Art in Motion, Revised Edition: Animation Aesthetics

True to the description on its back cover, this book remains a 'comprehensive' treatment of animation aesthetics--but comprehensive pertains primarily to the US--which Furniss (California Institute of the Arts) acknowledges--with occasional references to Canada and Europe. Covering history, alternatives, visuals, sound/structural design, limited animation, stop-motion and digital animation, censorship, audiences, representation, and abstract animation, the book provides a thorough overview suitable for nonspecialists because of its facile writing style and numerous illustrations. But to be truly comprehensive, this book should cover a broader geographical area. A serious shortcoming of this revised edition is the skimpy coverage of Asia's rich tradition. Though Japan merits a page or two, China and Korea each get a paragraph, India even less. For example, the author makes no mention of China's exquisite brush painting style, Korea's 'multimation' experiments, or the very recent accelerated growth of animation production in India, Korea, China, and parts of Southeast Asia. Only two of the 129 illustrations are Asia-oriented, both of the South Asian cooperative venture 'Meena' (initiated by UNICEF in association with Hanna-Barbera Cartoons), with not one word of explanation about it. Those who do not own the first edition (1998) may wish to acquire this one. Summing Up: Optional. Undergraduate and general readers. -- ChoiceJ. A. Lent, Temple University, Dec. 2008

True to the description on its back cover, this book remains a 'comprehensive' treatment of animation aesthetics--but comprehensive pertains primarily to the US--which Furniss (California Institute of the Arts) acknowledges--with occasional references to Canada and Europe. Covering history, alternatives, visuals, sound/structural design, limited animation, stop-motion and digital animation, censorship, audiences, representation, and abstract animation, the book provides a thorough overview suitable for nonspecialists because of its facile writing style and numerous illustrations. But to be truly comprehensive, this book should cover a broader geographical area. A serious shortcoming of this revised edition is the skimpy coverage of Asia's rich tradition. Though Japan merits a page or two, China and Korea each get a paragraph, India even less. For example, the author makes no mention of China's exquisite brush painting style, Korea's 'multimation' experiments, or the very recent accelerated growth of animation production in India, Korea, China, and parts of Southeast Asia. Only two of the 129 illustrations are Asia-oriented, both of the South Asian cooperative venture 'Meena' (initiated by UNICEF in association with Hanna-Barbera Cartoons), with not one word of explanation about it. Those who do not own the first edition (1998) may wish to acquire this one. Summing Up: Optional. Undergraduate and general readers. -- ChoiceJ. A. Lent, Temple University, Dec. 2008

Maureen Furniss teaches on the animation faculty at California Institute of the Arts. She is the founding editor of Animation Journal.