Jungle Emperor Leo (1989) TV Series Review: Final Part

The Confusing Conclusion (Final Thoughts)

Is this show's idea of 'the circle of life' too hardcore?

There is a lot death and self-sacrifice in this version of Kimba. In a sense, it explores the concept of 'the circle of life' in more depth than most versions. But it eventually becomes bogged down by being overly serious and depressing. So who is to blame about the series's inconsistent quality? Osamu Tezuka possibly did contribute to a few of the problems (The original manga is somewhat sporadic and had a few bizarre plot twists), but he can't really be blamed considering that he died after the sixth episode aired. It is possible that he had some say on the direction of the later episodes, but chances are we will never know.

Rintaro was in charge of directing the remaining episodes. It's just strange that the quality of Jungle Emperor suddenly declines half way through, when Rintaro's earlier episodes seem consistent with Tezuka's vision. In fact, Rintaro had worked for years with Tezuka before directing the show and was personal friends with Tezuka. Perhaps Rintaro attempted to make the show distinctive or else 'update it' for modern audiences. (But, apparently he forgot that this the show is supposed to be Kimba the White Lion not Ginga Nagareboshi Gin!)

So is this a series that should be recommended to Kimba/Tezuka fans or even anime fans as a whole? Simply put, the show runs for too long and eventually loses steam. It tries to keep its audience emotionally engaged by raising the stakes of danger. But, over time, it just becomes taxing to watch so many animals get shot, poisoned or electrocuted. It's frustrating because Jungle Emperor 1989 has such a prestige behind it and the early episodes (especially the first six) are great. The series is not the most terrible remake ever created, but it does become terribly misguided over time. If you want to watch a modern recreation of Jungle Emperor Leo, I would recommend watching the theatrical 1997 film instead of watching this show all the way through.

"Remember Leo, a leader is neither a boss or a king."

Final Rating: 3/5

About the Dub:
Part of the reason why this show remains so obscure outside of Japan is due to its dubber's infamous hack job. Unlike the dub of the original show (which is a bit hokey but decent by '60s standards), the 1989 series's dub by Pioneer completely changes its narrative flow. Episodes two and three were completely omitted, and only episodes one through fifteen were released on tape. Pioneer apparently tired to edit 'The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion' into something more upbeat, and just gave up after they realized the show would continue to get darker. In the process they rid the show of its charm, only to replace with it bad jokes or annoying dialogue. (In other words, the characters never shut up.) And the voice acting itself is just as awful, if not worse than the edits.

Thankfully, these terrible VHSs are long out print. Avoid them like the plague.

Jungle Emperor Leo (1989) TV Series Review: Part 3

 The Bad & the Confusing

The Pessimistic Second Half of the Series

Unfortunately for all of the praise I give this show, it is far from being perfect. From about episode 35 onwards, the series becomes obsessed with being as dark and edgy as possible which undermines much of its core meanings and values. Threats begin to show up more and more frequently and death becomes common place. This wouldn't be too big of an issue if Jungle Emperor 1989 balanced out some of its darker elements with more comic relief or signs of progression/hope, but the later episodes rarely do so. (This is something that almost all of Tezuka's manga always managed to do, despite that he had a fondness for semi-tragic and bittersweet endings.)

Jungle Emperor Leo is supposed to represent the complex relationship between humans and animals and how they must put aside their differences in order to understand each other. This is the 1989 version's main flaw. The early episodes do a decent job showing that 'not all humans are bad' and a certain number of them even featured the protagonists being saved by humans that they saw as potentially threatening. But then the humans start to become villainized a bit too much. For instance, in Episode 40, Leona's hunters return to the jungle to search for precious metals in Marody's mountain. This sets the series's final arc into motion, in which the animals proceed to battle the invaders, many of them fighting to the death...Episode 48 is not much better. Leo is tranquilized and is nearly captured by hunters, after wandering around for hours on end in a confused daze. (This could be used as a minor plot element, but stretching it out for a whole episode seems a bit excessive.)

Jungle Emperor Leo (1989) TV Series Review: Part 2

What's Good About It?

A poster depicting much of the series's cast.

The First Half of the Series

This series is very difficult to properly rate due to its varying degree of quality. Despite Jungle Emperor 1989's reputation, it is initially quite enjoyable. Indeed, the first six episodes are very accessible to Tezuka fans and classic anime fans (which makes sense as they were actually the last productions to be overseen by Osamu Tezuka before he passed away at age sixty on February 9, 1989). These early episodes are very concise, closely following the manga's narrative. The next 30 or so episodes are also quite good even if they are a bit less cheery. The series deals with many dense subtexts despite its deceptively cute looking exterior.

As Leo attempts to succeed his father, he is confronted with many challenges. Not all of the animals believe that he has the capacity to rule as his father did, and they often argue amongst themselves. Panja's (Leo's father's) jungle is a refuge for disenfranchised animals who have been been driven out of their homelands due to famine, feuds or human activities. The law of Panja's jungle decrees that no animal can kill or harm one another, so Leo must remain vigilant of law breakers. While humans are a concern, they only appear occasionally. The series's primary antagonist is Bubu (Claw), a scheming, dark-maned lion who holds a grudge against Panja after losing one of his eyes in battle.

Don't let his ridiculous sounding name fool you. In this version, Bubu means serious business. 

