May 15, 2012
May 02, 2012
Big Bad MamoJamma
I watched the first Lupin the Third film, The Secret of Mamo from 1979, again after not seeing it for a few years. I already knew Yuzo Aoki was involved as co-animation director, but I remembered the animation being a lot more limited than it actually is. While it's not quite as wild and full as his later work with the series in the 80s, it's still a joy to watch.
While the story feels a little overlong and maybe gets too absurd towards the very end, it's a really fun film. It's certainly more coherent than the later Gold of Babylon film, and while it's not as much of a general audience crowd-pleaser as Miyazaki's Castle of Cagliostro that followed it the next year, it's much more faithful to the original Lupin III comics in terms of humour, art and characters. Their relationships are explored in a really raw, mature way, more so than any of the other Lupin films. The sexuality is more overt (though still not nearly as explicit as the new 2012 series) and long-standing tensions that are usually only briefly mentioned finally come to the surface and affect the storyline, such as Jigen and Goemon's differing philosophies, their mutual resentment of Fujiko, and Jigen's brother-like relationship with Lupin. Similar to what I said in my post on One Piece Movie 6, this stuff probably won't be as enjoyable for viewers who aren't already familiar with these characters, but I think it would still be entertaining.
It's probably the funniest Lupin movie, which is good because Lupin is supposed to be a comedy, something that the new series doesn't seem to realize.
It's also a very atmospheric movie. The desert scenes feel almost unbearably hot, because of the extreme lighting and the music.
I think Cagliostro is probably a better movie overall, even if Lupin's personality is severely watered-down in it. It simply has better, more focused storytelling, but obviously it's hard to compete with Miyazaki in that department. On the other hand, Mamo is a much more authentic, pure Lupin experience, so if you're looking at it in terms of how it fits into the larger franchise, it might win out. Their contrasting approaches are exemplified in their animation. Both are well-animated, but in drastically different styles.
Cagliostro (seen above) has soft, rounded, "cute" designs, and the movement is very naturalistic and smooth. The characters are basically stock Miyazaki faces and designs dressed up as Lupin and co. Mamo (as seen in every other picture) has lanky, angular designs with exaggerated features, and the movement is more stylized and over-the-top. I can see why this harsher style wouldn't appeal to as many people, since the characters sometimes resemble stick figures, but I think it works just as well... Apples and oranges, you know...
Anyway, this post was basically just an excuse to share some cool drawings from the movie, so here are some more.
This sequence, where they look inside Lupin's mind, never fails to make me laugh. We see live-action photos of naked women, with Zenigata and Fujiko popping up and finally Lupin himself, seemingly in a commercial for some orange candy.
While the story feels a little overlong and maybe gets too absurd towards the very end, it's a really fun film. It's certainly more coherent than the later Gold of Babylon film, and while it's not as much of a general audience crowd-pleaser as Miyazaki's Castle of Cagliostro that followed it the next year, it's much more faithful to the original Lupin III comics in terms of humour, art and characters. Their relationships are explored in a really raw, mature way, more so than any of the other Lupin films. The sexuality is more overt (though still not nearly as explicit as the new 2012 series) and long-standing tensions that are usually only briefly mentioned finally come to the surface and affect the storyline, such as Jigen and Goemon's differing philosophies, their mutual resentment of Fujiko, and Jigen's brother-like relationship with Lupin. Similar to what I said in my post on One Piece Movie 6, this stuff probably won't be as enjoyable for viewers who aren't already familiar with these characters, but I think it would still be entertaining.
It's probably the funniest Lupin movie, which is good because Lupin is supposed to be a comedy, something that the new series doesn't seem to realize.
It's also a very atmospheric movie. The desert scenes feel almost unbearably hot, because of the extreme lighting and the music.
I think Cagliostro is probably a better movie overall, even if Lupin's personality is severely watered-down in it. It simply has better, more focused storytelling, but obviously it's hard to compete with Miyazaki in that department. On the other hand, Mamo is a much more authentic, pure Lupin experience, so if you're looking at it in terms of how it fits into the larger franchise, it might win out. Their contrasting approaches are exemplified in their animation. Both are well-animated, but in drastically different styles.
Cagliostro (seen above) has soft, rounded, "cute" designs, and the movement is very naturalistic and smooth. The characters are basically stock Miyazaki faces and designs dressed up as Lupin and co. Mamo (as seen in every other picture) has lanky, angular designs with exaggerated features, and the movement is more stylized and over-the-top. I can see why this harsher style wouldn't appeal to as many people, since the characters sometimes resemble stick figures, but I think it works just as well... Apples and oranges, you know...
Anyway, this post was basically just an excuse to share some cool drawings from the movie, so here are some more.
This sequence, where they look inside Lupin's mind, never fails to make me laugh. We see live-action photos of naked women, with Zenigata and Fujiko popping up and finally Lupin himself, seemingly in a commercial for some orange candy.
