Innovations in Animation - Part 3 - The Peanuts Movie

(copyright Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation, United Features Syndicate, and of course "Sparky" Charles M. Schulz)

Late to the party again, I finally borrowed the The Peanuts Movie screener DVD from work. After virtually growing up with all the original Bill Melendez animated TV specials from the 60's, I was hesitant to face a possible "South Park" kind of treatment of my childhood heroes. 

 But this film wasn't bad. As a family film, The Peanuts Movie is a nostalgic romp going through the key story points of the entire Charlie Brown saga: the childhood torments of grade school, his love of baseball and his longing for the distant, seemingly unattainable attention of the Little Red-Headed Girl. And of course, Snoopy relives his never ending aerial battles with the mysterious and relentless Red Baron. And then there is the actual design of the movie itself, and how the director Steve Martino and crew strove to stay faithful to style and charm of Charles Schulz' original comic strip.

 Looking back on my last entry, I'm beginning to notice how studios having been making big strides in creating 3D polygon models to resemble flat, cartoon shapes. As with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Blue Sky Studios worked overtime to take Charles M. Schulz' beloved Peanuts comic strip into the CG world, and then make it "flat" again. I used to think that the studios are using 3D animation in ways that it was "not meant to be used", in as far as the usual process of modeling, rigging and animating CG characters.

But The Peanuts Movie is a nice reminder of how CG can do virtually anything, and should not just be shoehorned into mimicking alternate concrete looking realities. Director Steve Martino described how their first attempts with traditional modeling and rigging just didn't cut it, and eventually switched to a stop motion style to maintain the illusion of Schulz' and Melendez' art and animation styles. On a smaller scale, shows like South Park and the Olive The Other Reindeer Holiday special may have solved similar issues in the past with these techniques.

To sum up, The Peanuts Movie is worth a look, and can be a warm, fuzzy torch to pass on to a new generation.

•  
  https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/charlie-brown-and-snoopy-the-peanuts-movie-animation-cheats/ 
   
  https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/the-tech-of-the-art-of-the-peanuts-movie/ 

 https://mashable.com/archive/making-the-peanuts-movie

 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/movies/review-the-peanuts-movie-curses-the-red-baron-in-3-dimensions.html

c • C • ɔ

 

Apollo 11 Anniversary

Okay, before the Eagle landed today, some other famous characters made it to lunar orbit first to test the procedures needed to make that historic landing. This was actually the Apollo 10 mission where the lunar module was nicknamed "Snoopy," and the command module was given the title "Charlie Brown."

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-charlie-brown-and-snoopy-in-lunar-orbit

 

https://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/snoopy.html 

 

(original copyright United Features Syndicate)

( Photo Credit: NASA)

 

Tom Stafford, the commander of the Apollo 10 mission

is seen off by Snoopy and Jamye Flowers (Coplin).

 

Joker Mashup... with Marcie?

Hello Batfans, and Charlie Brown aficionados, just blowin' off steam with another mashup.

(copyright Time/Warner and United Feature Syndicate)

With everything that's going on in the world, 

I just thought it would be funny to have Marcie assist the Joker for a while.

 The Joker would finally have Gotham City on it's knees, 

only to have Marcie question everything:

"Why did you do that sir?"

"Stop calling me sir!"

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus - CXC

Managed to stumble on this while channel surfing in Ohio before Christmas.

Very good discussion.

Will have to get back down to Columbus someday soon.

Charlie Brown Christmas 2014

Christmas comes and goes faster and faster.

(Peanuts copyright Charles M. Schulz, United Feature Syndicate, plywood cutouts by Mom and Dad, made in 1965)

 

No snow this Christmas, but I found some big changes on the home front.

May be in for it in 2015.

Salut.

KR.

Bill Melendez Charlie Brown Christmas

A great privilege to meet Mr. Melendez.
Got his autograph, (forgot the date)

(copyright Paramount, now copyright Warner Home Video)

Missed seeing this on TV this year, my VHS tape still plays, but it's wearing out.
Now I'm reminded of seeing this originally on CBS with the Coca-Cola ads, and the Dolly Madison ads...

It's been a stressed out year with the economy and hostile fat-cat politics.

I did begin upgrading the Animation Guild Computer Lab, will try to get more new gear and software in 2011.

Here's to better days,

K.R.