From: wbarnes@sura.net (Bill Barnes)
Subject: Re: Oh no!  American vs. Japanese animation
Organization: SURAnet, College Park, MD, USA, NA, Earth, Milky Way
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 22:03:09 GMT

In article <1992Aug19.052342.13276@usenet.ins.cwru.edu> bn981@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Ryan Mathews) writes:
>I never claimed to be passing judgement on Roger Rabbit, Bill.  I rather
>like it.  But like you said, it doesn't break the mold of American
>animation and I was refuting the claim that it did.

OK.  I misunderstood.  Sorry about that.  [I don't think Roger Rabbit
broke the mold, but I think it may have expanded it a bit.  For a
while.  Before it contracted back to Disney fare again.]

>There's immaturity and there's immaturity.  Escapist fiction is immature
>by definition: a truly "mature" being shouldn't feel the need to get away
>from his life.

Boy, we must have an incredible shortage of "mature" beings then!  8->

>My reference was to the "immaturity" of the goofy, silly
>plot and characters, immature in that it appeals to children and the
>childlike aspects of our nature.  Compare the most serious scenes in DP
>and BGC with the most serious scene in WFRR?, and which do you think would
>come out on top?

Well, gee, WFRR? had some serious moments - Eddie's alcoholism and his
reconcilliation with his brother's death, the Judge who was an example
of cartoon violence taken to an extreme and applied to humans (who aren't
nearly as pliable as Toons).  The most serious scene from DP I can think
of is probably the one from 005 Conspiracy at the end when what's-his-face
died, while the most serious scenes from BGC usually involve Priss and
her hangups.

But while DP and BGC may have occasionally dealt with more serious
topics than WFRR?, they didn't necessarily deal with them more
seriously, if you get my meaning.  For instance, in the DP, planets
routinely get nuked, but you never see them going into any depth over
the repercussions, do you?  (And I'm not referring to secondary
explosions! 8-) I don't want to get into an argument over them, but
suffice it to say I do not consider DP and BGC clearly more "mature"
than WFRR?, which you seem to be implying (feel free to correct me
if I'm wrong).

>I've always had a problem arguing why I think anime is currently "better"
>than nearly all American animation.  The problem is words.  I sometimes
>complain about the art in American animation, how the faces are extremely
>stylized for effect.  Without fail, someone will shoot back, "Well, aren't
>anime characters stylized as well?  Big eyes blah blah blah?"  How do I
>explain the difference between the stylization in anime and that in THE
>SIMPSONS, BEBE'S KIDS, HAMMERMAN, BEETLEJUICE, and so on, where the
>characters don't even look vaguely human?

Umm, explain how they're stylized differently and you prefer the stylization
of anime over American animation (most of which is animated in the Orient
nowadays anyway, but hey...)?

>How do I describe the types of plots I want?  All the good words have been
>stolen!  "Mature" means sex.  "Adult" means sex.  "Not for children" means
>sex and/or violence.  How do I explain a plot whose themes might go over
>the head of a child, without having to appeal to sex or violence?

*shrug*  Literary, intelligent, thought-provoking...read a few reviews of
serious movies and see what words they use 8-].
-- 
Bill "Whassamatter?!  Can't you take a joke?!" Barnes   wbarnes@sura.net
Disclaimer:  The author apologizes for any thought-provoking material he may
	     have accidentally included and promises not to do it again.
Datclaimer:  My employers wouldn't WANT to share some of my opinions.