Sunday, November 25, 2012

Fleischer Animation

I'm a huge fan of quality animation, and a lot of the early golden age of sound animation during 1930's is some of the best ever produced, despite the limitations of the time period. While several animation studios were around at that time, the top two were Disney and Fleischer. Everyone knows Disney, but the Fleischer's name isn't as well-known nowadays, though many of their creations, such as Betty Boop and Popeye, are.  I like the Fleischer Studio's animation best, mainly due to the surrealness of them, and the fact that they advanced techniques, such as rotoscoping and the stero-optic processes. It was miles beyond what Disney was doing, and far more interesting in my opinion. Unfortunately  things didn't last as they fell victim to the Hays Production Code, and corporate buyout by Paramount. The new management began downgrading the quality of the work and, and making all types of changes to the titles they had obtained. Eventually their popular franchises became just namesake without the heart and soul of the original. Another testament to what happens when money becomes the primary motivation.