April 20, 2012
Stooges, Lupin and Genius Party
I've been working hard on my student film, the freelance gig and the next
Fester Fish short (which I'll be posting some work from shortly). But as
always, I've also been watching things. Specifically...
The Three Stooges
I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm a huge fan of the original shorts (at least the Curly ones) and I knew it was a passion project for everyone involved, so I wasn't worried about the intentions behind the movie. It just seemed like such a terrible idea-- a full-length movie with one-dimensional characters created for shorts over 50 years ago, with new actors? Another factor was simply that modern life isn't as physical as it used to be, so there isn't as much to work with in coming up with physical comedy. I thought it might just regurgitate old jokes or feel out-of-date. But I was pleasantly surprised.
First of all, it was very funny. I couldn't stop laughing throughout the entire movie, and it was all original material! No jokes were recycled other than the general eye-pokes, double-slaps and Stooge shtick. Secondly, the impersonations and likenesses of the characters were spot-on. Third, it didn't feel too out-of-date or striving to be timely, except for a cameo by the Jersey Shore cast. But almost all of their screen-time consisted of them getting physically abused, so I didn't mind. I had a great time with this movie, and if you like the Stooges, or slapstick in general, you will too.
Lupin III: A Woman Called Fujiko Mine
I like this new series for the most part, although there's not enough comedy so far for me to agree with the people saying this is the closest the anime has ever come to the Monkey Punch comics. I still think the Yuzo Aoki stuff came closer, but this series does capture some other aspects of the early manga very well.
It has great exaggerated designs (although a little over-detailed for my taste; as an an animator I prefer less pencil mileage). The music, while not as memorable as Yuji Ohno's work, is fitting. I do love the opening theme, a sort of neo-classical/ 60s psychedelic piece called "New Wuthering Heights." I hate the visuals that accompany it though, and that's actually my biggest problem with the series-- way too much nudity. I don't mind a little bit of fan service, but Fujiko is naked almost half the time in this series, often for no discernable reason in the story. It just becomes embarassing to watch after a while. I'd have trouble recommending the show because of this, but if you can get past the nudity, it's pretty enjoyable so far (only the first three episodes have come out). There are talks of the production falling seriously behind schedule, which is worrying. The third episode did look pretty poor compared to the other two, but hopefully this is an isolated incident rather than a sign of things to come.
Genius Party & Genius Party Beyond
A few months ago I watched the anime anthology Genius Party. Yesterday I finally got around to seeing Genius Party Beyond, which I liked overall a lot more than the first one. I was slightly disappointed with the first GP film as a whole, but since all the shorts were all created as part of one big project rather than two separate anthologies, I prefer to look at it that way. It was pretty uneven, as most anthologies are, but I really enjoyed Happy Machine, MoonDrive, Wanwa the Doggy and Tojin Kit.
Here are a couple of screenshots from MoonDrive. All four of the shorts I listed had really great art and animation, but I think this one translates the best into still images. For instance, a picture of Wanwa wouldn't even give a hint as to what makes it so amazing.
Anybody who's interested in animation should find at least one short they really like in the Genius Party films, given the huge variety of art styles, subject matter and storytelling techniques.
The Three Stooges
I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm a huge fan of the original shorts (at least the Curly ones) and I knew it was a passion project for everyone involved, so I wasn't worried about the intentions behind the movie. It just seemed like such a terrible idea-- a full-length movie with one-dimensional characters created for shorts over 50 years ago, with new actors? Another factor was simply that modern life isn't as physical as it used to be, so there isn't as much to work with in coming up with physical comedy. I thought it might just regurgitate old jokes or feel out-of-date. But I was pleasantly surprised.
First of all, it was very funny. I couldn't stop laughing throughout the entire movie, and it was all original material! No jokes were recycled other than the general eye-pokes, double-slaps and Stooge shtick. Secondly, the impersonations and likenesses of the characters were spot-on. Third, it didn't feel too out-of-date or striving to be timely, except for a cameo by the Jersey Shore cast. But almost all of their screen-time consisted of them getting physically abused, so I didn't mind. I had a great time with this movie, and if you like the Stooges, or slapstick in general, you will too.
Lupin III: A Woman Called Fujiko Mine
I like this new series for the most part, although there's not enough comedy so far for me to agree with the people saying this is the closest the anime has ever come to the Monkey Punch comics. I still think the Yuzo Aoki stuff came closer, but this series does capture some other aspects of the early manga very well.
It has great exaggerated designs (although a little over-detailed for my taste; as an an animator I prefer less pencil mileage). The music, while not as memorable as Yuji Ohno's work, is fitting. I do love the opening theme, a sort of neo-classical/ 60s psychedelic piece called "New Wuthering Heights." I hate the visuals that accompany it though, and that's actually my biggest problem with the series-- way too much nudity. I don't mind a little bit of fan service, but Fujiko is naked almost half the time in this series, often for no discernable reason in the story. It just becomes embarassing to watch after a while. I'd have trouble recommending the show because of this, but if you can get past the nudity, it's pretty enjoyable so far (only the first three episodes have come out). There are talks of the production falling seriously behind schedule, which is worrying. The third episode did look pretty poor compared to the other two, but hopefully this is an isolated incident rather than a sign of things to come.
