Animal Farm

The classic story of George Orwell's "Animal Farm" is retold through an animated film of the same name. The film version of Animal Farm was released in 1955 and animated by Halas and Batchelor. It appeared on a list of the 50 greatest animated films of all time but I am fairly certain that is because of the story it is telling rather than the visual animations themselves. 
This film was done more than 50 years ago so obviously the animations are not up to par with today's standards however I can't help but have an adverse feeling towards the way the movie looks. The animation style is very much of an old hand drawn movie which is to be expected. However, unlike the other animations of it's time, the animation feels purposely more serious than say a Disney movie. Granted this is a serious story but the animation, and I am saying any animation of this story, would still make the very serious main themes and topics seem like a juvenile trying to be adult. The very fact that this story was chose to be done through animation makes it's message weaker. Even in today's time when we have the physical capabilities to have actual animals through the help of computer animation perform this tale I don't believe it would be as effective as the written word. Some stories just can not be adequately captured visually.
Saying that, there are some aspects to the animation and expression of the story that I do like. For example, the camera angles used are often quite effective in showing the viewer a unique angle to the scene. There are often over the shoulder angles and things not typically done in animation of that time. Another bright point was the sounds and voiceovers used. The narrator is quite fitting for the story and many of the animals voices are notable.
I believe this animation is regarded as one of the 50 greatest because of the story, and I mean the written story by George Orwell. If this animated film were to have been released before the book Animal Farm was released, I don't believe it would have anywhere near as much lasting power. The film did not even stay true to the original's ending. Overall, I am disappointed not so much in the animation, but rather the attempt at all to make the story of Animal Farm into a visual medium at all. Some stories should remain just that. Stories, not visual drafts.

Spirited Away

My favorite animated film I have seen this semester, and most likely of all time, would be Spirited Away  written and directed by the great Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli.  Miyazaki is responsible for other such films such as My Neighbor Totoro and Laputa: Castle in the Sky and is largely regarded as one of the best director of animated films in the world. After watching Spirited Away, I have a pretty hard time arguing to the contrary.
First there is the actual animation of the movie. I can say without a doubt in my mind that this is one of the most beautifully animated movies I've ever seen. The colors seem to be just so much more vibrant than any I've ever seen in another animation. The look and feel of the world feels fully fleshed out as if it actually exists. The food, an animated mainstay in Miyazaki's films, physically makes me want to eat every last piece of food shown. The sheer beauty of the one of the most iconic scenes of the film, the train running through the water, makes the viewer truly appreciate animation as not a little brother to physical actors as it is often viewed as but rather transcends the physical world with beauty that is not possible in this world. The character designs of the spirits are incredibly creative and fit perfectly with the surroundings.
This film's visual beauty is perfectly matched with an equal if not more interesting story line. The film follows a young girl in her journey through a magical world in an attempt to save her gluttonous parents. The creatively of the world is really evident in the story as the girl meets countless types of spirits and workers. The story is one of change and becoming a better person to obtain what you love. It really is a heartfelt tale.
The beauty of both the visuals and story are well documented with 36 awards, including an Oscar, and another 19 nominations. Spirited Away will not only go down as one of the best animated films ever but also one of the greatest films period.
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4126842624/tt0245429

Flash Components

One very useful free flash component I found online was a flash photo gallery by flashsources.net. It has a very clean design that is very versatile to any website that it may be implemented on. It has the ability to cycle through the images at a certain rate. You could have it set to change pictures every say 3 seconds. There is also a left a right chooser to go to the previous or next image. Another thing I really like about this gallery is at the top a thumbnail is shown of all of the images in the gallery. If someone were to simply click on a thumbnail, they would be brought instantly to that image.

Another good flash component I found was a menu bar with nice animation when the mouse is positioned over the buttons. All of the colors are customizable and the text within the buttons are also customizable through the xml file. It is a very simple but clean menu bar which also makes it very easy to incorporate in a different multitude of websites. The only complaint I would have is the physical look of the buttons. They seem to have too much of a glare on the button making it somewhat hard to read the text.

The photo gallery could be used extensively on many types of sites. Whether it be just a simple blog or an extensive showcase of ones photographs the gallery could come in handy. Anytime you are dealing with say more than 5 photos in a series this free component will come in handy. The menu bar component could also work with many different kinds of websites. It will be most effective on websites with a nice clean design as they lend well with a minimalistic design.

The Long Walk

          While generally all music videos today use the visuals to reenforce the audio component, this short does the opposite. It uses a set story and the music adds to this story rather than the story being a derivative of the song. This felt much more like a short rather than a "music video". This approach is not generally seen in today's musically inclined world so I was delighted to see the story put at the forefront rather than the audio. It deals with the different evolutions of a tiny little critter falling through water all the way to the beginning of modern man. The very end, however, ends exactly how the short began symbolizing the circle of life.
          The success of "The Long Walk" hinges on many aspects but for starters, the beautiful, often comical, hand drawn type of animation used sets the tone for the entire story. The animations are often not the most complex but the characters themselves are a joy to look at. These drawings are reminiscent of the cartoons I would watch as a kid. Right off the bat one can tell this animation will not make me cry, will not make me redefine my moral views of the world, but this film will make me smile. Often that is one of the most important things a story can accomplish.
          The colors used on the characters are bright and vibrant while the backgrounds often are washed out drawing the viewer's attention onto the action of the character. While this does create a somewhat abrupt divided between the character and its surrounding it is not to the level of distracting mainly due to the perspective. Nearly the entire film is done with the main character walking / swimming / crawling from the right side of the screen to the left. This allows the viewer to know exactly where a character is going and not get lost in the minimalist backgrounds.
          The actual sounds of this short film are the real bright points of "The Long Walk". To begin with, there is often some type of ambient sound, whether underwater, on land etc., during a lull in action that is almost soothing. As the character gets into some type of action the actual music begins and is fitting to the action to a tee. For example, after the character first begins to walk on land, the viewer can see in it's step and by the smile on its face that it is throughly enjoying itself. The music during this is upbeat with a very approachable sound. The ability to time these pieces of work with the actions involved in the story really do pull the entire film together.

Poetry Animations

The Language by Robert Creeley
This short animation does wonders for the understanding of the themes and message at the core of the poem. Word are constantly intertwined into our emotions, beliefs, and even struggles. Showing the systematic categorization of words into concepts that mean so much more than ink on paper lets the viewer viewer grasp the importance of language. How does one come to understanding love simply through a definition? Words are not bits of information humans use to simply communicate but are rather are emotions that have been translated into noise. It makes the viewer want to appreciate these words that can mean everything to one person and nothing to another.

This is a Letter by Rebecca Dunham 
Similar to the animation, the creator uses mostly all text to get the message of the poem across to the viewer. Instead of just showing the text in say a scrolling line by line manner, the animator creates such excitement and movement between the individual words that the viewer really is focusing on the words themselves. Because Dunham uses such descriptive language, drawing attention to these words really pushes the poem into a space where it can really be understood and appreciated.