By Maria Papagiannopoulou,
The ASIFA declared October 28 as International Animation Day (IAD) in 2002, designating it as the primary international occasion to honor the animation medium. The Grevin Museum in Paris hosted the premiere of Charles-Émile Reynaud’s Théâtre Optique on this day in 1892. Reynaud’s invention was outperformed by the Lumière brothers’ Cinematograph in 1895, which led to Émile’s bankruptcy. However, his public display of animation was noted in the history of optical entertainment as just somewhat preceding the movies produced by cameras.
The event has been observed in recent years in more than 50 nations and at over 1000 events on every continent. International Animated Film Association, a member of UNESCO, founded IAD. Cultural organizations are encouraged to participate in International Animation Day by showing animated movies, hosting seminars, displaying artwork and stills, offering technical demonstrations, and planning other animation-related events. Such a celebration is a fantastic chance to highlight animated films and increase public access to this form of art.
A unique art poster publicizing the event is also commissioned by ASIFA every year. Then, in order to ensure that everyone in the world can see the event, it is customized for each nation. Animators including Iouri Tcherenkov, Paul Driessen, Abi Feijo, Eric Ledune, Noureddin Zarrinkelk, Michel Ocelot, Nina Paley, Raoul Servais, Ihab Shaker, and Gianluigi Toccafondo contributed to earlier editions.
In the workshops, a wide range of animation art, including full-length animated films, historical features, animated shorts, and student films, is presented. These films showcase an astonishing variety of artistic mediums, including clay, sand, paper, computer, painting, drawing, and animated puppets and objects. It offers a wealth of opportunities for cross-cultural expression and communication because many animated films are non-verbal.
International Animation Day 2021 will be observed by ASIFA India with three days of action-packed events and programs for the public. Numerous activities were held on October 26, and October 27, and today, October 28, the celebrations will come to an end. Cultural institutions are invited to participate over the special three days by showing animated movies, displaying their artwork and still photos, hosting seminars and other events that might help promote the art of animation, and offering technical demonstrations to eager students.
For the uninitiated, “Vani” Saraswathi Balgam founded ASIFA India. Siva Kasetti, Ramakrishna Polina, Sanjay Khimesara, Sesha Prasad, Ramakrishnan Vinod, and Priyanka Ajit make up the leadership team. The best way to honor Animation Day is to watch a collection of movies that span the history of animation. From the first Disney Mickey Mouse cartoons through the legendary Wizards movie and up to contemporary shows like Avatar, which demonstrate the most amazing fusion of conventional cinematography and new.
Dig deep and you can uncover a vast variety of animation techniques that will generate some excellent variance in a subject, feel, and style. So take advantage of International Animation Day to explore the vast world of animation, go on some new adventures, and go back to some old ones. Some of the best animators:
- John Kricfalusi
John Kricfalusi, the creator of Spümcø is best known for his Nickelodeon program Ren & Stimpy. But his approach to and style of animation are what have had such a profound impact on the sector. He has given both novice animators and seasoned professionals alike a ton of advice on his art blog. Not to mention how his contributions to the animation industry influenced the visual aesthetic of numerous contemporary cartoons. The outrageous fashion of Ren & Stimpy will probably be remembered by everyone who grew up in the 1980s or 1990s. These timeless works are the ones that have a lasting impact on culture and animation.
- Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane is undoubtedly one of the most well-known animators in the world because he founded an entire empire of animated series. Family Guy came from one of Seth’s college projects called Life of Larry. That ultimately became Larry and Steve, a children’s short that was later turned into a primetime animation and pitched to Fox. Whew! Family Guy was canceled following season 3 despite gaining a sizable fan base. This was reversed a few years later when the program returned to television together with American Dad, a more recent program created in the same animation style as Seth’s!
- John Lasseter
John Lasseter, one of the founding animators responsible for Pixar’s success, is arguably the towering figure of animation behind the studio’s classic movies. He influenced the way 3D animation entered popular culture and was present during the creation of Toy Story. In reality, Toy Story was the first ever fully-digital film and it comfortably topped the box office charts after its release. That speaks something about the movie in general, not simply its use of 3D animation. However, it is also about the narrative, the writing, the voice acting, and the characters.
- Max Fleischer
You will not have to dig very deep into the history of animation to find Max Fleischer. He established Fleischer Studios and is an American animator of Polish descent. Some of the early cartoons that are still spoken about today were created by them. Characters like Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor were both developed substantially under Max’s reign in the early 20th century.
- Chuck Jones
You should be familiar with the name Chuck Jones if you have ever viewed any vintage Looney Tunes cartoons. He is a notorious animator who oversaw the direction of the majority of well-known Warner Brothers cartoons in the 1950s. Chuck produced a lot of the cartoon cliches that we have all come to recognize, such as funny expressions, motions, positions, and overall wacky shenanigans.
- Walt Disney
What else is there to say about the greatest animator of the 20th century? The world’s most well-known animator without a question is Walt Disney. His name is almost always associated with animation. He should be on this list, but I was not sure if I should, because it seemed obvious. However, I was able to find more documentaries regarding Walt Disney’s work than anyone else. There was no way I could omit him from my list.
References
- International Animation Day, asifa.net, Available here
- International Animation Day, national today.com, Available here
- Famous Animators You Should Know By Name (2D and 3D), conceptartempire.com, Available here
