A Grand Post: Celebrating 40 Years Of Aardman

Hello there animation lovers now you americans might not know this but we in Britain have a famous animation studio and that studio is celebrating being in business for around 40 years you know there works thanks to the likes of Chicken Run , Wallace And Gromit and Creature Comforts but you might not know there name this is all about a little animation studio in Bristol called Aardman.

Aardman animations has been in business since the 70's and the studio has gone from producing 2D animation which was there very first creation as a studio to producing stop-motion which is what they are most famous for and there very first piece of stop motion wasn't for tv or film but for a music video.

In 1986 the studio was commissioned to produce a piece of animation for Peter Gabriel's song Sledgehammer i havn't seen the video for myself so i can't tell you how long there animation is on screen for but i can tell you that it led to more work in music videos which continues to this very day with there latest music video being the song Feels Like Summer by Tim Wheeler which was produced for the Shaun The Sheep Movie soundtrack but Aardman would also make a mark on the world of television thanks to a little brown piece of plastic.

Morph was created for the programme Take Heart and Heartbeat both of which starred artist Tony Heart and was created by Peter Lord who was commissioned to make the character by the BBC because apparently Tony Heart wasn't funny and the producers wanted someone who could make the kids laugh and it worked because Morph has become a british legend spawning several TV series and he is also a favorite of creator Peter Lord who has gone on record as calling Morph his baby.

In 1982 Nick Park started making the film which would become A Grand Day Out and would also introduce people to man and his dog also known as Wallace & Gromit the film took a total of eight years to make since at the start of production it was just Nick on his animating the film frame by frame. That changed when in 1985 Aardman took him on as an animator while at the same time the school that Nick was at would continue to film his passion project since the film was now being animated at Aardman studios this meant that more of the film could be made in a shorter time period.

A Grand Day Out was also one of the first Aardman works to have a voice and that voice came from famed british actor Peter Sallis who has voiced Wallace in all short films and the feature film Sallis was paid £50 for A Grand Day Out that might not be that much now but back in the 80's it was quite alot of money Wallace & Gromit have become an icon of British culture appearing in several short films , there own TV series , a feature film , games and many more but like Wallace & Gromit Nick Park would make another successful series for Aardman.

Creature Comforts originally started as a short film that was released in the late 80's early 90's and thanks to a certain Jaguar has become fairly iconic but what makes this standout from Wallace & Gromit is that the characters are voiced by ordinary British people without a script so the show was completely improvised and the animators would have to animate around would was already being said now unlike Wallace & Gromit which has had several over products Creature Comforts has gone mostly into obscurity only popping out every so often.

Aardman animations have not only made there mark on television but have also made several feature films which have a combined box office receipt of $972.1 million dollars there films include Chicken Run which was there first feature film , Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit ,The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! , Shaun The Sheep The Movie and many more now i know i've missed alot of there works but that's because i wanted to get the most well known works in here and it seems that with at least two more feature films in the works with Early man being directed by Nick Park and a sequel to Shaun The Sheep The Movie right now called Shaun The Sheep The Movie 2 it seems that this little studio will go on forever.    

Ghost In The Shell 2017 Trailer Breakdown / Review

Well hello there anime and lovers and movie fans well that was a great surprise this morning wasn't it we were expecting a trailer for the new Ghost In The Shell movie but we also got the poster so let's go with this trailer breakdown / review of Ghost In The Shell 2017 and since i can't find many images from the new movie that were in the trailer i'm going to be including some from the anime as well.

As the trailer starts we get a nice reworking of the classic first scene from the 1995 movie but of course updated for a 2017 audience sadly tho we don't get to see them remake the scene where the major goes invisible.

Now i couldn't find the exact shot but during the opening we also see various shots of geisha maids attacking what looks like a group of business men i only say that because you can clearly see some of the men wearing suits and this scene is apparently what causes the major to jump of the building in the first place.

