Grandma's Hero is an animated short film that was released in 2016 and directed by Ben Ozeri and Corentin Monnier, two film makers from Denmark. The story follows a boy named Lulu as he graduates from the hero academy and embarks on his greatest challenge yet: to kill a dragon. Lulu is joined on his adventure by his grandmother, a sweet woman who would rather use kindness than violence to solve her problems. Lulu's epic journey quickly turns into more of a family trip as his nerves are pushed to the limit.
Grandma's Hero excels the most in its various environments that are very vibrant and detailed. Over the course of seven minutes, viewers take a tour through a very diverse amount of setting that add a lot of depth to the story, given that it has no vocal narration. The characters are fun and the monster designs are very well thought out. The music matches very well with the style and fans of Adventure Time will enjoy this short a lot.
Overall, Grandma's Hero packs a lot into its seven minute run time and is definitely worth checking out. You can check it out using the link below.
David ORielly is an Irish animator and artist, who's works is the best kind of weird.
Some of his more well known works are the episode "A glitch is a glitch" of the Cartoon Network show Adventure Time, which he wrote and directed.
His shot film "The External World", which blends treads of seemingly un-related oddities together beautifully.
He did some short animations for Adult Swim, and even sat in as a writer on this season of "South Park". Part of what makes me gravitate towards ORielly's stuff, is how raw it is. Weird crap happens, and un-apologetically so. Watch "The External World" and you'll see what I mean.
I'm also a fan of his low-poly style. It gives everything a neat look and pairs well with the glitchy looking effects he likes to use.
Seriously, give this guy's stuff a look. If you can handle the weird, you'll be delighted. And if you can't, then you're gonna get your mind blown.
The longest running American sitcom and longest running animated show, The Simpsons has still got creative juice left. While many viewers believe that the show has lost it's steam years ago, the show (now in it's 26th season) paid some fan service last week during there annual Halloween episode. The family morphed into some of the most classic animated characters of days past. Take a look at it below.
From minions, to adventure time, to kids from South Park they really brought out all the animation stops! Regardless of how you currently view the quality of the Simpsons, this is definitely a cool little ode to the best of the best in the world of animation.
Today I'm going to talk to you about one of my very favorite television shows, "Adventure Time". For those of you who don't know, "Adventure Time" is a cartoon that airs on Cartoon Network and it was created by Pendelton Ward. It tells the tale of a boy and his magic dog living in a post apocalyptic world of Ooh along with mysterious and magical creatures. Although this show is geared for kids, it has a strong following for people outside of its target audience, including teenagers and adults (and me). The show's appeal is that it is simple, fun, and light-hearted, but below the surface there is a whole depth of meaning to the show. It is brightly colored giving the show a seemingly positive and worry-free world, but there is also very dark themes throughout the show. It also includes witty humor that definitely goes right over the heads of kids who watch the show.
What impresses me about "Adventure Time" is the execution of the episodes and the creativity behind each and every character and scene. Each quirk is unique to this show. One of the main characters, Jake, is a magical dog that can grow and stretch and transform into just about anything. There is also a floating cloud-like character, Lumpy Space Princess, who has more sass than anyone I have ever seen. The character detail is not overly complex, but the colors used in the show are truly breathtaking. The episodes are a labor of love and the process takes about 9 months to create just one episode (including storyboarding, writing, animating, coloring, voice-overs, etc.). It feels like so much more than a kids show to me and I definitely would recommend it to just about anyone.
Okay, so I think I've posted on here already about how I love Adventure Time. It's mix of beautiful colors, dark narrative, and alluring composition never ceases to draw me in. It has this ability to draw you into your television set (or computer screen) and sort of suck you into this post-apocalyptic universe in the future. For a little bit of background on the show, (for those of you who aren't familiar with it) it takes place on a future Earth, in which all humans have been turned into creatures created from radioactive fallout, due to "The Mushroom War." Ironically, you don't even know this until late into the show when the writers decide to start dropping hints. I was watching a random interview with Pendleton Ward, who acts as creator, one of the writers, voice over actor for Lumpy Space Princess, and occasional composer. It's a very cool interview, and we get a peak at how one of the lead designers goes about drawing all of the characters in Photoshop. Check it!
Another show that I'm also very into is "Regular Show." Created by J.G Quintel, it is yet another show in which humans characteristics are put into the forms of ridiculous creatures. This video takes you inside of Cartoon Network studios as Quintel shows you the perfect formula for creating a story, and the offices in which his team work. It's really cool to see all the rooms in which these shows are written and animated!
Also, here is a short animation from Quintel that he created while in film school. It is important to notice while watching, (obviously everything is hand drawn) but to see how similar his beginning work is from the show that is currently on Cartoon Network. One of the reasons I really like the show is that it contains a very trademark style that is Quintel's own.
So if you don't already know, I am a huge Pendleton Ward fan. If you already knew though, I am still a huge Pendleton Ward fan. I have seen every single episode of the ever popular Cartoon Network show "Adventure Time" and when he backed the kickstarter of LA Game Space by creating a video and tee shirt, I funded the program because (aside from it being a fantastic and wonderful idea) I wanted that tee. Anyways, Mr. Ward recently came out with a new show through Frederator Studios' adult production label Cartoon Hangover simply called "Bravest Warriors." The show features four teenage heroes-for-hire as they warp through the universe saving adorable aliens and their worlds by using the power of their emotions. Below is the fourth episode which features some 3D animation of a flying space-bus crashing onto the marvelous city of Mars.
Something I think is really great about the show is that whenever they release a new episode they also release a "behind the scenes" video, featuring the voice actors acting and some of the animation process, and an animatic storyboard. This is a fantastic way of not just drawing in viewers but giving them more of a personal relationship with the show and how its made. Below are those bonus videos for this episode.
This may not be completely related to this blog but I feel that motion animation is still animation, making cartoons just as serious. This episode was released on Thursday December 6th and there is a new episode every Thursday so keep your eyes peeled for the newest episode coming out today.
