Huzzah! The triumphant return of TGIF! And to celebrate, I'm bringing back a piece of animation I did a few years ago. For the uninformed, between Dayton and Cincinnati, OH, there was a gigantic/horrifying statue on the side of the highway that appeared to be rising like a kaiju zombie.
It was Jesus.
Because of its appearance, it was often called "Touchdown Jesus," or "Big-Butter Jesus." Being gigantic and terrifying, the only logical thing for me to do was to convert the second coming into a monster filled video-game idea with Jesus as the main Kaiju. I called the idea: Rapture, the Video Game.
Incidentally, it actually DID get struck by lightning. Sadly it did not come to life, but I weirdly made and posted that video a few months before it got hit and burned to the ground.
Now it has been replaced by "Five-Dollar-Footlong Jesus."
You see it? Good. Watching that movie made me feel like I was one of those kids in the theater watching Star Wars for the first time back in 1977. Its fun, cosmic, and left me grinning from ear to ear.
Today I get to combine Superheroes and religion into one post! I heard a story about this on NPR and I just had to tell everyone about it. There's a new hero in Pakistan and she is called " The Burqa Avenger" or "The Lady in Black." By day, she is kind, educated, and strong school teacher Jiya by day, and a costumed fighter for social justice by night. The Avenger uses karate that employs books and pencils as weapons and can glide with her Burqa. This animated series tackles social issues that are relevant to its audience, and wrap it up in the colorful and dramatic dressings of a superhero story. In other words, this is really neat.
Her creator, Haroon Rashid, had some pretty awesome things to say about this project. One of the things he addressed was the use of the Burqa itself. To many it is a symbol of oppression and not of a liberated woman. Here is what he had to say:
"We chose the burqa because of course we wanted to hide her identity the
way superheroes do. She doesn't wear the burqa during the day — she
doesn't even wear a headscarf, or a hijab or anything like that; she
goes about her business as a normal teacher would. And so she chooses to
wear the burqa, she's not oppressed ... and on the other end of the
spectrum, a lot of female superheroes in the West are objectified, and
sort of sexualized in their costumes, like Catwoman and Wonder Woman,
and that certainly would not work here."
He does have a point.
He goes on to explain that The Burqa in this case functions like Batman's costume, a disguise to protect her identity, which is actually functional in doing so. It's like the opposite of a Domino Mask.
So wait, you're not Ryan reynolds?
The animated series has gained praise from children and parents alike, much of which for what its creator talks about here:
"There's a huge space for children's entertainment in Pakistan. There's
practically no local entertainment; ... a lot of the entertainment is
imported from the West; it's not relevant, socially relevant or
culturally relevant, and most of it's just entertaining junk, like,
let's say, Ben 10. ... They don't have any social messages, and
I think it's important to have positive social messages and themes and
morals. And a lot of young children who don't get the opportunity to get
a great education need programming which is entertaining and yet also
educational."
I hope this show does really well. I think educational entertainment is a great medium to support. And I think the world needs more superheroes that everyone can look up to; girls and boys, young and old.
The animation is alright, but the concept is awesome.
For more info, check out the interview with the creator on NPR,
A Special Edition of my Monday posts. Here is a taste of a upcoming project I am taking on with one of my fellow Austin area animators. Coming Soon to a Youtube near you!
A growing list of influential artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and creatives.
Ray Harryhausen
This week, I've come back to the blogging game, and I couldn't think of doing a creators post about anyone other than Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013), the father of special effects and stop motion animation. The man is responsible for the state of digital effects we have today due to his own innovation and implementation of stop motion effects. Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and so many others wouldn't have been inspired to create bigger without the movies the Harryhausen added his magic to.
But enough talk, lets get to showing off why Ray will never be forgotten.
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Now lets be clear, he didn't invent the process of stop motion animation. Willis H. O'Brien invented the process for the film The Lost World (1925) and made famous in King Kong (1933). Harryhausen was inspired by what he saw, and decided to get into animating. What Ray did with stop-motion that set him apart was his ability to integrate complex creatures and actions into equally complex live-action sequences. Mighty Joe Young was just the beginning.
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
This one has one of my favorite Harryhausen creatures. Who doesn't love a giant rampaging lizard.
It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955)
You don't really need a plot for this one. Giant octopus attacks San Francisco: GO. Here we see Harryhausen's love of tentacled monsters first come out. We'll see more of this later.
The Animal World (1956)
Now here is a gem. This sequence is full of old science and illogical anatomy, but Ray makes you believe those movements. its in the details, the moving while remaining still that trick you into thinking its alive.
This brief clip was a test for one of his dream jobs, animating effects for a War of the Worlds rendition. Sadly it never happened, but its still neat to see an animators fan art. So lets move on from giant raidioactive monsters and get fantastic.
Earth Vs the Flying Saucers (1956)
No tentacles here, just spinning saucers. Highly influential on Tim Burton, I must say.
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
This is all kinds of Harryhausen awesome. I love the movement of the cyclops the most. Take a moment to realize that he had to think of these movements one frame at a time, at 30 frames per second.
Mysterious Island (1961)
Watch for the bee, its amazing.
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Dynarama!
Now here is the most jaw dropping scene Ray ever did, in my opinion. just enjoy it.
One Million Years BC(1966)
Dinosaurs and Raquel Welch: what more could anyone ask?
The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
Gotta love Cowboys and dinosaurs. Watch that tail swish!
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974)
Six armed sword fighting goddess... Take that General Grievous!
Clash of the Titans (1981)
Here we have arguably the most famous of his works. Here we see Harryhausen, going out in style, by pulling out every trick he learned in his career: undulating snakes, flapping birds, jittery insects, graceful men, and twitching tentacles. Here is the last example of his patented Dynarama, being put to good use. I think his mind always existed in myth and fantasy; in the distant past or far into the future. He lived through his imagination so we could expand our own.
For a change, i thought I would show off a moving picture instead of a still one. This is just part one, and eventually I'll add some sound and throw it on Youtube. But for now, just enjoy a weird little animation featuring a giant mutant monster I made using Pivot.
Because of its appearance, it was often called "Touchdown Jesus," or "Big-Butter Jesus." Being gigantic and terrifying, the only logical thing for me to do was to convert the second coming into a monster filled video-game idea with Jesus as the main Kaiju. I called the idea: Rapture, the Video Game.