Jungle Emperor Leo (1989) TV Series Review: Part 1

Director(s): Rintaro, Osamu Tezuka (original concept, oversaw direction of first six episodes)

Company: Tezuka Productions

Year: 1989-1990

Country: Japan

Although it may look cute, this is one of the most polarizing remakes in cartoon history.

The Controversy about the Series*

In the past couple of years, Hollywood has gotten a lot of flack for its recent fixation with creating 'grittier' and 'more realistic' revisions of popular franchises ranging from the likes of the misguided Man of Steel to this year's summer blockbuster, Godzilla. Of course this is nothing new, back in the 1960s-70s the James Bond and Planet of the Apes film franchises were exceptionally popular and continue to be made today, and other countries spout out remakes frequently as well. The problem with many these reboots/remakes is that tend to focus too much on superficial aesthetics and end up ignoring the core values of the original property that they were supposed to represent.

Many have claimed this is the case with the 1989 version of Jungle Emperor Leo (aka The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion). The series has been accused of lacking the charm of the original 1960s show, and being devoid of any value beyond its much improved animation. It is often written off as a footnote in animation history compared to the '80s remake of Osamu Tezuka's other famous series, Astro Boy; and information about the series in English is surprisingly scarce (more on part of the reason as to why later). Yet, the remake has also been defended by members of its small community of fans. They claim that the series is a misjudged re-imagining that explores many dense topics that were skimmed over in the '60s version. The 1989 version of Kimba must have also been met with some success in its home country because it did receive several tie-ins and merchandise during its run in Japan (including a canceled video game).  

This is the one thing fandoms can agree on apparently.

Like the original 1965 TV series, the basic plot follows the exploits of Leo (Kimba) a young, white lion cub raised by humans who eventually returns to his homeland in order to follow his father's footsteps as ruler of the jungle. (Leo is an orphan. His father was shot by a hunter before he was born and his mother perished in a shipwreck after being captured by humans.) Both series also choose to focus on Leo's youth (with the later focusing on a 'teenage' Leo) rather than portraying him growing into an adult lion, as he does in the manga. Unlike the first series, the 80's show draws more influence from some of the manga's darker themes which were absent in the '60s show in order to appease the network standards. (This is even more apparent in the English dub). For this reason, the mood of Jungle Emperor 1989 bears more resemblance to the series, Onward Leo! (Onward Leo! was produced by Tezuka without his American partner NBC. It is a sequel to Kimba the White Lion, focusing on the titular lion's adulthood.)

Shift in tone aside, the other most obvious difference between the two TV series has to due with budget. The 1965 version looks very dated by today's standards and its animation is very limited/static, which makes sense given that it was the first color anime to be ever produced for TV. Kimba the White Lion's art style is very 'cartoony' compared to its newer incarnation. The remake's animation, on the other hand while somewhat dated, holds up quite well as its art style is more 'realistic' and modern looking.

For comparison's sake, here is the first episode of the 1965 show (of the English dub; sorry purists!).

…and the 1989 version (in Japanese).

*= No, not this controversy :p

Cowboy Bebop (TV Series Review)

Director: Shinichiro Watanabe

Company: Sunrise

Year: 1998-1999

Country: Japan

The anime for people who think they hate anime.

How does one even begin to describe Cowboy Bebop? It's one of the most critically acclaimed television series ever created. It's the Firefly of anime. It's one of the few shows that actually lives up to all of its hype. Cowboy Bebop was conceived during the late 1990s, a time during which the space operas and sci-fi dramas where exceptionally popular thanks to manga/anime series such as Crest of the Stars, Trigun, Outlaw Star, and, of course, Neon Genesis Evangelion. The production company Sunrise thus employed a team of talented industry veterans to create a show in similar vein to the above. The team consisted of: director Shinichiro Watanabe (Marcos Plus, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy), screenwriter Keiko Nobumoto (Wolf's Rain, Tokyo Godfathers), character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, mechanical designer Kimitoshi Yamane, and talented jazz composer Yoko Kanno. The primary goal of this team was to create a show that would defy genres and appeal to adult audiences.

Cowboy Bebop is set in the future year of 2071. The entire solar system is now traversable through hyperspace gates. Several decades earlier, in 2022, an experimental hyperspace gate exploded, damaging Earth, causing most of the survivors to abandon Earth and colonize other planets and astroids in the Solar System. Mars has become the primary hub of civilization. Due to the Solar System's enormous size, law and order has become hard to enforce. Crime abounds. Thus, a bounty hunter system is set up, creating a similar situation to the American Old West. (Bounty hunters are commonly called 'cowboys.')

Big Shot, a ridiculous TV bulletin show that informs prices on bounty heads.

The show centers around the various exploits and misadventures of a group of bounty hunters on board the spacecraft Bebop. Each of which have their own unique and contrasting personalities and (often tragic) backstories. Spike Spiegel is a former member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate. A skilled gunman and pilot with a biting sense of humor (Think of Lupin III, but as less of a woman chaser and less of a goof.), Spike is constantly haunted by his past, particularly by a beautiful woman named Julia and his rivalry with his former partner, Vicious. Jet Black is the team's engineer and cook. Although he doesn't like being called old, he commonly acts as a supportive father figure to the rest of the crew. Jet is former cop with a strong sense of justice and is a jack of all trades. Faye Valentine is a femme fatale who uses her assets and skill with firearms to get what she wants. Faye is generally mistrusting towards others and frequently runs off to her own device. She is constantly on the run from the law due to the debts she inherited and is unable to pay off…which is certainly not helped by her gambling addiction. Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski (or Ed for short) is a thirteen year old hacking prodigy. She is a fairly strange, androgynous looking girl, who often speaks in rhyme, refers to herself in third person, and frequently drifts off from reality. Ed is the show's primary source of physical humor and comic relief. She is almost always seen with Ein, an intelligent Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

Who is the mysterious woman and what has she got to do with Spike's past?

