Smith, Michael Stern, John McIntyre, Paul Rudish, Clay Morrow, Robert Renzetti
Starring: Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, Elizabeth Daily, Tom Kenny, Tom Kane
Music: James L. Venable (theme song)
Episodes: 13, at c. 22 minutes, usually with two cartoons each
Synopsis: three preschool-aged girls are superheros
How I saw it: on TV; on video (used to have on DVD), July 2007
Subjective Rating: 9/10
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for cinematography)

Hilariously adorable. Or is it adorably hilarious? The production values are nowhere near as good as later stuff from McCracken or Tartakovsky, but it’s usually too much fun to really notice.

Here’s the intro to a favorite cartoon of mine, Samurai Jack by Genndy Tartakovsky, to watch while YouTube takes forever uploading a couple of vids shot last night during Northampton’s Arts Night Out. Samurai Jack is a gorgeously illustrated contemporary masterpiece set to a great soundtrack and chock full o’clever story telling and humor. I am forever indebted to my friend Daniel for insisting I watch it.

Você já deve ter ouvido falar em Genndy Tartakovsky. Se não ouviu, no mínimo deve ter visto algum de seus desenhos. Tartakovsky é um dos responsáveis pelo crescimento bombástico do Cartoon Network lá na década de 90. Sem ele, entre outros gênios da época, é possível que o Cartoon Network não tivesse o sucesso que tem hoje.

Tartakovsky é o criador do mais antigo e famoso Cartoon Cartoon: O Laboratório de Dexter (1996-2003). Antes de Dexter, Genndy trabalhou na Hanna-Barbera nos storyborads de 2 Cachorros Bobos [2 Stupid Dogs]. Alguém se lembra desse desenho? Eu achava engraçado:

Mas foi o Laboratório de Dexter que levou Tartakovsky a um novo nível. O desenho fez um sucesso estrondoso. Alias Dexter foi um dos motivos de eu ter passado a ver Cartoon Network quando criança. Adorava o desenho, até que a últimas temporadas, aquelas com um traço diferente e com novas cores o estragaram.

O desenho do pequeno nerd que tinha um laboratório secreto, uma irmão burra ao extremo e de outros personagens tão estranhos quanto era genial. Robôs gigantes, viagens no tempo, dentro do corpo humano, um rival malígno, o desenho tinha de tudo. Adorava também aqueles amigos da Justiça, com um Capitão América sem noção, um Thor Rockeiro e um Hulk Imbecil que passava junto com Dexter. Outro momento memorável do show era o romance do macaco com um pato. XD

Genndy Tartakovsky também produziu em dezenas de episódios das Meninas Superpoderosas. Isso porque o criador das Meninas, Craig McCracken, já conhecia Genndy desde a época da Hanna-Barbera, que também trabalhou em 2 Cachorros Bobos.

Logo em seguida um novo sucesso nasce no Cartoon Network pelas mãos de Tartakovsky: Samurai Jack!

Samurai Jack lhe rendeu seu Emmy Awards. Samurai ainda viria ser presenteado com mais 3 Emmys nos anos seguintes. O desenho é simplesmente uma obra prima.

Foram 4 temporadas antes deles sobre um cancelamento “não oficial”. Foram mais de 50 episódios. O desenho era extremamente elogiado por se utilizar excecivamente de recursos visuais ao invés de falas. Perdi a conta de quantos episódios Jack quase não abria a boca. Tudo era transmitivo através das imagens e da fantástica trilha sonora. O traço do show também era único, pois quase não apresentava linhas pretas de contorno, o que na época era coisa rara. Kung Fu Panda da Dreamworks, de 2008, fez uma pequena homenagem ao desenho, a abertura da animação é feita no estilo da série animada.

Genndy Tartakovsky sempre mostrou interesse em fazer um longa animado para Samurai Jack. O filme só não aconteceu na época, porque causa dos resultados inferiores do filme das Meninas Superpoderosas. Porém o produtor vem dizendo desde 2004, quando o desenho foi interrompido que os fãs ainda verão Jack e que ele ainda dará um fim para a série.

