Vaughn Bode - Wizards and NYC Subway Art

Inner city NYC kids in the 1970's and 80's who had any drawing talent often carried not a sketchbook, but a black hardcover 'tag book'. Tag books were saturated from cover to cover with illustrations bleeding with color done in magic marker. This was a sketchbook for graffiti art. A 'tag' referred to a graffiti artist's nom de plume. Which usually was the subject of their art pieces found on subway cars.

Animated cartoon characters such as the Looney Toons, Disney and Marvel characters would often appear alongside these huge graffiti mobile murals, but the cartoon artist that arguably influenced graffiti art the most was Vaughn Bode.

Bode's characters Cheech Wizard, Lizard, Cobalt-60 or his voluptuous "Bode girls" like Belinda Bump were staples of graffiti art. Bode influenced many young urban artists to pick up a pencil (or a spray-can) inspiring them to create.

Bode entered the NYC underground comics world in the early 1970's along with his peers like Robert Crumb. Vaughn Bode called himself a "graphic animator" and and greatly desired to be an animator at Disney's. After a stint in California, Bode he made several unsuccesful attempts to enter the animation industry. This was pre-1975, roughly around the time Disney started its first animator training program.

It's only poetic justice that only a couple of years later Bode's work would inspire an animated feature film based on his illustration style: Ralph Bakshi's 1977 animated feature, "Wizards".

2012 is the 35th anniversary of "Wizards". A commemorative blu-ray and new book will be available later this year as noted on Cartoon Brew.

Below are three videos of a rare interview with Bode in 1974. (Thanks to mollybode on YouTube) He talks about turning down Stan Lee, his feelings about Disney and also mentions his friendship with the fantasy illustrator Jeffery Jones. (Catherine Jeffery Jones).

Vaughn Bode is the patron saint of all graffiti artists around the world and still continues to influence artists today. Vaughn Bode died in 1975. His son Mark continues to create art in the same style and spirt of his father.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Hollywood's Akira not dead...yet.

Production on Hollywood's adaptation of the 1988 Japanese animated film "Akira" has been shut down for the fourth time. However sources like Deadline, say the film is not dead. Is that like zombie "not dead"?

The film has been in development hell since Warner Bros. acquired the rights almost ten years ago. Big names have been attached and replaced as to who would produce and direct the film.

Its decision to use caucasian actors instead of Japanese actors has undoubtably placed a stigma around the film and its direction. There have been already serious rumblings calling for a boycott against the film.

It would be great if we knew that this film was to be remade like The Magnificent Seven remade the Seven Samurai. Or if it would result in iconic imagery like Fistful of Dollars from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo. (FYI. Kurosawa sued the producers for ripping off his film) But gut says something different doesn't it? The budget cut from $150 million to $90 million isn't helping either.

The more this film gets passed around and discounted like an old bottle of dimestore liquor, the more it feels there's something "greasy" going on. But maybe that's not just the film but just film business in general:

As film director Alexander MacKendrick once said, "...the money making is what the [film] business is about. The deal is the real product. The movie is just an incidental by-product of the deal."

Hate to say it but I think they would make more money just converting the original Japanese Akira anime to 3D and re-releasing it in theaters. I'm quite sure it would pull off the same surprise the Lion King 3D did last year.

CG Animation Trend Hits Japan....in 3D

By the way, the CG animation/ 3D release bug has finally hit Japan. Friends: Naki's Monster Island is not the first CG animated film from Japan, but it is one of the first major full length films marketed at kids.

I don't think there's going to be any CG vs. hand-drawn debate in Japan. The appeal of animated illustrations will have a very long life here. However due to the nature of CG animation, it will be interesting to see how the mindset towards animation will change in the future. With the exception of a few animation directors like Katsuhiro Ootmo (Akira, Steamboy) Japanese animation rarely has rarely "fully animated" dialogues between characters. Also with the exception of huge showpiece animated action sequences, animation is rarely shot on 1's and is notorious for having action animated on what looks like 3's or even 4's sometimes.