The series is often billed as space adventure drama, but it is much more than that. While Cowboy Bebop is an anime program, its wide variety of influences and heavy references to Western culture make it very accessible to non-Japanese audiences. Cowboy Bebop certainly excelled at its goal of defying genres. It's a hodgepodge of Film Noir, Cyberpunk, intense drama and medium aware humor. Although set in space, many of the episodes take place in urban inner city areas. It avoids many of the cliches used in the sic-fi genre. There are no giant robots, space aliens, or laser guns. The environments in the film often look used or run down. The technology used in Cowboy Bebop is mixture of that advanced beyond our own and relics from the later half of the 20th century. The various colorful characters that appear throughout Cowboy Bebop's 26 episodes are ethically diverse. All of this gives the show a truly unique, somewhat strange, but truly inspired and relatable feel.

Welcome to the future, the used, gritty future.

Another  big draw of this anime is its diverse musical score composed by the eccentric and brilliant Yoko Kanno. Reflecting the diversity of its cast and Western influences on screen, Cowboy Bebop sports a soundtrack consisting primarily of jazz and blues (It's called Bebop after all!), along with rock, heavy metal, rap, and even gospel like music. (Much of the music on display also originates from the fringes of society, reflecting the series's realistic, gritty style.) 

Obligatory theme song post.

Shinichiro Watanabe certainly loves films and makes several parodies and homages throughout the series's run. Several of the less serious episodes focus on spoofing a specific genre or movie. For instance, the episode, "Toys in the Attic," involves Spike and his teammates being attacked by a unknown presence on their ship (which turns out to have originated from bad food kept in the fridge), which ends up incapacitating most of them before it is destroyed. The plot is quite similar to Ridley Scott's Alien and also references 2001: A Space Odyssey. Another episode, "Mushroom Samba," invokes the feel of 1970s Blaxploitation films. (It involves a starved Ed and Ein chasing down a hallucinogenic mushroom dealer. Yes, it's as crazy and hilarious as it sounds.)

Outside of all of these parodies and homages, much of the show's humor (and relatability) comes from its cast's conflicting interests and personalities and the situations they wind up in. Whereas Jet is ever calm and the most rational of the crew, his conservative views and dedication to truth and justice sometimes put him at odds with Spike and, especially, Faye. At first look, Spike and Faye seem to hate each other. (In one scene, an exasperated Spike asks Jet what the three things he particularly hates ['kids, dogs, and women with attitudes'] are doing on his ship.) Ironically though, both Spike and Faye have several similarities. They are both very stubborn and determined. They refuse to show each other's true feelings towards each other, unless in the most dire of situations. Little lifelike details appear in Cowboy Bebop that several other anime series either ignore or lack. Unlike many other 'animal mascots' / 'team pets' Ein is realistically drawn and behaves much like a real dog would. The crew constantly combats with hunger and starvation when they are out of work. Heck, we even get to see what the Bebop's bathroom stall looks like!

As a broke college student, I can relate.

While certainly funny in places, Cowboy Bebop is even more well known for its sophisticated storytelling and dark, intricate plots. Indeed, while Watanabe admits that about 20% of the show is dedicated to humor, he also states the other 80% is centered around serious drama. Several heavy handed or controversial subjects are dealt with throughout Cowboy Bebop's run including: drug dealing, homosexuality, organized crime, terrorism, and religious cults. While some episodes contain little to no violence, others are quite brutal and feuds are often realistically depicted on screen. At times the anime has an existentialist and philosophical tone. Between all of the action sequences, many of the characters have quiet moments of solitude, as they contemplate about their pasts and the current state of their lives.

Spike, in particular, takes everything with a grain of salt. As he pushes forward towards an uncertain future, he simply states, "Whatever happens, happens." Themes of betrayal and self redemption also come into play. The anime's ending is left open ended. We are left uncertain if Spike has survived or not or what happens to the rest of the Bebop's crew. However, Spike has managed to make amends with his past and settle his score with Vicious. His (debatable) death is his redemption. Vicious can be essentially seen as Spike's shadow. Whereas Spike is able to contain his anger and remain cool and level headed, Vicious is unable to control his tendencies. When threatened, he always acts out with violence. Vicious is unable to comprehend mercy.

Is it worth searching for meaning in the past, or should we simply move forward without looking back?

Faye, like most of the other characters in this show, faces crisis with her identity.

Really, I could go on talking even more about this show. However, several people already have and, like all good things, this review must eventually come to an end. For those who haven't seen Cowboy Bebop, GO WATCH IT NOW. Trust me, you have no idea what you're missing out on. Well, until then…

…See you Space Cowboy...