Após Samurai, a última produção de Tartakovsky para o Cartoon Network foi Star Wars: Guerras Clônicas. Isso só aconteceu porque George Lucas adorou Samurai Jack. Da série animada de Star Wars eu nem preciso falar muito porque é bem recente. Foi sucesso aclamado de crítica, rendeu Emmys e é reposável pelo sucesso de Star Wars na TV hoje no Cartoon Network.

Depois disso Tartakovsky sumiu. Dei uma pesquisada na internet e descobri que o produtor diretor se tornou presidente de um estúdio de animação chamado The Orphanage, montado por veteranos da Lucasfilms e que pretendem alcançar a qualidade Pixar para animações.

Atualmente o estúdio está envolvido num projeto para animar The Dark Crystal , um filme de 1982. Não vi muita coisa dele, nem um videozinho do You Tube, então não posso mostrar nada dele por aqui.

O melhor de tudo é que Genndy Tartakovsky irá produzir um novo desenho para o Cartoon Network em 2009/2010!

O canal anunciou recentemente alguns projetos para 2009 e 2010. Mais para frente eu falo dos outros projetos. O melhor entretanto foi o anuncio de Sym-Bionic Titan, produzido pelo Genndy. Veja a primeira arte promocional do desenho que será um ação/sci-fi:

Muito pouco se sabe ainda sobre história ou produção da série, que só deve estrear mesmo em 2010 ou quem sabe no finzinho de 2009. Mas o visual parece ótimo, hein? E sabendo que está na mão de Tartakovsky, já sabe-se que vem coisa boa por aí.

Fecho o post um uma segunda arte concentual da futura série que achei no google:

Assim que mais detalhes, assim como previews foram lançados na net, eu volto a comentar aqui sobre Sym-Bionic Titan. Fecho por aqui esse pequeno especial sobre um dos caras que sabe fazer, atualmente, desenho animado.

I wrote this post a while ago.
But I’ve only gotten around to posting it now.
Ah well, at least there’s images now!

Years ago I remembered watching a cartoon called Samurai Jack. It was about a Samurai who was thrown into the future by the evil shadow beast called Aku. In the future the world is ruled by Aku and the Samurai, who adopted the name Jack, goes about trying to find a way back to the past to defeat Aku and stop the future from happening. While on his adventure he makes a couple friends, like the Scotsman.

I really loved the cartoon. The stories were great and the animation style was really cool. Also, a lot of the episodes had very little dialogue and instead were built on suspenseful music and cinematography. The action was cool, and it had a good balance of drama and humour (Wow I sound like a real critic/lick arse).

It was created by a guy called Genndy Tartakovsky, who previously did Dexter’s Laboratory. But unfortunately production was halted in 2004 and Samurai Jack’s story was never finished. Tartakovsky has said several times he would finish the story with a movie, but not much has been heard, production-wise.

Tartakovsky went on to do the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoons in 2003. Many of the artistic and cinematic styles were brought over from Samurai Jack. I suppose that’s why I loved this cartoon series as well.

But I’m getting a little (well ok maybe a huge bit) off topic. The reason for this entire post was my recent watching of the movie Kung Fu Panda. I’ll admit, the main reason I wanted to watch it was because I heard the first 3 minutes of the movie were a sort of homage to Samurai Jack, art-wise. And it was. It was really good. The whole movie was good. It was very enjoyable and looked great. I’m not the biggest fan of Jack Black, and having him as the voice of the main character was a bit worrying, but he wasn’t too bad, and I was able to look past it (or listen past it to be specific).

Anyway, just thought I’d write this. Mainly because I want to write about Samurai Jack but didn’t have a real reason until now!

La serie de animación ideada por George Lucas, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, será emitida por la cadena privada Antena 3. Una noticia importante para los fans de la saga, ya que siempre es bueno ver Star Wars de gratis. Más allá de los interminables anuncios que nos ponen en parrilla, en parte lógico porque de ellos viven pero abusan y pasan los límites establecidos por el código de publicidad, Antena 3 nos está ofreciendo toda la saga de Star Wars. Sólo debemos hacer regreso al pasado y ver como este verano nos han ofrecido las 6 películas.