This seems like a good time to bring up the major's camo gear as like in the original movie it is skin colored so i just wanted to clear any confusion there. Also this scene does lead to a pretty badass action scene were we get to see the major's fighting skills in action.

We get a nice shot of the major's cybernetic body which for me also serves as a way to see if the film will have decent CGI and it looks like it will. Before i forget a few shots before this we get a nice shot of the Hanka building Hanka will apparently be the main antagonists of the movie.

We get a nice new look at Scarlett as the major and while she doesn't give two much away we do get to see some of her attitude in this scene which in liked.

I like the look of the city they've made it look like the anime but at the same time have also made it look a bit more modern and a bit more dare i say hip at the same time which was something that i really liked.

The next few shots are basically just the major walking through the city while a voice over goes over the scenes with her saying that people are connected to something that she isn't connected to this could most likely be a soul since the major is a full on robot she would not have a human soul.

We also get the same shot from one of the 5 teaser videos that got released but this time round we find out that the person that the major is talking to is indeed her girlfriend who as far as i know doesn't have a name yet.

After we get a shot of some Hanka workers we get to briefly see what the company is working on if you havn't seen the trailer yet i won't spoil it but it does lead me to believe that the puppet master will play apart in this film.

Next we get to see another scene from the anime remade for the film and i have to admit the effects are getting better and better for me and if you saw the Entertainment Weekly BTS video you get to see more of this scene as well.

The next few scenes are just brief action scenes that end with this really cool look at aramaki here played by Takeshi Kitano  apart from the major only he and Batou appear in this trailer so hopefully the rest of the crew will show up in future trailers.

A few shots later and we are treated to a very badass first look at Pilou Asbæk as Batou and i have to say in live action the character looks really badass so well done film makers for making him look great.

The very next scene is a remake of the boat scene from the anime and it looks like that the major and Batou will have some chemistry in this live action film we also get treated to a pretty cool action scene with Batou shooting a gun at some random unknown people

Now what's interesting is it looks like the film will give us some of the major's backstory and it looks like that backstory is a bit more adult for the PG-13 fanbase that this film is aiming for but it's still very interesting.

After that we just get a bunch of random action scenes thrown in there for good measure but what i didn't notice the first time i watched this trailer and have only just noticed is that one of those shots is from the final fight from the original anime only done in live action thus making me believe even more that the puppet master is involved somehow.

Lastly we get an unknown figure telling the major that someone has lied to her her whole life which i think is pretty disturbing we don't really get to see who this figure this but the scene does come with the shot of the major looking at a lot of dolls all hooked up to something which i think is really freaking cool.

Are We Entering A New Disney Renaissance?

Hello there Disney fans with the recent success of Disney films which have been getting more and more popular not only with the younger fans but also with the older fans i have to ask are we entering a new Disney Renaissance? Well lets find out.

Now the original renaissance started in 1988 and lasted all the way to 1999 and during those years the company released films such as The Little Mermaid , Beauty And The Beast , Aladdin and The Lion King to name but a few and all of these movies became hit films with there focus being on the characters and story rather then the jokes. Now people forget that there was a pretty dark time for Disney after that period had ended who here remembers Home On The Range , Treasure Planet , Fantasia 2000 , Dinosaur and Brother Bear all of those films flopped at the box office and gone was all the praise from critics and fans and i guess you could say this lasted until 2009 when something amazing happend.

In 2009 PIXAR and founder John Lasseter took creative control of the company's feature animation division and under his guidance we got films like Big Hero 6 , Tangled , Wreck It Ralph , Zootopia and the monster hit that was Frozen now that's not to say that he didn't make a few mistakes here and there after all he is only human as we also got The Princess And The Frog a film that got a good reception but didn't do well at the box office. Gone was the focus of jokes and traditional characters and in was the focus on characters and on telling great stories for the first time in years we got films that didn't adhere to the traditional Disney film and with Frozen we got a film that said girls don't need men to make them happy and that film focused more on the bond between the main leads while also poking fun and the older disney tropes.