Rating: 5/5

About the Dub: Unlike many other anime of its day, Cowboy Bebop has a stellar dub (by company Animaze), rivaling that of the dubs Disney gives Studio Ghibli's films. Some even consider it to be superior to the original Japanese voiceover. (In the case of Wendee Lee as Faye Valentine, I would probably agree with them.) The script follows the original cut very loyally and each character feels very real and three dimensional. Steven Blume (who was rewarded a 2012 Genius World Record for his prolific voice acting career) does an excellent job as Spike, being both subtle and volatile when needed. All of the other voice actors do a fine job as well.

Seriously, this scene gives me chills every time I watch it.

Kino's Journey (TV Series Review)

Director: Ryotaro Nakamura

Company: ACGT, Genco Inc.

Year: 2003

Country: Japan

Despite it's simplistic appearance, there are a lot dense subjects covered in this unusual little series.

I have a confession to make: I don't like most post-2000 anime series. The shift in animation style, obsession with pre-adolesent girls, excessive fan service, abundance of gore, and high school dramedies make me wary (and weary) of many popular anime. Fortunately, a show comes out once in a while that reminds me why I continue to watch and love it. 

One of the reasons why I avoid many anime.

Kino's Journey (Kino no Tabi) subverts many of these cliches. At first glance, this isn't too apparent. Kino's animation is rather limited, its protagonist has a large doll eyed face, and its opening theme is an overly peppy J-pop song. Outside of these factors though, the show bears little resemblance to the likes of Naruto or Inuyasha. Based on the light novel by Keiichi Sigsawa, the series follows a young traveler who journeys to various countries astride a talking motorcycle named Hermes. Kino only spends three days and two nights in each country, before moving to the next.

Each of the different societies that Kino and Hermes visit have their own distinctive cultures and flaws. Many of these societies have tired to find ways to alleviate their troubles. However, they often fail to predict the long term consequences of their ideas (such a one country that created an invention that reads peoples' minds). Some of the countries are hospitable and kind; others are corrupt and are ruled with an iron fist. The various people Kino encounters all have differing motives. While their motives may not seem justified at first, they are all merely trying to survive.

Kino meets some friendly, but rather eccentric locals. 

It's also interesting to compare and contrast the two main characters. Hermes is very childlike and naive. He constantly worries about his immediate needs and tends to live in the present. Because of his impulsiveness, Hermes is often used as a source of comic relief in tenser moments of the show. However, Hermes is also very curious and can be rather insightful about things he observes (even if does tend to mispronounce words or botch up famous quotes). Most importantly, Hermes gives Kino someone to talk to on her seemingly endless journey. Their friendship is represented by the fact that they need each other in order to travel. Hermes provides the speed, while Kino provides balance as she rides him.

Fun Fact: Hermes is a Brough Superior motorcycle, the same bike T.E. Lawrence of Arabia rode.

On the other hand, Kino keeps as calm as possible and tries to asses the situation before making any move. While Kino can appear distant at times and seem hard to relate with, she is actually a very kind person. Kino choses not to get involved in situations, unless she absolutely has to. Many times she is faced with difficult choices. She constantly must decide if she should intervene or not if the rights of others are being violated. Kino tries not to get overly attached to any place, as she is constantly on the move. She enjoys meeting people but is afraid of settling down, likely due to her past and own traumatic childhood.

Kino's gender is often discussed among the show's fans, as it is not revealed until the fourth episode. Kino is female, but looks fairly androgynous. Her hair is cut short. She wears baggy, practical clothes, and she often uses the Japanese masculine pronoun, boku, to refer to herself. (The Japanese language does not have grammatical gender, but the speech women and men use tend to differ.) Kino is a nonconformist. She prefers not to attach any labels to herself or other people. (This was something she learned from the original Kino whom she named herself after.) Thus, Kino refuses to let gender or any other any other category define who she is. 

A younger Kino and Hermes.

Kino's Journey is ultimately about the contradicting aspects of human nature and how we must make the best we can out of seemingly bad situations. Kino is reluctant to use violence, but always carries firearms for protection because she knows that people are not angels. Each of us has the capacity to do incredible good or bad. But the bad has a purpose: true beauty can only really be appreciated if there is pain.

Kino the pacifist.

Although Kino's Journey moves at a slower rate than many anime series, it benefits the show rather than hampering it. Kino's tranquil pace allows time for the audience to digest what they have seen on screen, as they try to wrap their heads around its physiological undertones. (Much of what takes place on screen is left for the viewer to interpret on their own.) If you are looking for an action-oriented, explosive heavy anime, you better look elsewhere. Likewise, if you are craving a highly complex drama, with multiple characters, you won't find it here. However, Kino's Journey's minimalism works largely in its favor. The anime is straight to the point, it does not gloss over the ugliness of life, but it is not overly pessimistic either. 

This show is a testament that a high budget and special effects wizardry are not necessary to make a compelling storyline and create distinctive characters. Substance over style always trumps style over substance. If all we see on screen is escapist comedy and brainless action, it amuses for a while, like candy, but it has no value beyond that. Kino' Journey is a show to be thoroughly digested and analyzed.  

"The world is not beautiful, therefore it is."

Rating: 4/5

About the Dub: While ADV Film's dub is not the worst one out there, it is recommended that viewers stick to watching the original Japanese. (This shouldn't be too demanding, since the animation in this show can be rather static.) Kino's voice actress, Kelli Collins, sounds a bit old for the character and her voice is often monotonous. This isn't an issue in scenes where Kino is quietly contemplating things, but her performance can be a bit lacking at times. Cynthia Martinez as Hermes is another story. Her acting sounds overly raspy and 'cartoony'. Hermes is a comic relief bike, so one may think he lends to a funny sounding voice, but this one just comes of as irritating. All of the other background characters sound merely serviceable. 