La trama de Star Wars: The Clone Wars transcurre en el periodo comprendido entre los episodios II y III, y vuelve a narrar las aventuras de los principales protagonistas en su lucha contra el Lado Oscuro, abordando otros temas como el pasado del conde Dooku. Esta serie no hay que olvidar que surgió, en realidad, en el año 2003 en la cadena Cartoon Network. Eso sí, fue en 2D. La idea de llevarla a la gran pantalla, y en 3D, corrió a cargo de George Lucas. No confundir con el que dirigió la serie animada, que fue Genndy Tartakovsky (series como el Laboratorio de Dexter o Samurai Jack). Volviendo de nuevo a la emisión en antena, la idea de la cadena es emitirla antes de finalizar 2008 en una primera temporada que consta de 22 episodios. Ahora os dejo con trailer de la película, aunque a mí me enamoró más la serie.

I just read an io9 Sci-Fi guide for the coming year. It covers literature, TV, etc.

The August listings include:

Books-

John Scalzi Zoe’s Tale (he’s been a long time recommended writer by Stargate Writer/Show-Runner Joseph Mallozzi). I’ve never gotten around to reading his stuff, mostly because I’ve missed the last couple months of JMBC. Maybe this month will be different?

Movies & TV-

The Clone Wars. I’m kind of looking forward to this, I only saw a few of the animated shorts by Genndy Tartakovsky. I’ll reserve judgement till I actually see it.

Babylon AD. Another sci-fi movie about the virgin mary. Enough Said.

Conventions-

Gatecon (Vancouver, BC). This is the only convention I’ll mention because it’s a Stargate Convention. I of course won’t be able to go this year (maybe next year). It should be really cool. Maybe everyone will get a peek at the upcoming Stargate Universe pilot, or the rumored SGA Movie or the next SG1 movie.

- Título Original: “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.
- Director: Dave Filoni.
- Guinista: Henry Gilroy.
- Música: Kevin Kiner.
- Voces: Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, Tom Kane, Nika Futterman.
- Duración: 98 min.
- Género: Animación, Ciencia Ficción, Acción.
- Fecha: 2008.
- País: EE. UU.

En el 2003 se emitió en el canal Cartoon Network una serie animada llamada “Las Guerras Clon” (“Star Wars: Clone Wars”) compuesta por 25 mini-episodios (de 3 a 12 minutos de duración) cuyo objetivo argumental, era profundizar en los diferentes episodios que tienen lugar durante la guerra entre la República Galáctica y la Confederación de Sistemas Independientes, en otras palabras, llenar el vacío que existe entre “Star Wars Episodio III: El Ataque de los Clones” (“Star Wars Episode III: The Attack of the Clones”, 2002, George Lucas) y “Star Wars Episodio IV: La Venganza de los Sith” (“Star Wars Episode IV: Revenge of the Sith”, 2005, George Lucas). Si no has visto la serie de televisión probablemente algunos sucesos o personajes te parecerán faltos de información (por ejemplo la figura del General Grievous).

Antes de nada, hay que aclarar dos cosas. La primera, es que aunque se anuncie como una película, “Star Wars: Las Guerras Clon” (2008, Dave Filoni) no es más que los primeros episodios de una serie, paralela a la de dibujos 2-D, que se emitirá también en Cartoon Network, y que se centrara en los personajes del Conde Dooku y del General Grievous. En segundo lugar, los responsables han decidido continuar con la estética de la primera serie, de orden “feísta”; para que os hagáis una idea, recuerda a “El Laboratorio de Dexter” o a “Samurai Jack” (ambas de Genndy Tartakovsky, que también colaboró con Lucasfilm en esta serie).

El argumento del film, gira en torno al secuestro del hijo de Jabba el Hutt; Los Jedi, por el lado de la República, y los Sith, por el de la Confederación, tendrán que conseguir el favor de Jabba, puesto que su apoyo a uno de los dos bandos, jugará un papel crucial en la guerra. A los personajes habituales se unen la joven padawan de Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, recién salida del Templo Jedi, y la Generala Assaj Ventress, una sicaria, aspirante a Sith, bajo las ordenes del Conde Dooku.

Aunque es inevitable asociar a los productos de las Guerras de las Galaxias con George Lucas, la cinta la firma Dave Filoni, que ha trabajado como realizador en diversas series televisivas de animación. Para bien o para mal, el hecho de que se vaya a emitir en una cadena infantil condiciona la narrativa del film, por lo que puede llegar al desconcertar al espectador adulto.

