Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Jumping the 20 Year Divide:
Winsor McCay Award - Recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation.
Bill Plympton; Genndy Tartakovsky; Andreas Deja
This year the Winsor McCay Awards look a whole lot younger. Or the Animators getting the awards do. There is a reason for this. A little thing that we in the Animation History game refer to as the Dark Ages of Animation. A 20 year period from around 1955 to about 1975 when almost no new talent came into the field of animation.
I was talking to Dori Littell-Herrick over at Woodbury University about this phenomena just yesterday. "I started in 1979 a kid working alone side all the old greats and by the time I hit 40 I was the oldest person in the studio. I was too young to be the old guard." Be that as it may be Dori, you and a whole lot of other people were fated to become prematurely old guard.
This year at the 34th Annual Annie Awards the Winsor McCay Award honors 3 of this young old guard. Three animators that have truly had a major impact on the Art and Industry of animation, 3 animators who are still working, still changing the industry.
Stolen from a short Annie PR bio written by Tom Sito:
Larry Loc - ASIFA Blog Guy ¶ 9:07 AM
Winsor McCay Award - Recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation.
Bill Plympton; Genndy Tartakovsky; Andreas Deja
This year the Winsor McCay Awards look a whole lot younger. Or the Animators getting the awards do. There is a reason for this. A little thing that we in the Animation History game refer to as the Dark Ages of Animation. A 20 year period from around 1955 to about 1975 when almost no new talent came into the field of animation.
I was talking to Dori Littell-Herrick over at Woodbury University about this phenomena just yesterday. "I started in 1979 a kid working alone side all the old greats and by the time I hit 40 I was the oldest person in the studio. I was too young to be the old guard." Be that as it may be Dori, you and a whole lot of other people were fated to become prematurely old guard.
This year at the 34th Annual Annie Awards the Winsor McCay Award honors 3 of this young old guard. Three animators that have truly had a major impact on the Art and Industry of animation, 3 animators who are still working, still changing the industry.
Stolen from a short Annie PR bio written by Tom Sito:
Andreas Deja. Since coming from his native Germany in 1980, animator Andreas Deja has been a central player in the revival of Disney animation. His exceptional skill created Roger in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? King Triton in the Little Mermaid, Jafar in Aladdin, Scar in The Lion King and Hercules in Hercules.
Bill Plympton is one of the most successful makers of independent film in America today. Working virtually alone in his New York loft apartment, his output includes the award winning shorts Your Face, 25 Ways to Quit Smoking, The Fan and the Flower and Guard Dog; as well as the feature films The Tune, Mutant Aliens, I Married a Strange Person and Hair High.
Genndy Tartakovsky is one of the most influential animators in television today. His creations Dexters Lab, Samurai Jack, Star Wars Clone Wars and Powerpuff Girls have defined our idea of TV animation in a way not seen since Hanna & Barbera did it in the 1960s. He is currently creating a new version of the old Jim Henson classic The Dark Crystal.
Larry Loc - ASIFA Blog Guy ¶ 9:07 AM
