100 Animated Feature Films (Screen Guides)

New
Hardcover
2010
$51.03

Twenty years ago, animated features were widely perceived as cartoons for children. Today, though, they encompass an astonishing range of films, styles and techniques. There is the powerful adult drama of Waltz with Bashir; the Gallic sophistication of Belleville Rendez-Vous; the eye-popping violence of Japan's Akira; and the stop-motion whimsy of Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Andrew Osmond provides an entertaining and illuminating guide to the endlessly diverse world of animated features, with entries on 100 of the most interesting and important animated films from around the world, from the 1920s to the present day.

There are key studio brands such as Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, but there are also recognised auteur directors such as America's Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and Japan's Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away). Technologies such as motion-capture, used in films such as Avatar, blur the distinctions between live-action and animation. Meanwhile, lone artists such as Nina Paley (Sita Sings the Blues) and Bill Plympton (Idiots and Angels) make entire films by themselves.

Blending in-depth history and criticism, 100 Animated Feature Films balances the blockbusters with local success stories from Eastern Europe to Hong Kong. There are entries on Dreamworks' Shrek, Pixar's Toy Story, and Disney's The Jungle Book, but you will also find pieces on Germany's silhouette-based The Adventures of Prince Achmed, the oldest surviving animated feature; on the thirty year production of Richard Williams' legendary opus, The Thief and the Cobbler; and on the lost work of Argentina's Quirino Cristiani, who reputedly made the first animated feature in 1917.

Synopsis

Twenty years ago, animated features were widely perceived as cartoons for children. Today, though, they encompass an astonishing range of films, styles and techniques. There is the powerful adult drama of Waltz with Bashir; the Gallic sophistication of Belleville Rendez-Vous; the eye-popping violence of Japan's Akira; and the stop-motion whimsy of Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Andrew Osmond provides an entertaining and illuminating guide to the endlessly diverse world of animated features, with entries on 100 of the most interesting and important animated films from around the world, from the 1920s to the present day.

There are key studio brands such as Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, but there are also recognised auteur directors such as America's Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and Japan's Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away). Technologies such as motion-capture, used in films such as Avatar, blur the distinctions between live-action and animation. Meanwhile, lone artists such as Nina Paley (Sita Sings the Blues) and Bill Plympton (Idiots and Angels) make entire films by themselves.

Blending in-depth history and criticism, 100 Animated Feature Films balances the blockbusters with local success stories from Eastern Europe to Hong Kong. There are entries on Dreamworks' Shrek, Pixar's Toy Story, and Disney's The Jungle Book, but you will also find pieces on Germany's silhouette-based The Adventures of Prince Achmed, the oldest surviving animated feature; on the thirty year production of Richard Williams' legendary opus, The Thief and the Cobbler; and on the lost work of Argentina's Quirino Cristiani, who reputedly made the first animated feature in 1917.

$51.03

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Publisher: British Film Institute
Published: 02 Dec 2010
ISBN 10: 1844573400
ISBN 13: 9781844573400
Book Overview: ...this compendium couldn't be better timed. Flaunting both excellent taste and in-depth knowledge, Osmond 's book certainly won't disappoint aficionados...' - Total Film '...The effect is that we consider not only the individual title in question, but also the history of animated cinema as a whole; for Osmond it is all interconnected, and rightly so.' - The Digital Fix '...a learned attempt at an overview of full-length cinematic animation from the sublime to the whimsical...' - The Evening Standard 'At 246 pages this is a weighty-yet-compact hardback, which also includes a useful bibliography to aid further reading. Readers will inevitably come away from the book with a new appreciation for the world of animation...' - Jonathan Melville, Edinburgh Evening News '...this is an essential guide to 100 landmark movies that captures all the form's scope and vision.' Boyd Tonkin, i - The Newspaper 'Anyone who believes that animation is a niche or dying art would find their ideas challenged by this collection, which shows the depth and reach of the animation medium. Although each movie's entry is brief, it is to the point, and Osmond yet again shows his skill in teasing out the pertinent points and bringing fresh ideas to the table.' - NEO Magazine '...a thoughtful romp through every animation discipline...If you want animation-buff status, seeing this ton of 'toons armed with Osmond's insights is a pretty good place to start.' - Empire Magazine 'Now I have the complete bible of animated feature films, a beautifully put together book written by the clearly incredibly knowledgeable and passionate Andrew Osmond...100 Animated Feature Films is an incredibly worthy addition to any bookshelf (or coffee table) whether or not you consider yourself a film geek/buff/nerd. There is something for everyone to take from each brief yet entertaining excerpt and if today's staff room experience is anything to go by, a joint flick through this book's pages with some friends and/or co-workers will prompt some delightful trips down memory lane as well as many a 'oh, have you seen this film where...? It's bloody great!' quips sure to keep you in bottles of wine and comfy nights on the sofa for months to come.' - Filmwerk 'Osmond gifts the field with an informed, well reasoned, well written critical approach.' - www.aintitcool.com

Media Reviews

...this compendium couldn't be better timed. Flaunting both excellent taste and in-depth knowledge, Osmond 's book certainly won't disappoint aficionados...' - Total Film '...The effect is that we consider not only the individual title in question, but also the history of animated cinema as a whole; for Osmond it is all interconnected, and rightly so.' - The Digital Fix '...a learned attempt at an overview of full-length cinematic animation from the sublime to the whimsical...' - The Evening Standard 'At 246 pages this is a weighty-yet-compact hardback, which also includes a useful bibliography to aid further reading. Readers will inevitably come away from the book with a new appreciation for the world of animation...' - Jonathan Melville, Edinburgh Evening News '...this is an essential guide to 100 landmark movies that captures all the form's scope and vision.' Boyd Tonkin, i - The Newspaper 'Anyone who believes that animation is a niche or dying art would find their ideas challenged by this collection, which shows the depth and reach of the animation medium. Although each movie's entry is brief, it is to the point, and Osmond yet again shows his skill in teasing out the pertinent points and bringing fresh ideas to the table.' - NEO Magazine '...a thoughtful romp through every animation discipline...If you want animation-buff status, seeing this ton of 'toons armed with Osmond's insights is a pretty good place to start.' - Empire Magazine 'Now I have the complete bible of animated feature films, a beautifully put together book written by the clearly incredibly knowledgeable and passionate Andrew Osmond...100 Animated Feature Films is an incredibly worthy addition to any bookshelf (or coffee table) whether or not you consider yourself a film geek/buff/nerd. There is something for everyone to take from each brief yet entertaining excerpt and if today's staff room experience is anything to go by, a joint flick through this book's pages with some friends and/or co-workers will prompt some delightful trips down memory lane as well as many a 'oh, have you seen this film where...? It's bloody great!' quips sure to keep you in bottles of wine and comfy nights on the sofa for months to come.' - Filmwerk 'Osmond gifts the field with an informed, well reasoned, well written critical approach.' - www.aintitcool.com

Author Bio

ANDREW OSMOND is a freelance journalist and has written for a range of publications including Sight & Sound, Empire, SFX and the Guardian. He is the author of a BFI Film Classic on Spirited Away (2008).