I mentioned that Frozen did away with the traditional Disney tropes that's not exactly true tho as the company did release Mulan which tried to do the same thing however it doesn't do it as much as Frozen does tho as the girl still ends up falling in love and eventually marrying a prince. There is not doubt in my mind that we are now seeing more effort put into the characters and the world that they live in now i find myself caring for these characters i want to know what the next Frozen movie is and yes i even saw the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlFriend so it proves that i'm not the only one that is caring more and more for these characters.

Just like in this era of Disney films not everything in the renaissance era was perfect either does anyone remember Hercules because i don't but to that films credit trys to do a subject that most Disney films didn't do at that time and thats tackle Greek Mythology it still did well at the box office so well in fact it spawned a TV series and a straight to DVD movie.

So in short i would say that yes we are entering a new renaissance even if it is being called the "Revival Era" because now we are seeing movies that ten years ago no one would have thought to have made and because of that focus on creating interesting characters we now get to care about them and there journey and in the case of Frozen and Zootopia young girls now have characters that they can look up to so long may this period reign.

Keijo Is NOT Sexist A Rant About Louise Mensch

What is up anime fans i thought the next time we spoke with each other it would me reviewing Attack On Titan Part 2 Dubbed but nope instead i'm here to talk to you about Keijo!!!!! and the so called controversy so here we go.

So there was this article up on Heatstreet.com saying that the anime is sexist and child porn and while i'm no fan of the series i wouldn't use those words the article is by someone called Louise Mensch someone who was a politician and is now spreading BS stories on the internet anyway on to the article itself (which has since been either removed or made harder to find by the way).Mrs. Mench claims the anime follows normal practice by making the main characters look like little girls with large wide eyes i guess she doesn't know that's the whole anime industry then.

In that same paragraph she also states that the series is basically soft-core porn i don't know what kinds of soft-core porn she watches but this is just straight up lies right there there is no way that the series is even near soft-core porn and that the soft-core premise is now being paired with anime characters that according to her look like children even tho you can tell there over the age of eight teen and no longer in high school.

Also in the article she goes on to say that the character of Sayaka has the breasts of a pre-pubescent child  because apparently in her world women who want to look there age have to have huge boobs even tho most normal people come in all shapes and sizes.

Now this woman is a feminist and i don't hold that against her or what she believes in but she out right gets thing wrong not only about the series but about the anime industry as a whole well then i have to speak up and throw in my two sense but we havn't even got the best bit of the article yet the best bit is about to come up.

You see according to Mrs Mensch if your a fan of a series then you should "grow up and get out of the comics section" that line right there is a direct quote from the article and just goes to show you that as well as throwing shade over the anime industry she's also trying to insult fans of the series as stated before i don't like the series to me it's all T and A but i would never go as far as to insult people who like the show.

I'm not going to say that Keijo!!!!!!!!!! is a great series because to me it's not but it's also not sexist and not child porn either so when she says that it's all these it just goes to show you that she really doesn't understand the anime industry and she is wrong for trying to insult both it's fans and fans of anime in general.  

   

Top 5 Modern Cartoons

Well hello there cartoon lovers since my last cartoon themed list did pretty good i thought i would return with another one but this time focusing on my personal top 5 modern cartoons i must however state that this is just my own personal list so please don't hurt me :P

5) Ben 10 2016 / The Powerpuff Girls 2016

i really couldn't choose which one to put here so i went with both of them just because these two shows for me at least are pure escapist entertainment and since i never watched the original Ben 10 i can't say which is better and while the new Powerpuff Girls is indeed pretty bad it does have some good voice acting and some good episodes.

4) My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

I went with this series over Adventure Time because of two reasons the first being i couldn't find any reasons why i liked Adventure Time and the second being that not only has this show brought together two generations of fans but it also teaches you lessons that we as adults could adhere two every now and then.

3) Steven Universe

This is at number three because while it does have great writing and great songs since i only started watching the show near the end of season 3 i don't have that connection that the die hard fans have so this is more of a personal thing then anything else.

