Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for May 14, 2011

On Mother’s Day weekend, I watched the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith I thought it was going to be stupid compared to the original 1984 version with Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki “Pat” Morita. Although I do like Chan, it was quite good actually; was able to see some similarities between the two (like “sweep the leg” in 1984 and “I want you to break his leg” in 2010 for example).

As for the 1971 version of The Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder and the 2005 version with Johnny Depp, 1971 is WAY better.

I don’t see any competition between hand-drawn and computer-generated animation. They’re two different, equally enjoyable media. But I wouldn’t want to see the old classics redone today!

In my day, we walked 12 miles to school, uphill both ways.

In my day we waited for a gmc suburban to ride the mile and a half to school, and it wasn’t even yellow.

\\//_

well said Destiny. There are a LOT of great CIG out there, but there’s nothing like the classics

I really prefer the old hand drawn cartoons, I worked at a drive-in and there were 24 pictures that had to be drawn for every second of cartoon. I also remember putting watching the “submaring races” on hold to watch the “Road ’Runner” cartoons.

Hand-drawn animation is much richer, IMO. CGI looks sterile and one-dimensional to me. “The Secret of NIMH” is the best example of hand-drawn, IMO.

I can’t read the last word in the middle panel Halp!

My kids were little to know adult watch at times tapes of old shows.

LOL!! I’ve got to admit that I read Joan’s line was “15 miles through buzzards”. I thought it was hilarious, and I might have to use it (even though I now realize it’s “blizzards”) :-)

I love good animation however it’s drawn. And I like it to have good story lines- some of the newer ones are too simplistic and just throw-away nonsense for toddlers and or teens.

Whether hand-drawn or CGI, the difference between a good animated film and a bad one is mostly in the story. But as long as animated films are primarily considered “kid’s entertainment”, they’ll keep setting the bar low. The “classic” Disney movies weren’t made strictly for kids, although they were “appropriate” of kids; they appealed to ALL ages (the same goes for the old Looney Tunes). And that’s not just a matter of throwing in enough throw-back pop-culture gags into the dialogue to keep the babysitters from chewing their arms off in the theaters. There can be depth of character, real emotion as opposed to cheap sentiment, real moments of drama, and real wit.That being said, I don’t think either traditional animation or CG animation is living up to its full potential, visually. With virtually *no limits* to what the animators can put up on the screen, it’s frustrating that everything ends up looking the same. Early on, Disney settled into a “house style” (perhaps it was necessary, because a 70-minute feature requires a LOT of hands working independently, and the finished product needs to have consistency), and all of their competitors copied that. They’ve been moving a bit away from that lately, in that “Mulan” didn’t look quite like “Pocahontas”, which didn’t look quite like “Lilo & Stitch”, but they all still look like Disney movies. Likewise, as much as I love Pixar’s movies, they’re in danger of settling into a “house style” of their own.If you want to see whan can be accomplished by animation, check out the (mostly independent) short films, which are being produced in the hundreds every year, but you’ll rarely if ever get a chance to see them. In both the hand-drawn and CGI (or CG-assisted) categories, the range, on a purely visual level, of what’s being produced is impressive. The winner of this past Oscar for Best Animated Short, a film out of Australia called “The Lost Thing”, was produced by computer, but it looks nothing like a Pixar film, or “Shrek”, or anything else you’ve seen from a major studio.

vldazzle, consider my comment, at least the first portion of it, to be an appreciative elaboration of yours. I think you posted while I was writing mine…

Thanks, shytimes2, it’s good to BE back. I’ve actually been here for about two weeks, but I’ve been so busy catching up with other stuff that I haven’t been able to login on GoComics until late evening, and at that point it’s not really worth posting…

Will I dream, Dave?

In my day, we rode our bikes, or walked, the mile and a half to school — both ways!! And on the way home, we stopped at the local pharmacy and filled a small brown paper sack with penny candy to enjoy on the way. Recently I saw a sign in a 7-11 advertising penny candy for 5 cents! The times they are a-changin’!

In eighth grade my teacher had the same conversation with my class, she was only in her 20’s AND our whole class of 13 and 14 year olds agree with her. That was 7ish years ago but I don’t think we’re all that old. It’s just a question of discrimination and a good eye.