10 Notable Female Animators

Outside of acting, relatively few women get recognized for their efforts in the film industry. This is particularly noticeable in the animation field. While things have certainly improved since the earlier half of the 20th century (where a women had little hope of doing anything but inking, painting, or in-betweening), it is still far more common for female animators and directors to work independently, rather than within the studio system. Female comic book artists are also more common, perhaps for the same reason. Many of them (such as Kaja Foglio [Girl Genius], Kate Beaton [Hark! A Vagrant], and Tracy J. Butler [Lackadaisy]) have met great success 'publishing' on the internet. While women still aren't nearly as common as male cartoonists, they have began to appear in larger numbers in recent years. Below is a list of the ten notable female animators that helped pave way for other artists in the field.

1. Lotte Reiniger

Reiniger's complex stop-motion technique is based on Chinese shadow puppets.

Lotte Reiniger is commonly acknowledged not only as the first significant female animator, but also as a pioneering stop-motion animator. Lotte grew up in Berlin and first became fascinated with film after seeing the works of Georges Melies. In 1918, she was assigned her first major job, animating the wooden rats created for the intertitles for Paul Wegener's The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Shortly after, Reiniger began directing her own short films in her trademark silhouette cutout fashion. She directed seven shorts between 1919 and 1922, which were produced and photographed by her husband, Carl Koch.

After three years of hard work, her feature length film The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) was finally released, beating out Snow White by over a decade. The film was loosely based on One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, and met enough success to allow Lotte to direct a second feature, Doctor Dolittle and his Animals, in 1928. Unfortunately, Lotte and her family were forced to flee Germany after the Nazi regime took control. She lived out the rest of her years in Paris and in London, were she continued to make short fairytale films for advertising companies, BBC, and Telecasting America.

Prince Achmed is the oldest surviving animated film.

2. Lillian Friedman Astor

Friedman was one the first women to work at a major animation studio.

When Lillian Friedman Astor was rejected by Disney, she was not deterred. Instead, she applied to rival studio Fleisher Brothers in 1930 at the age of 19. Within three years, she was 'secretly' promoted from the lowly rank of inker to head animator by Shamus Culhane. She was responsible for animating many key scenes in the popular Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons, as well as several Comicolor titles. Her work includes: "Can You Take It?" (1934), "Betty Boop's Prize Show" (1934), "Be Human" (1936), "Hawaiian Birds" (1936), "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor" (1936) and "Pudgy and the Lost Kitten" (1938).

Although she didn't always receive screen credit and was paid considerably less than her male counterparts, Friedman was apparently very pleased to have a job at Fleisher. So much so in fact, she was rumored to have named her dog Popeye! In 1939, Freedman retired from animating in order to raise her family. Despite her short career, she inspired several others to follow her footsteps and not to be afraid to showcase their talents in a traditionally male run profession.

The classic cartoon "Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor".

3. Mary Blair

While technically not an animator, Mary Blair hugely influenced the look of many classic Disney films. 

Perhaps no other women at Disney was as well recognized as Mary Blair. She first began working at Disney in 1940 alongside her husband Lee Blair, after previously working at Ub Iwerks Studio and Harman-Ising Studios. Unlike other female employees at Disney at the time (such as Retta Scott and Retta Davidson), Mary Blair was a concept artist and a scenery designer. Blair's art is characterized by her bold use of colors, angular forms, patterns, and simplified shapes. Her style was heavily influenced by her 1941 trip to various South American countries with other Disney artists, as part of Roosevelt's 'Good Neighbor Policy.'

Her designs and storyboards were crucial in the process of creating several animated features including: The Three Caballeros (1944), Song of the South (1946), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953). After briefly resigning from Disney after Peter Pan and working as a childern's book illustrator, Mary Blair helped create the It's a Small World attraction for Disneyland in 1964. Additionally, she created several murals for the theme park up until 1971. For those interested, much of Blair's artwork can be viewed here.

A sampling of Blair's unique concept art.

4. Faith Hubley

Faith and her husband, John, reviving an oscar in 1966. 

Faith Hubley began working in the film industry at only 15, when she left home to work in a theater. She made her way to Hollywood three years later. Her first job was as a messenger for Columbia Pictures. Later, Faith worked at Republic Pictures, where she became a music editor and scripts clerk. In 1955, she married animator John Hubley, who had previously worked for Disney and UPA. Soon after, they founded their own independent company, Storyboard Studios. The goal of the studio was to produce one film per year. Both Faith and John made a total of 20 shorts together, between 1957 to 1977.

These films met much acclaim due to their free-form visuals and use of dialogue from actual childern (usually their own), as opposed to using adult actors. Indeed, much of the dialogue in their shorts is nonlinear in nature, and often focuses on relishing things in life that some might consider mundane. The best known shorts the two made are arguably "Moonbird" (1959), "The Hole" (1962), "A Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature" (1966), and "Windy Day", all of which won or received Oscar nominations. When John died in 1977, Faith continued to make films on her own up until her own death in 2001. (It should also be noted that Tissa David [who was the second female animator to direct a feature film, and animated the female lead in Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure] frequently worked with the Hubleys.)