2) Milo Murphy's Law

This show to me at least is really strange but it has great witty dialog which i love and i find my self laughing at least once in nearly every episode plus it has Weird Al and that's a win for any show.

1) Mighty Magiswords

This show is just freaking funny as hell it has a premise that i havn't seen before the jokes nearly always hit and i like the animation it reminds me alot of shows like Tiny Toons and Animaniacs where they have these great funny leads and then surrounded them with crazy side characters and plots.

My Top 5 Iconic Cartoon Vehicles

Hello there cartoon fans you know i was thinking today about my childhood and things that really stuck out especially from cartoon shows and then i thought well why not make a list of my top 5 iconic cartoon vehicles and before i start one of these shows is based on a live action show but it did get a cartoon counterpart so it counts so let's begin.

5) The General Lee From The Dukes

I admit that my love for this car stems mostly from the live action show The Dukes Of Hazzard but it looks so good in animation form that i just had to include it.

4) The Turtle Van From TMNT 1980's Series

I loved this van growing up and what's not to like about it it has everything a turtle's fan could ever want it has gadgets and it has guns and all the turtle vehicles are somehow always stored in the van.

3) Thunderbird 2 From Thunderbirds

This choice is something that most Americans won't know about but it's some what of a British institution and i loved watching the original Thunderbirds when i was growing up in the 90's and the one vehicle i loved the most was Thunderbird 2 out of all he vehicles they had on that show this is the one that not only looked like it could do anything but could do so with some style.

2) Batmobile From Batman The Animated Series

Just look at this car it's so freaking cool and the fact that the animators went out of there way to make it look like the 1989 Batmobile is really something.

1) The Mystery Machine 

This car might not be the most reliable in fact it spends half of it's time breaking down but with a franchise as iconic as Scooby Doo all you would have to do is show someone just the side of this van and they know what it is instantly and the franchise is till on going it's been viewed by that many people over the years that it's earned it's place in Cartoon Vehicle history.

Wake Up, Girls! Seishun no Kage Review

Hello there anime fans i'm here today with the first true sequel to what i think is now the third best idol anime series ever Wake Up, Girls! Seishun no Kage so here we go.

The plot of this fifty five minuet follow up is that the girls have signed a major record deal in Tokyo and that company chooses to release there song 7 Girls War and that's really it it's a simple story but for this special it really works even if the film has pretty bad pacing.

The voice cast from the tv series all return to voice there characters and all of them do a really solid job with the script that there given but while they do a good job they don't really bring anything new to the characters all of them instead of being three dimensional characters end up just being 2D and i'm not blaming the VA's at all i'm blaming the writer.

The animation in this film / special is pretty good you can tell from the very start that there was a huge bump up in the budget and i'm glad that this franchise is being given a chance because i really want it to succeed. There was a lot of fluid looking animation in the special / film and lots of stunning backgrounds but i couldn't help but notice some lazy animation especially when it comes to the girls mouth movements.

As with any idol anime the most important thing is the music at least it is to me anyways and the three songs that are featured here are pretty good of course we have 7 Girls War but then we have two movie exclusive songs who's names i've forgotten but the last two songs do there job really well but nothing is going to top the awesomeness that is 7 Girls War and nothing ever will.

Ok people i've held this off long enough i have to talk about the freaking terrible ending the film for some reason chooses to end with no resolution which really p****d me off even if this film is just a part 1 you still need somethings to be resolved and something to lead you into part 2 and while we do get that last part we don't get the first part and the film chooses to end on a song. There is a mid-credits scene but really doesn't do anything and could have been the scene before the credits.

Overall guys i'd say that if you were a fan of the Wake Up Girls anime series and the Zoo spin-off then i suggest that you watch this movie because it gets you cought up with the characters that you love but that being said it has terrible pacing and pretty bad editing and you know my thoughts on the freaking ending i give this movie a solid 6.0 out of 10