Action Cartooning with Ben Caldwell

Havoc 05 · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:20 am Post subject: Don Bluth.

Just recently I have been enjoying several of his works. I never knew about him until just a few months ago.

He was once an animation director for disney, and spun off and formed his own animation company and helped make many films I enjoyed, but didn't know he was involved in.

Titan A.E. for one. And also The secret of N.I.M.H. (Which I still don't get but has nice animation.) and fieval goes west. classics of my childhood.

He did some of the animation for dragon's lair the game. ( I never knew that.)

Anyway I just felt like posting this. (I don't know for sure but I heard somewhere, he's dead now. Which if true would be a shame.)

the_batcomputer · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 2:51 pm Post subject:

Don Bluth isn't dead, just old (he's 71).
He left Disney the year I was born.
Generally he does great work, but his
box-office hits are off-and-on.

Havoc 05 · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:44 pm Post subject: Cool.

Thast nice to hear. I remember Titan A.E. coming out, and it was like the biggest deal ever.

I would sit in a furniture showroom watching them play a preview or something over and over.

It wasn't until years later I actually got to watch the whole thing.

And I agree, his art is good, but his movies we're kind of strange.

Rob the Badger · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:28 pm Post subject:

I liked Titan. I know it pretty much flopped but I liked it. Josh Whedon had a hand in making it.

Havoc 05 · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 1:53 am Post subject:

The ending to me seemed rushed... they had a lot of character development... some innovative ideas.. but at the end, just blow up dem aliens and take them becasue there pure energy.

which to me seemed to fast. they should have created an earth and fought the aliens en force or something.

But When I watch it now i laugh at the many cg objects I couldn't tell were there as a child.

I really like don bluths faces...

Jestar! · Joined: 27 Jun 2006 Posts: 337 Location: Taylor, MI

I love the Don. Mostly. I really liked Secret of NIMH (I had to watch it several times before I really understood what the heck was going on). I'm not a big fan of Fivel and Land Before Time. I guess I liked the first Fivel and first Land Before Time, but those two brands went on a little too long.
I never saw Titan AE and, truthfully, wasn't interested. Eh. I regret that he's been inactive (as far as I know) since that film.

Philbrush · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 965 Location: Australia

I love Don Bluth's stuff....I guess the first taste I really ever got of his work was with Dragon's Lair. , sadly at that stage I still hadn't seen Secret of Nihm.....

Titan AE is up there as one of my Favs in the animation department. I was hooked originally by a TV advert for the release, showing clips from the film, while playing Creed's Higher....that got me pumped for the movie....I havn't watched it for a while, but if I remember right, the song didn't actually feature in the film! It was also one of the first animations I bought with a making of featurette (pre dvd)

I'm pretty sure he was also involved in Anastasia as well, and another of my favourite, An American Tale (he has a way with mice)!

Vercingetorix · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 98 Location: Australia NSW

I've seen Titan A.E, Anastasia & i remember watching Fern Gulley way back which i think was done by Don Bluth, did he do a thumbellina animation too? ... meh I can't really remember

My favourite is also Titan A.E - but they made one of the biggest mistakes in Sci Fi; making the bad guy pure energy, my dad has aspirations of becoming a Sci Fi writer so he has a few books on the subject & i distinctly remember one of them saying to absolutely not make an Alien of pure energy it not only lacks creativity but it's simply not possible & Sci Fi is grounded in science.

that aside, I thought it was a great break away from the normal animated films you find, after all (excluding any japanese animation) how often do you see a Sci Fi animated feature film?

Philbrush · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 965 Location: Australia

Here is a list off IMDB that lists movies/tv he has had something to do with....also lists what he did on the film!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089940/

Oh, and I thought the Dredd or Dredge or whatever those energy guys were, were a bit lame! The fact that they are energy is kinda crucial to the film, but it probably could have been done different. I myself would prefer to see a bad guy with a bit more character and purpose, but it is probably one of a few animated films (mad in western countries) which almost seems targeted toward teens/adults rather than kids.

Vercingetorix · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 98 Location: Australia NSW

there are actually a few animated feature films I've seen that I thought were more targeted toward the young adult age group & have been made in the west, for example Dreamwork's animations aren't usually as kiddy as Disney's:
take El Dorado (my absolute favourite animation) or Sinbad, I can think of a few scenes or references from those cartoons that you wouldn't expect to find in any Disney animation.

Philbrush · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 965 Location: Australia

elbooga · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 7 Location: Ireland

Bluth had his studio in Dublin, Ireland and kick started the animation industry here. It was a big employer.
My favourite film of there's is either american tale or all dogs go to heaven. Towards the end the quality did go down quite a bit though. They closed in the early 90s.

Philbrush · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 965 Location: Australia

On youtube, Don has been listing some videos of him drawing some of his more popular character, and gives handy hints as well...well worth a look!

Here is a list of his vids

http://www.youtube.com/user/DonBluthProductions

he also has a tutorial site, you can join for a subscription fee, but a lot of this stuff can be watched on youtube....i'm guessing he will stop posting on youtube once he has enough subscribers!

http://www.donbluthanimation.com/

Cinsev · Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:53 pm Post subject:

neat!

but space ace all the way. anybody know it? its pretty much my favorite work of his and single handedly made me want to become an animator.

i have all the games for my compy dragons lair, space ace, dragons lair 2 and dragonslair 3 time warp

i love his stuff, but have a few friends who have met him and hear constantly that he is a HUGE back side. but really who cares, i dont need to talk to him to learn how to draw.

also check out the backgrounds for his films/games im serious when i tell you they are pieces of art all to them selves.!

Philbrush · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 965 Location: Australia

I played space ace once I think...when i was much younger, on an old commodore amiga....i played dragons lair a bit, but never finished it (I put this down to my attention span at that age, and it used to take forever to load each section)....I haven't played 2 or 3.

I really love the story of dragon's lair...I bought a comic based on the game, was quite good!