A still from "Windy Day" (1967) demonstrating the Hubleys' minimalist style. 

5. Sally Cruikshank

Quite possibly the most abstract animator on this list, Cruikshank's films are like no other.

Sally Cruikshank's work is undeniably weird, but extremely creative and mesmerizing. She was drawn to animation at a young age, citing the surreal 1930s shorts of the Fleisher Brothers, Bob Clampett, and Carl Barks's comics as influences. After completing her education at Smith College and thoroughly studying an animation book by Preston Blair, Cruikshank released her first piece in 1971, the three minute "Ducky". Encouraged by feedback from her peers, Cruikshank enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute. After graduating, she produced her most well known short, "Quasi at the Quackadero" (1975), which features two of Cruikshank's reoccurring characters, the infantile Quasi and the temperamental Anita. In 2009, "Quasi" was added to the National Film Registry, and it was voted #46 in the 1994 book, The Fifty Greatest Cartoons.

Cruikshank produced several other surreal short films during the 1970s and 1980s, including "Make Me Psychic" (1978) and "Face Like A Frog" (1988). In 1980, she proposed an animated feature about her duck-like character entitled Quasi's Cabaret, but the project was ultimately abandoned due to funding issues. However, Cruikshank is fondly remembered by many Gen X'ers for an entirely different reason: she animated several segments for the program Sesame Street.

Cruikshank explains her animation process.

6. Ellen Woodbury

Woodbury working at Disney Studios.

Ellen Woodbury made history in 1994, when she became the first woman animator at Disney to supervise a major character. When Woodbury first entered the field of animation, things looked pretty grim. In the early 1980s, very few studios produced films or television series beyond simplistic children's entertainment. Thus, Woodbury was stuck at the uninspiring Filmation. In 1985, her talent was noticed, and Woodbury moved to Disney. She started as a cleanup artist on The Great Mouse Detective, and eventually was promoted to animator on Oliver and Company and The Little Mermaid. Soon after, she animated several iconic Disney characters including Abu (Aladdin, 1992), Zazu (The Lion King, 1994), and Pegasus (Hercules, 1998). In 2005, Woodbury left Disney and became a full time sculptor. She currently teaches character animation at the Art Institute of Colorado. (Anyone who would like to read more about Woodbury can visit the blog, The 50 Most Influential Disney animators, here.)

A model sheet of Abu for Aladdin. 

7. Suzie Templeton

Never heard of her? She's one of the most talented stop-motion artists around.

Perhaps no other career is as time consuming as being a stop-motion animator. Up until a few years ago (thanks to the invention of 3D printers), the average stop-motion film took around five years to make. For this very reason, the technique is less commonly used than other forms of animation. Yet a handful of artists have perfected the craft. One of them is Suzie Templeton.

Interestingly enough, Templeton was not originally inserted in becoming an animator. Although she helped her brothers make several homemade movies during her childhood, Templeton graduated in sciences and held odd jobs in different countries for several years. Dissatisfied, she went back to school and switched to humanities. It was only after seeing Wallace and Gromit, that Templeton entered the realm of animation.

Although she originally planned to work for commercial studios like Aardman, Templeton found the studio model incompatible with her style. So she decided to work independently on more personal projects, than to appeal to the masses. (Perhaps this is because her films tend to deal with dense subjects, such as unhappy marriage, loneliness, and death.) Templeton completed two short films at her university, the Royal College of Art, "Stanley" (1999) and "Dog" (2001), which met much acclaim. In 2006, Templeton released her take on "Peter and the Wolf", a half an hour testament of her skill. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Currently, Templeton is working on an undisclosed feature film.

All of Templeton's puppets are extremely detailed.

8. Nina Paley

Independent animator, cartoonist, and free culture activist.

Nina Paley is one of the most active female animators today. She made several short films starting at the age of 13, but did not really begin experimenting with animation until 1998, after she published two moderately successful comic strips, Nina's Adventures and Fluff. Some of her shorts made during this period include: "Pandorama" (1999), the world's first camera-less IMAX film, "Fetch!" (2001), a humorous take on optical illusions, and "The Stork" (2002), a commentary about overpopulation and consumerism.

In 2008, Paley generated much attention for her first feature film, Sita Sings the Blues, which interprets the Indian epic The Ramayana from Sita's perspective and compares it to Paley's own marriage struggles. Due to issues with clearing rights for the film's soundtrack, Paley has often criticized the inefficiency of copyright laws. (Perhaps this best demonstrated by her short, "Copying is Not Theft" [2009]). Currently, Paley writes the comic-strip Mimi and Eunice, and is working on a second film entitled Seder Masochism.

In order to fiancee her projects, Paley works as freelance artist. Notably, she designed the Cruzio Wireless cat logo. Paley is entirely self taught. Although she studied art at the University of Illinois, she never took any formal animation classes. Her work may seem simplistic from a technical standpoint, but her attention to detail and sense of composition makes up for it. Paley boldly tackles many controversial topics that many other animators and directors tend to gloss over or avoid, but she does so without being overly mean spirited and with a good dosage of humor.  

Sita Sings the Blues proves that even Flash animation can be used creatively.

9. Brenda Chapman

Chapman is likely the best known female animator today, thanks to Brave (and the controversy surrounding it).