(To those who may not know, shooting on 1's and 2's refers to how many exposures a frame will have in an animated sequence. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is a good example of animation shot on 1's. Extremely fluid animation. Some say it's too fluid and looks swimmy. Generally, most feature hand-drawn animation is shot on 2's. If anyone remembers the choppy TV animation in the 80's...that's a good example of animation done on 3's and possibly even 4's....i.e. G.I. Joe, Transformers. Almost 100% of CG animation is on 1's.)

While American animation is always striving for realism, Japanese animation is generally "iconic" and symbolic. (Note what was done to Lilo and Stitch when it was transformed for Japanese audiences) Japanese animation will use virtual pictographs on characters faces to show emotion for comic effect: hashmarks over the face to show stress, fountains of tears that evaporate instantly. It will be interesting to see how this will play out in a CG environment. Note the last few frames of the trailer above.

My two cents: so long as Studio Ghibli never does a CG animated film, hand drawn animation will still be king in Japan.

The Direction of Animation as of 2011

There is yet another (but insightful) article and debate about the future of animation, cartooning and filmmaking in general at Cartoon Brew.

Not going to get into that debate here but it did bring to mind that despite all the things CG animation is praised for what it can do, it's interesting how much little attention is given to what it's not doing. Or rather how the medium is not being maximized nor fully exploited.

"Realism"seems to be the mantra of CG animation. To that I answer, "so what"? The computer can do so much, literally anything. However, it seems more attention is put on "replicating" life, rather than reinterpreting it. I liked Kung Fu Panda 2, but seeing all down to the little taste-buds in Po's tongue while he's screaming in 3D fails to impress me. At least the way it was done.

I remember a similar shot from John Kricfalusi's Spumco, Inc.'s animation on the Ren and Stimpy show. In that case, artists exploited that shot by ruthlessly caricaturing the sores, mis-colorations, and critters found on the character's tongue.

My point is there seems to be more editorial done in the process of hand-drawn animation rather than in CG animation. Not that it can't be done, but (correct me if I'm wrong) it just isn't being done. It seems producers are so wrapped up in technology, dazzling audiences with photo-realistic cartoons, they are overlooking the simplest points in getting a reaction from audiences. Just creating a photo-realistic image is not enough.

Since cartoons have proven to be a multi-billion dollar business there is more financial pressure on studios to minimize risks and losses. In that kind of ginger-footed environment, could a Tex Avery of CG animation be born?

Chuck Jones' 1963 short film "Now Hear This" is a perfect example of the editorial that hand-drawn just tends to inherently do. "Now Hear This", simple as it is, was a lot more entertainingly experimental than a lot of things in CG recently. It's not that CG can't do these things, it's just that unfortunately as of December 31st 2011, we don't see it being done enough.

John Carter of Japan

Excited to see animation directors Andrew Stanton and Brad Bird taking their aim at live action.

Films are marketed differently in Japan for obvious reasons. The "desperate to get the teenage-male demographic" for Disney's, "Tangled" was still titled "Rapunzel" here in Japan. The idyllic fairy tale paradigm still goes over quite well in here.

That might be the reason why "The Dark Knight" had disappointing financial results in Japan. The general consensus was that it was, well....dark. Japan's mainstream moviegoers don't really see being "jaded" or "edgy" as attractive a virtue as in the USA.

Nitpicking, but I wish they kept the "John Carter of Mars" title for the Japan release of Disney's John Carter. The Japanese coming attraction reveals a lot more about the plot than the USA versions. My only questions is what was John Carter doing in New York? I thought he was a Confederate from Virgina.

Little Inspiration

A photo I took on Shichigosan Day. I love the kid in the back. He almost looks like an animated caricature.

Happy 110th Uncle Walt -The Greatest Artist To Draw Without a Pencil

It's a day late here in Tokyo, but December 5th, 2011 marks what would have been Walt Disney's 110th birthday.

This is not Disney-phile rhetoric, but Walt Disney was a great man. In my Disney history snobbery I've said too much about his drawbacks: his attitudes towards people of color and women, his business policies, his *cough*, draftsmanship.

But none of that is really important ultimately.

Even the people who had reservations about Walt quickly admit he was brilliant and his contributions to the institution of film (and yes, world culture), immeasurable.

As I like to say, Walt was greatest artist to draw without the use of a pencil.

Cartoon Brew has a worthwhile link and note to his birthday, here.