Animation Saturday

So Saturday morning I got up at a semi-reasonable hour and went to meet a friend for breakfast. He occasionally does some work for Warner Brothers and had to pick up some stuff from Warner Animation in Sherman Oaks, so I met him there. He showed me around Warner a bit which was cool. Considering it was a Saturday morning, there were a lot of people there working. There was also a lot of cool animation art on the walls that I would have loved to have smuggled out of there, but I was good and kept my hands to myself. I figured I’d try and avoid a trip to jail if at all possible :) So after fucking around at Warner a bit we went and grabbed coffee and pastries and sat and talked about my script a little. This friend of mine has been in “the biz” for awhile and he had some good suggestions and insights. He also explained to me that he really can’t help me as much as he’d like. He can’t get involved in this project right now. I understand why not, but it still sucks. I’d like his help on this, but aside from moral support and just general suggestions, he’s staying out of it. Maybe that’s just as well… based on some of the events that take place in the script; reality could really end up mirroring fiction if he did. Sure, I’m a little disappointed, but I was never really expecting his help, so no worries… After breakfast we went and saw the new Miyazaki film, “Howl’s Moving Castle.” It’s a beautiful movie and is very typical of Miyazaki’s work. If you liked “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away” then you’ll like “Howl’s.” It’s actually a bit of a throwback film. It has a lot in common with his earlier films, “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and "Castle in the Sky." The characters are well developed. It’s funny and sad and the story is great. I’m torn as to whether or not I like it better than “Spirited Away.” I think I’d need to see it again before making that claim, but it is definitely as good. The overall story is better and it has a lot more depth. There are things you really need to “read between the lines” to get. Symbolism. Mythological references. There’s just a lot going on, and the film really works on many levels. I loved it. It will take its place among Miyazaki’s best and will become a classic of animation. It deserves to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film and I say that without having any clue what it’s competition will end up being.

"Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can't create it if you don't have one." -- Brad Bird