Brenda Chapman has certainly been in the news a lot lately, but her career in film stretches back to 1989, when she worked as a story trainee on Disney's The Little Mermaid after graduating from CalArts with BFA in character animation. Chapman served as a writer and storyboard artist for many renaissance films, such as Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994), and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). She also worked on several DreamWorks films and co-diercted The Prince of Egypt (1997), making her the first woman to direct an animated feature at a major studio.

In 2003, Brenda moved to Pixar. Five years later, it was announced that she was to direct the company's first fairytale film, The Bear and the Bow, which eventually was renamed Brave. However, Chapman was removed as director due to creative disagreements, and replaced by Mark Andrews. Despite her dissatisfaction with her removal (and move to LucasArts), Brenda was happy with the film's results, and how it remained loyal to the mother-daughter relationship she wanted to portray.

Some impressive concept art for Brave.

10. Lauren MacMullan

Lauren Macmullan (right) with producer Dorothy McKim (left) at the D23 expo. 

Macmullan has directed and storyboarded for several companies over the years. Her speciality seems to be writing for television shows, as she has worked on The Critic, The Simpsons, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, which are some of the most widely acclaimed animated series ever made. Her first venture into film was The Simpsons Movie (2007), where she served as the feature's sequence director.

In 2009, Lauren began creating storyboards for the proposed Pixar film, Newt. Unfortunately, Newt never saw the light of day, due to concerns about its plot being too similar to two other animated films coming out the same year. Lauren Macmullan now seems to be content working at Disney for the time being. She storyboarded Wreck it Ralph (2012), and recently directed a short film starring Mickey Mouse, "Get a Horse!"

Macmullan is known for her use of dramatic lighting and complex facial expressions, two aspects which can often get overlooked in TV animation. Coincidentally, there are two other recent female animators of note that go by the name of Lauren: Lauren Montgomery (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Wonder Woman) and Lauren Faust (The Powerpuff Girls, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic).

This Mickey Mouse short will screen alongside Frozen in November.

Five Anime Productions that Never Saw the Light of Day

There is no questioning the ever growing appeal of anime in the West. The medium was popularized not only due to audiences being curious about alternatives to Saturday morning cartoons, but also due to the combined talents of pioneers such as Osamu Tezuka, Hayao Miyazaki, Rintaro, Shinichiro Watanabe, and Hideaki Anno, just to name a few. However, as with the case of several American studios, some projects by famous directors never made it past the drawing boards or were put on indefinite hiatus. Producing high quality animation is certainly not cheap. Below is a small glimpse at what could have been.

 Miyazaki's and Takahada's Pippi Longstocking 

Production art for for the proposed film.

One hardly needs an introduction to Studio Ghibli founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahada. Their impressive filmography includes the likes of Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), Grave of Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1990), Princess Mononoke (1997), and Spirited Away (2001). However, the two had just started out in the early 1970s and were relatively unknown. Takahada's and Miyazaki's efforts on ambitious projects, such as Horus: Prince of the Sun (1968) and the original Lupin III series (1971-1972), were shunned and ignored for several years, as they were ahead of their time.

In 1971, Miyazaki and Takahada approached Pippi Longstocking's author, Astrid Lindgren, expressing intrest in adapting the property into an animated feature entitled Pippi Longstocking: The Strongest Girl in the World (Nagakutsushita No Pippi: Sekai Ichi Tsuyoi Onna No Ko). They even traveled around Sweden, making observations for their proposed film. However, Lindgren was not keen on the idea. This was likely due to her unhappiness with the 1949 film adaptation of her book. All that remains of Miyazaki's and Takahada's project are some proposed watercolor storyboards.

Miyazaki and Takahada compromised by creating an original project featuring a young, feisty redhead in pigtails, Panda Kopanda. The two films, Panda Kopanda (1972) and The Rainy Day Circus (1973) run at about half an hour each. They follow a girl named Mimiko, who is left to take care of the house when her grandmother is away. But when she returns home from the station she finds herself in charge of two unusual guests, a large Panda and his son. Keen eyed fans will notice that Papa Panda bares an uncanny resemblance to Totoro. Indeed, the Panda Kopanda shorts were training grounds for the relatively new filmmakers, and they greatly influenced the direction of Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro (1988). So in other words, if Miyazaki and Takahada had actually managed to obtain Pippi Longstocking's copyrights, there likely would never even been a My Neighbor Totoro!  

Storyboards for Pippi Longstockings vs Panda Kopanda.

Rintaro's Lupin VIII 

 

A still from the pilot, "A Man from the Past."

After having three television series and three feature films, American producers began to notice the immense success of the Lupin III franchise in Japan. Thus, the French company DiC (which previously collaborated on anime-like projects, Ulysses 31 [1981] and The Mysterious Cities of Gold [1982-1983]) and TMS, decided to adapt Lupin III to suit American tastes. In 1982, production began under legendary director Rintaro (Galaxy Express 999 [1979], Metropolis [2001]), who was given a large budget to work with.

But, making Lupin appeal to Westerners proved to be difficult. The Japanese series was aimed at a more adult audience, featuring frequent gunplay and innuendos. Since cartoons in America were deemed as 'kid's stuff' throughout the '70s and '80s (save for a few wild cards like Ralph Bakshi), Lupin's occupation as a master thief and his criminal outings were deemed unsuitable for childern. The series had to undergo a major makeover.

This whole scene explains why Lupin had to be changed for American audiences....

