This column was originally published on March 10, 2011 in the IDS Weekend under my column heading ‘Cine’cism
When you went to the movies many, many years ago, you got to see a newsreel, a short film, a feature and if you were lucky, a Mickey Mouse cartoon. That little guy was more famous than Shirley Temple.
Today there isn’t much of a market for animated shorts at the movie theater. That market has moved online in the form of independent viral videos, music videos or remarkable segments from otherwise popular shows.
But the studios once responsible for producing animated shorts for kids and adults the like have focused their attention on churning out poorly made Saturday morning cartoons or big budget, 3-D action extravaganzas with increasingly large sequel numbers on the end.
Now I’ll admit, “Kung Fu Panda” isn’t that bad. Even in loud, frenetic animated films, there is a considerable amount of craft that goes into making that panda somersault through the air, careening into everything, and then fart. Continue reading “No shorts? Is that all, folks?”