La película tiene varios aciertos en el aspecto técnico, si bien es cierto que tiene una animación limitada (como ya he dicho se trata de una serie televisiva en lugar de una película), podemos ver un diseño innovador en el que se mezcla la animación digital con las texturas de pintura tradicional, y se atreve con el uso de la cámara en primera persona, más propio de los videojuegos, pero que confiere dinamismo a las escenas de acción. La narración no aporta mucho, pero como las últimas tres entregas de la saga, lo suple con batallas de clones y droides, y peleas de sables láser.

Lo que está claro es que, con esta nueva serie, el imperio de Lucas convertirá cada vez a más seguidores de las nuevas generaciones. El hecho de que sea una vuelta de tuerca más al universo de Star Wars, ha suscitado la polémica de la crítica y los espectadores, pero no hay que olvidar que la comercialización es algo inherente, además de al cine en sí mismo, sobre todo a las producciones de Lucas y su colega Spielberg, pues fueron ellos los pioneros del merchandising cinematográfico. En particular, Star Wars tiene un sin fin de libros, videojuegos, y hasta una serie de dibujos dedicada a los Ewoks, junto con otras dos películas, “Los Ewoks: Caravana de Valor” (“The Ewok Adventure”, 1984. John Korty) y “La Lucha por Endor” (“The Ewoks, The Battle for Endor”, 1985, Jim & Ken Wheat), de manera que me atrevo a aventurar que aún hay Star Wars para rato.

First things first; Clone Wars isn’t as bad as you’ve heard. It definitely benefited from low expectations as I kept waiting to hate it, but never did.

Don’t get me wrong, there are Death Star sized problems with the movie. The  Ahsoka Tano character is abso-FN’-lutely annoying. She’s like the demon spawn of Jake Lloyd and Scrappy-Doo. I can’t stress enough how much I hated her. The other thing that really bothered me was how moronic the Battle Droids were. Their main purpose is comic relief so it’s hard to take them seriously as villains. Plus, as comic relief goes, I’ve seen funnier war atrocities. 

There are other characters that I’d been warned about, but weren’t as bad as I’d feared. The baby Hutt (unfortunately called “Stinky”) was lame for sure, but by no means was it ”Jar Jar” lame. Rotta the Hutt also wasn’t as bad as some reviewers have made him/it out to be. 

The pace of the flick is good, and we do get some pretty cool Light Sabre duels. The animation, however, is way below Feature Film level. Compared to what Pixar puts out, this looked like BraveStarr. I’m not sure why Genndy Tartakovsky wasn’t involved. His Clone Wars animated series kicked all sorts of ass yet, to the best of my knowledge, he wasn’t involved with the film. 

I think the main problem with the movie is that as far as interesting stories go, the Clone Wars have been exhausted. The flick aint all that bad, but it’s definitely time to move on. Let Pixar produce a movie about Darth Vader hunting down the remaining Jedi and you’d get fandom excited. I have a feeling, however, that isn’t gonna happen since the Clone Wars continue in a new animated series debuting this fall.

Estréia Mundial - 15 de agosto

Mais um filme da mega franquia de Guerra nas Estrelas. Desta vez será contada a história que se passa nos três anos entre o segundo, O Ataque dos Clones, e o terceiro filme, A Vingança dos Sith. Pelo que pude ver no trailer, na última vez que fui ao cinema (para ver The Dark Knight pela terceira vez), a história contada será parecida àquela contada por Genndy Tartakovsky (O Laboratório de Dexter e Samurai Jack) quando ele produziu a mini-série pela Cartoon Network. Mas, terá efeitos e trama diferente. O que há de comum é unicamente o evento “histórico” que relata. Este novo filme tem, porém, produção exclusiva da Lucasarts e foi inteiro supervisionado por George Lucas. Então, acho que podemos esperar encontrar várias marmotas digitais* (principalmente porque o filme é inteiro digital).

Esse filme, de 90 minutos, será na verdade o piloto de uma nova telesérie que passara no Cartoon Network, que contará justamente a história da Guerra Clônicas, evento entre o grupo liderado pelo Senador Palpatine e o grupo liderado pelo Conde Dooku. Nesse filme, Anakin e Obi-Wan irão investigar o rapto da filho de Jabba the Hutt, Rotta the Hutt, por renegados e tentar descobrir o envolvimento deles na guerra. E inclusive Anakin terá uma jovem padawan, que pretende atrair a atenção de um outro tipo de público.