Genius Party & Genius Party Beyond
A few months ago I watched the anime anthology Genius Party. Yesterday I finally got around to seeing Genius Party Beyond, which I liked overall a lot more than the first one. I was slightly disappointed with the first GP film as a whole, but since all the shorts were all created as part of one big project rather than two separate anthologies, I prefer to look at it that way. It was pretty uneven, as most anthologies are, but I really enjoyed Happy Machine, MoonDrive, Wanwa the Doggy and Tojin Kit.
Here are a couple of screenshots from MoonDrive. All four of the shorts I listed had really great art and animation, but I think this one translates the best into still images. For instance, a picture of Wanwa wouldn't even give a hint as to what makes it so amazing.
Anybody who's interested in animation should find at least one short they really like in the Genius Party films, given the huge variety of art styles, subject matter and storytelling techniques.
March 16, 2012
More Mini-Reviews
Here are my disorganized, sloppily written thoughts on movies I've seen recently. I'm very busy with schoolwork, my next Fester Fish cartoon and another project I've been hired on, so obviously this blog, which is meant to just be a place to post my own work, is taking a back seat at the moment.
Crayon Shin-Chan: The Adult Empire Strikes Back
So great. What I've seen of the Shin-Chan TV series reminds me of a Japanese version of South Park or the Simpsons. But this movie is a lot more dramatic than the show normally is. There's still plenty of comedy in it, and a couple of fantastic, silly action scenes, but there's a depth to the characters that I wasn't expecting. Funky designs and nice animation, a lot fuller than I was expecting.
Anatomy of a Murder
Surprisingly light and occasionally funny for an acclaimed courtroom drama about rape and murder from the 50s. George C. Scott is amazingly slimy and creepy, and Jimmy Stewart is great as always. It's three hours long, but it goes by really fast.
21 Jump Street
Wasn't expecting to like it until I found out it was directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the guys who created Clone High and directed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and co-written by the guy who wrote the script for the Scott Pilgrim movie. I never found Jonah Hill that funny before, but he does a good job in this. Channing Tatum is the real surprise though, he's actually very funny.
Three Days of the Condor
I'd heard good things about this 70s paranoia thriller, and I usually love that type of movie, but this was disappointing. It was confusing and overly complicated, and the big reveal at the end (spoiler: it's all about oil) is underwhelming. This would be forgivable if the movie had some good suspense sequences, but there were really only a couple of memorable moments.
Urusei Yatsura Movie 4: Lum the Forever
This reminded me a lot of UY Movie 2: Beautiful Dreamer, but it’s not nearly as cohesive or satisfying. While it manages to be quite atmospheric, and enjoyable as a series of bizarre vignettes, by the end the lack of any clear narrative drive becomes annoying. It’s telling that not even the director Kazuo Yamazaki can properly explain what it’s about. It does have some neat sequences though, and is worth a watch as it’s the final work of the crew from the actual TV series.
Crayon Shin-Chan: The Adult Empire Strikes Back
So great. What I've seen of the Shin-Chan TV series reminds me of a Japanese version of South Park or the Simpsons. But this movie is a lot more dramatic than the show normally is. There's still plenty of comedy in it, and a couple of fantastic, silly action scenes, but there's a depth to the characters that I wasn't expecting. Funky designs and nice animation, a lot fuller than I was expecting.
Anatomy of a Murder
Surprisingly light and occasionally funny for an acclaimed courtroom drama about rape and murder from the 50s. George C. Scott is amazingly slimy and creepy, and Jimmy Stewart is great as always. It's three hours long, but it goes by really fast.
21 Jump Street
Wasn't expecting to like it until I found out it was directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the guys who created Clone High and directed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and co-written by the guy who wrote the script for the Scott Pilgrim movie. I never found Jonah Hill that funny before, but he does a good job in this. Channing Tatum is the real surprise though, he's actually very funny.
Three Days of the Condor
I'd heard good things about this 70s paranoia thriller, and I usually love that type of movie, but this was disappointing. It was confusing and overly complicated, and the big reveal at the end (spoiler: it's all about oil) is underwhelming. This would be forgivable if the movie had some good suspense sequences, but there were really only a couple of memorable moments.
Urusei Yatsura Movie 4: Lum the Forever
This reminded me a lot of UY Movie 2: Beautiful Dreamer, but it’s not nearly as cohesive or satisfying. While it manages to be quite atmospheric, and enjoyable as a series of bizarre vignettes, by the end the lack of any clear narrative drive becomes annoying. It’s telling that not even the director Kazuo Yamazaki can properly explain what it’s about. It does have some neat sequences though, and is worth a watch as it’s the final work of the crew from the actual TV series.
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