"50 ... Influential Animators" profiles Vladimir.
... [U]nlike many animators who have great acting and emotions but limited draftsmanship or have excellent draftsmanship but less impressive animation and acting [Vladimir "Bill" Tytla] really was the big man on campus in both areas. ...
Mr. Tytla marks Numero Uno on "50's" Hit Parade, rolling out today.
The thoughts and observations of the leaders of The Animation Guild (TAG), Local 839 IATSE. Jason MacLeod is the Business Representative, KC Johnson is the President. Mike Sauer is Assistant to the Business Representative.
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18 comments:
I was surprised at this choice. I definitely thought he was leading up to Walt Disney at #1. Even though his work in the animation department was pretty much non-existent.
Milt Kahl ranked too low.
I personally feeel that Milt Kahl would've been placed no lower than 3rd place - and I think Frank Thomas is more influential than Ward Kimnall.
While I comment the kid for maintaining the list up through the end the truth is it's his own personal and very limited opinion. Very few professionals share his feelings.
Anonymous,
When you're talking about feelings of professionals contradicting mine are you referring to the placement, the number one choice, or the analysis? And what do you mean by very limited opinion? These answers help me understand how I can make my next blog better.- Grayson Ponti
I'd say the more experienced an animation professional is, the more they'd have to agree Bill Tytla ranked No. 1 by a long shot. Even Kahl thought so. His draughstmanship was second to non, and his ability to impart CHARACTER and FEELING was rarely, if ever, paralleled at the studio after he left. And he was the best actor of all of them.
And while Thomas is a good animator, Kimball was more influential both at the studio and among his contemporaries AND the industry as a whole.
I couldn't begin to list who's best among these guys because they're all great.
I never had the opportunity to work with the great Bill Tytla, but I did work with Kimball, Thomas and Kahl. No way could I tell you who was the best. All were Awesome animators. End of story.
I'm surprised Don Bluth was left off the list. Whether you think his influence was positive or negative, it's impossible to deny that he made a huge impact in the late 70's and throughout the 80's (even after leaving the studio).
While I comment the kid for maintaining the list up through the end the truth is it's his own personal and very limited opinion.
I know Grayson personally (and am very glad to) and he's never said what he was writing wasn't his opinion or that the list is animation dogma or anything. It's simply the 50 animators he admires most. I'm sure every animator who put together a "top 50" list would list the entries differently depending on their personal taste. It has nothing to do with age or how "professional" you are.
The whole point of having a blog is to express your opinion and whether you agree with the list or not is your personal opinion. Doesn't mean it's wrong. If everyone had the same views on everything, life would be very boring.
Oh my god, is anyone supposed to wade though that wall of words? Hey, kid, please learn the old adage, 'brevity is the soul of wit.' Your arguments aren't more convincing because you write like a filibustering windbag.
And paragraph breaks! Please.
Rude Anon above me: If you don't like it, don't read it. There's no need to be a jerk.
"I'm surprised Don Bluth was left off the list. "
You shouldn't be. And other than his leaving Disney (a GREAT thing for Disney, as he perpetuated the wallowing in bad storytelling and lack of character animation there(, any so-called contribution to the medium was for the worse.
I completely agree. Bluth has zero capacity for either story OR character. And his taste run from treacly to downright offensive. From banjo, to nimh, to pebble and the penguin-- his career is one big Onanism.
Wow. Some real Bluth hate in our midst. Milt Kahl would say different. But hey, what would he know?
http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Kahl/Kahl.html
He "thinks." And he was wrong. And almost all of the Disney old timers concurred, bluth knew technique, but lacked the storytelling and character building skills to make a great director. Hence they decided to start their own training program, and then CalArts.
almost all of the Disney old timers concurred
Really? Let's see some evidence.
"Bluth knew technique, but lacked the storytelling and character building skills to make a great director."
What was Spielberg thinking? What does he know about directing anyway? That whole "American Tail" thing really bombed didn't it?
Hence they decided to start their own training program, and then CalArts.
CalArts was in full swing long before Don left. Bluth Animation had its successes and failures like any studio.
There are Bluth movies I won't see because I don't like the stories. Same goes for any movie studio for that matter.
Here's the deal. Can you imagine getting millions of dollars to make movies in your own style. Work with an army of amazing talents that were dedicated enough to move to Ireland to make it happen.
Practically calling it quits many times when just around the corner a new project miraculously comes along. Leaving an animation giant to bring some healthy competition and see that same giant excel because of it. That's what Don did.
Geez, what a bunch of bitter nasty little people some of you are. Lighten up.
And if you don't like the ordering on the "50 Most Influential (mostly Disney) Animators" list then go write your own damn blog. He put a lot of effort into it and I enjoyed reading it.
(could it stand some editing ? Frankly, yes , but it's a blog , a personal web log, a journal , one individual's thoughts and opinions, not something pretending to be the last word on the subject.)
"50 Most Influential (mostly Disney) Animators"
You see that's the problem. Nowhere does it say "MY..." or "THE 50 Most Influential (mostly Disney) Animators on ME"
and the fact that it gets picked up by other sources (like this blog) leaves it open to criticism.
If he can't take the heat maybe he should have renamed the list.
The way he has titled this it appears like he is trying to make a definitive list that can stand the test of critics.
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