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ANIMATING SPACE J. P . TELOTTE TELOTTE KENTUCKY ANIMATING SPACE FILM STUDIES The University Press of Kentucky “The scope and detail of Animating Space are truly breathtaking. It will be the definitive book in this area for the foreseeable future.” —Wheeler Winston Dixon, author of Film Noir and the Cinema of Paranoia “A strong, original piece of scholarship that delivers in terms of conceptual scope, detail of research, and dexterity of textual interpretation and argument.” —Bob Rehak, Swarthmore College 9 780813 125862 9 0 0 0 0 animation, showcasing important innovations that elevated the medium from a rudimentary novelty to a fully realized art form. Telotte draws on leading interpretations of art, space, and narrative to answer questions about the source of a character’s life force, focusing on “space as a relativistic, perspective-determined phenomenon.” In his exploration of space in animation, Telotte adapts the perspectives of various theorists, philosophers, and art historians, such as Albert Einstein, Stephen Kern, and Anthony Vidler, while also drawing on work in other creative fields, including architecture and painting. Written for scholars and film buffs alike, Animating Space is an authoritative volume offering both a history of animation and an assessment of its impact on our culture and on the film industry. Telotte explores the antecedents of modern-day animation, demonstrating the impact of early technology, and considers how current digital and motion-capture movies may change the very nature of the film industry. J. P. Telotte, professor of literature, communication, and culture at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is the author of numerous books, including Science Fiction Film, Replications: A Robotic History of the Science Fiction Film, A Distant Technology: Science Fiction Film and the Machine Age, and The Mouse Machine: Disney and Technology, and is the editor of The Essential Science Fiction Television Reader and The Cult Film Experience: Beyond All Reason. ANIMATING SPACE FROM MICKEY TO WALL•E J. P . TELOTTE In animation, life begins with a single cel. An animator must construct an entire universe out of nothing and imbue it with its own spirit, or anima. Characters must be perceived by an audience as individuals with distinct personalities and must fit precisely into a fully developed world. This relationship between characters and their animated worlds necessitates complex decisions on the part of the artist. How does an animator create this microcosm of life in the strictly defined space of the screen or cel and produce a believable rendering of characters and worlds? In Animating Space: From Mickey to Wall-E, J. P. Telotte addresses the complex nature of creation in the art of animation, starting with the issue of confronting a blank cel, sheet of paper, or computer screen. The difficulty of creating life and space out of nothing was a challenge in the earliest animated films, such as Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo (1911) and Gertie the Dinosaur (1914), and still exists in the Disney and Pixar films of today, such as The Princess and the Frog and Up. Telotte explores the important questions about artistry, authorship, and production that are inherent in the act of animating, providing a unique history of the development of animation as we know it. From Winsor McCay and the Fleischer brothers to Walt Disney, Warner Bros., and Pixar, Animating Space tracks the development of classic American Continued on back flap Continued from front flap FROM MICKEY TO WALL•E FROM MICKEY TO WALL• E Telotte-Animating Space_Telotte-Animating Space 2/22/10 10:10 AM Page 1 Animating Space [44.202.128.177] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 19:40 GMT) This page intentionally left blank. ANIMATING SPACE THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY J. P. TELOTTE From MICKEY to WALL-E ...