Quem quiser conferir, o filme tem estréia mundial dia 15 de agosto, na próxima sexta-feira. É só procurar por cópias dubladas ou legendadas num cinema perto de você.

*Para quem não sabe o que são “marmotas digitais”, assista ao filme Indiana Jones e a Caveira de Cristal. No início do filme aparecem, gratuitamente, marmotas feitas em computação gráfica, que ficaram bem toscas. A equipe do Nerd Curitibano acredita que essas marmotas foram exigências de Lucas, que também é conhecido por outras façanhas dessas, como o filme Howard the Duck, e inclusive a inclusão do personagem de Hayden Christensen no final da versão remasterizada do Retorno de Jedi. A todas essas inclusões aleatórias de coisas nada a ver nos filmes de Lucas (e em qualquer outro filme), chamamos de “Marmotas Digitais”.

I’ve been watching old Disney films of late, reveling in those hand-painted backgrounds and the shimmering subtleties of each individual cell.
Every five years or so, I get a craving to watch Fantasia, and it recently inspired me to watch Sleeping Beauty, that gorgeously over-sweet 1959 fairytale. It was super-ambitious on the studio’s part – work on the story began in 1951, animation took six years and it cost them six million dollars. The best part about it is that the scene designer and colourist, Eyvind Earle (pronounced “Eye-vand”) was given an incredible amount of freedom, painting every scene by hand in minute detail.

Earle was reportedly inspired by the flattened perspective of Renaissance painters, aiming to create a classically-inspired scene with a highly modern aesthetic. It is interesting to observe his elongated forms and use of horizontal and vertical line.

The concept art of the character designer Marc Davis demonstrate the way in which the character artists had to work to a similar grid system in order to naturalize the characters into Earle’s modernist sceneries.

The legacy of Earle’s work can be seen in things like Genndy Tartakovsky’s Samurai Jack, or the 1982 film The Last Unicorn. The latter, while it lacks the elegance and mastery of Disney or anime artists, has gorgeous backgrounds (most of the scene designers and painters were Japanese artists) and a soundtrack by smooth folk-rockers America…

**postscript** – In some further research into the scene designers for The Last Unicorn, I learned that these artists later became the core artists for Studio Ghibli after they were hired to work on Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by writer/illustrator/anime extraordinaire extraordinaire Hayao Miyazaki (of Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away fame). Also, I decided to include this image of the first-edition dust jacket for the 1968 novel upon which movie was based, because of it’s deliciously retro-fantastical typography and colour scheme.

Dwa lata temu zmontowałem teledysk z użyciem przygód największego wojownika na świecie, czyli Samuraja Jacka. Zrobiłem go wtedy w WMM z myślą o jednoosobowej publiczności, przez co nie przywiązywałem większej wagi do wyglądu napisów końcowych, które wyglądają teraz trochę gay.

Jack powstał dzięki geniuszowi Genndiego Tartakovskiego i tak naprawdę nie ma na imię Jack. Ma za to na koncie cztery sezony i cztery Emmy. Genndy także zapowiada od dawna pełnometrażowy film, ale niestety tylko na zapowiedziach się kończy.

Oprócz perfekcyjnego montażu, inteligentnego humoru i mądrych alegorycznych historii, najbardziej podoba mi się w Jacku jeden zabieg, który często zostaje niedoceniany przez innych. Otóż Jack wyjątkowo zręcznie wywinął się od problemu pokazywania w Cartoon Network zmasakrowanych ciał i rzezi, jaką po sobie pozostawia jego katana: wrogami samuraja są roboty, które tryskają czarną ropą, a zabite często wybuchają.

Kolejna kwestia, o której trzeba wspomnieć, to niezwykły duch symbolizmu. Wiele postaci i elementów przyrody jest zaprojektowanych ascetycznie, tylko jakby naszkicowanych, ale wyrażajacych esencję ich bytu. Nawet gdy Jack idzie na młodzieżową imprezę techno, to grana muzyka jest kwintesencją narkotycznego rave’u.

No i te ciągłe popkulturowe odniesienia ukryte prawie w każdym odcinku!