Lupin VIII is set in the 22nd century. It follows the descendant of Lupin III, who is a freelance detective that pilots a spaceship. Since smoking and guns were a big 'no no' for American cartoons, Jigen's trademark cigarette and pistol were replaced with a lollipop and a laser gun. Goemon's samurai sword was changed into a ... lightsaber sword. And Fujiko's sexuality was toned down considerably. Because Lupin VIII is not a criminal, Inspector Zenigata's descendent simply chases him based on past family history.

A promotional poster for Lupin VIII. 

The series did manage to produce a pilot episode, "A Man From the Past,". Although the episode's animation and sound effects were completed, the project fell through before dialogue could be recorded. Apparently, a second episode was scripted, but it has yet to emerge on the internet. Lupin VIII failed to get off the ground due to copyright issues surrounding the Arsene Lupin name. Despite that Rintaro was set to direct the series, it probably relieved many anime fans that the show was canceled. Lupin VIII had changed so much from its original incarnation it wasn't even Lupin III anymore! DiC seems to have realized this though. It came up with a compromise about another (but rather clumsy) detective, Inspector Gadget.  

So instead of a wily thief, we got an incompetent inspector. Great. 

Miyazaki's and Takahada's Little Nemo

The 1985 pilot for Little Nemo by Yoshifumi Kondo.

 TMS is one of the the oldest and most successful anime studios. Not only did it bring us Lupin III, but also Rose of Versailles (1979-1980), Sherlock Hound (1984-1985), Akira (1989), and Detective Conan (1996-present). In order to try and expand its international market, the studio decided to try and make a feature length production that would transcend cultural boundaries. In 1977 producer Yutaka Fujioka flew over to Monterey, California to negotiate with Winsor McCay's family. He wanted to create a Japanese / American coproduction of McCay's comic strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland.

The project grew to be very ambitious and expensive. Perhaps a bit too ambitious and expensive. Fujioka approached both George Lucas and Chuck Jones to help with the film, but both declined, noting Little Nemo was plagued with story problems. Fujioka did manage to gather many other talented people for the production, including Ray Bradbury, the French comic artist Moebius, several Disney animators, Brian Froud, and the Sherman Brothers. Both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahada were brought on board in the early 1980s as well. Their longtime friend and animator director, Yoshifumi Kondo, managed to create a short pilot trailer for the film, before they all left the seemingly doomed production and established Studio Ghibli.

Beautiful concept art for Nemo by Moebius.  

But despite this blowing loss, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland continued to clunk along. Osamu Dezaki managed to create a second pilot and Sadao Tsukioka created a third, now seemingly lost, pilot. Dezaki's pilot is considerably closer to the finalized version of Nemo, but still bares more resemblance to an anime movie than a Disney cartoon. In 1988, Yutaka Fujioka appointed Masami Hata and William Hurtz as the film's directors. The film was finally released in 1989, after twelve years in production.

Even though Little Nemo holds the distinction of being the first anime film to receive national release in the United States, it flopped. Nemo only earned 10 million for its 35 million budget. It failed to connect with both Japanese and Western audiences, in spite of all its superb animation and inspired visuals. There were simply too many artists with differing opinions involved, which the movie's storyline obviously suffers from.

Akira Kurosawa's The Masque of Black Death

Kurosawa doing what he does best. 

Akira Kurosawa was one of Japan's most important and influential directors. His contributions to Asian cinema include Stray Dog (1949), Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), and Ran (1985). Kurosawa not only directed, but also often wrote and edited his own films. His work ranged from historical epics to noir-like dramas.

In 1998, Kurosawa surprised everyone when he announced that he had written a screenplay for the short Edgar Allen Poe story, "The Masque of Red Death." The film was going to be his first animated feature. However,  Kurosawa died on September 6th that year of a stroke. Renewed interest in the project occured in 2008, and Kurosawa Production planned to have the film completed by 2010, in honor of Kurosawa's 100th birthday. That deadline has long since passed, and The Masque of Red Death remains in hiatus. Very little information is known about what the initial production would have been like, as no animated stills from the film have been leaked online.

Satoshi Kon's The Dreaming Machine

 

Promotional art for the film.

Outside of Studio Ghibli, perhaps no other anime director has met as wide acclaim as Satoshi Kon at studio Madhouse. His movies are often realistically animated, and deal with complex issues such as social inequality, homelessness, and exploitation in modern Japan. Satoshi Kon frequently used female characters as his leads, who often dealt with keeping grasp with reality. His best known works are Perfect Blue (1998), Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), and Paprika (2006).

In 2010, Kon announced that he would make a fantasy-adventure movie targeted for family audiences entitled The Dreaming Machine (Yume-Miru Kikai). The Dreaming Machine was to feature no human characters, and instead star only robots. The plot was to center around three robots (Ririco, Robin, and King) as they embark on some sort of road trip.

Tragically, Satoshi Kon was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. His health rapidly deteriorated and he passed away on August 24, 2010. Before he died, Kon did manage to get all of The Dreaming Machine's storyboards complete and asked his studio to finish his film for him as a last request. Madhouse put character designer and chief animator, Yoshimi Itazu, in charge of directing. As of 2011, 600 out of 1500 of The Dreaming Machine's shots were completed. The production was put on hold and its website was taken down. When asked about progress earlier this year, Madhouse still cites that finacial issues are keeping The Dreaming Machine from being completed.

A model sheet for the female lead.