Comments on: I’ve Been Barrier’d

by: andrew

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:20:58 +0100

nice informative blog, great inspiration

by: sukho

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:36:14 +0100

I think Barrier’s review demonstrates the (my?) problem with American mainstream animation attitudes. He seems to equate good looking, beautiful design with no heart or story or characters or ultimately merit. To dismiss so much great artistic work as beautiful to look at cars with nothing under the hood is pretty insulting on multiple levels to the artists and those of us who are passionate about animation as an art form, and not just a pacifier for kids. I guess this is a positive review, but the comment he makes about modernist animation being derivative and lacking the intellectual and emotional depth of Picasso and Matisse undercuts any kind of positive things he manages to say about these works and the book. If even animation-literate people still think this way, then we’ve got a long way to go. Even if we are finally getting around to talking about UPA, he’s still trashing it. He also seems to think in the case against Cartoon Modern that it’s significant that there aren’t many features mentioned because there weren’t any ones worth mentioning. Well, I don’t recall there being a great Bugs Bunny feature length film either (well, there’s Space Jam, but I didn’t see it). If you don’t think short films are worth anything then you’re watching the wrong medium. I had the great opportunity to see The Brotherhood of Man at the UPA show in Hollywood and it was inspiring not only as a work of art but it genuinely touched me (I’m Asian American) as a message of brotherly love across racial and ethnic differences. I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced that from an a traditional cartoon ever before.

by: T\'

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 08:12:30 +0100

It was an interesting review. I’m most of the way through your book for the second time. I think the really hard part for the average reader when it comes to comparing the two is not being able to see most of the animation in question. I’ve seen a few things on youtube (of which “Telltale Heart” was the most amazing) but unless we’re able to see more, we’ll have to just agree that the model sheets and frames are wonderful to see. I will say that I don’t think it was necessary to delve into the personal aspects of the animators and their relationships with each other. The book focuses on the art and does so quite well. Adding gossip and such would have detracted from that, I think. There’s just too few examples of the art in this book to dilute it with unneccessary dialogue, I think.