Independent animation
The term independent animation refers to
Criteria
A good portion of the work is viewed in animation festivals and private screen rooms along with schools that produce animation through instruction. The significance of independent animation is as important as studio fare. "Independent" initially implied amateurs and unknowns. However, following the implosion of the entertainment industry and mass layoffs of animators, "indie" now almost exclusively refers to industry veterans with connections producing content on their own time.
United States
In America, working independent animators included Mary Ellen Bute,[1] John Whitney,[1] Harry Everett Smith[2] and Oskar Fischinger[1] alongside earlier efforts of what would later become UPA.[3]
In 1959, The Academy Awards witnessed the first independent animated film to win an Oscar with John Hubley's Moonbird which was also produced by wife and collaborator Faith Hubley using limited animation to tell their own personal stories.[4]
Jordan Belson,[3] Robert Breer[5] and Stan Vanderbeek[1] made groundbreaking experimental animation during this time.[4]
Other independent animators during this time included Charles Braverman,[3] Gene Deitch,[3]
In the late 1960s, animator
Alongside Bakshi came other independent animated features of the 70s and 80s (some made by former Disney animators) such as
Notable award-winning films also from the 70s and 80s included Dale Case and Bob Mitchell's The Further Adventures of Uncle Sam (1970),[23] Ted Petok's The Crunch Bird (1971),[24] Frank Mouris's Frank Film (1973)[25] and Jimmy Picker's Sundae in New York (1983).[26]
Animation historians John Canemaker[27] and Michael Sporn[28] also made independent animation in New York, both earning Oscar nods for their work (only Canemaker won in 2005).
Other animators like Candy Kugel,[29] Jeff Scher,[30] Joanna Priestley, Kathy Rose, Suzan Pitt, Robert Swarthe, Vince Collins, Barrie Nelson, Eli Noyes, Sky David (aka Dennis Pies),[8] Steve Segal, Mike Jittlov, Paul Fierlinger,[31] Adam Beckett, Lillian Schwartz, Larry Cuba and George Griffin also made experimental and personal animation during the mid- to late 1970s through the early- to mid-1980s.[3][32][8]
In the 1970s, independent animator
Collections of independent films have been gathered for theatrical viewing, and video release, under such titles as the
Later independent animation
The rise of the Internet in the 1990s and 2000s saw an exponential increase in the production of independent animation which included personal independent works by Timothy Hittle,[39] Janie Geiser,[40] John R. Dilworth, Lewis Klahr[41][42] and John Schnall.[43][44] Personal computer power increased to the point where it was possible for a single person to produce an animated cartoon on a home computer, using software such as Flash, and distribute these short films over the World Wide Web. Independently produced Internet cartoons flourished as the popularity of the Web grew, and a number of strange, often hilarious short cartoons were produced for the Web.
In the late 1990s, an independent animated short film called
Independent animation in the 2000s included animated features such as Paley's
By the mid-to-late 2000s
Recent independent animations released on YouTube include the
Other notable animated indie efforts of the 2020s include Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,[64][65][66][67] War Is Over![68] and My Year of Dicks.[69]
Representations
LGBT representation in independent animation has increased over the years, as many series have featured LGBTQ characters. Lizzy the Lezzy, which premiered on Myspace in 2006, included LGBTQ+ characters like Lizzy, a lesbian.[70] Plum, a bisexual character, first appeared in the animated series, Bravest Warriors, a show which aired on Cartoon Hangover's YouTube channel from 2012 to 2018, as confirmed by her crushes and by writer Kate Leth.[71][72][73] The show was made by Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward and featuring Ian Jones-Quartey, who voiced the character, Wallow, while he directed his own show, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes which featured multiple LGBTQ+ characters. Although Plum had a crush on Chris, kissing him multiple times during the show, she is also madly in love with her doppelganger as shown in the comics.
The Rooster Teeth animated web series,
My Pride: The Series, which premiered in February 2020 on YouTube, follows a "queer, disabled lioness" named Nothing who is trying to heal the world.[88][89] Yssa Badiola of Recorded by Arizal hosted a RTX panel, on September 21, 2020, and stated that there would be LGBTQ characters if a full season was ordered.[90][91] Nico Colaleo's animated web series, Too Loud, the first season which ran from July to August 2017, and the second season which aired from September to November 2019, includes an LGBTQ character. In the episode "Slumber Party Sneak-In," Desiree plots with her sister, Sara, to dress up as a girl in order to go to a slumber party. The rest of the girls find this out, then console her, accepting, and deciding they like her no matter whether she is a trans girl named Desiree or as a closeted boy.[92] In September 2019, Colaleo later described the episode as important, described it as his favorite episode of the show's second season, and a "pro-transgender episode."[93]
Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman's Apprentice (2020), featuring Canadian Inuit characters, won Best Independent Short Film at the Festival Stop Montreal.[94][95][96]
Independent animation outside the United States
Germany
One of the earliest feature-length animated films was The Adventures of Prince Achmed, made in 1926 by Lotte Reiniger, a German artist who made silhouette animation using intricate cut-out figures and back-lighting. She made another feature, Dr. Dolittle, in 1928.[100]
The United Kingdom
The
Another British animated milestone, the 1978 adaptation of Watership Down by American filmmaker Martin Rosen, was also made independently as well.[105]
France
Examples of French independent efforts include
Japan
Brazil
In 2016,
Chile
Czechia
Michaela Pavlátová is known for making independent efforts[120][121] such as the 2021 feature My Sunny Maad,[122][123] which was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.[124]
Estonia
Denmark
Australia
Independent animation entirely from down under includes the works of Felix Colgrave[129] and acclaimed stop motion animator Adam Elliot,[38] known for the Oscar winner Harvie Krumpet (2003) and his feature film Mary and Max (2009).[107]
Canada
Outside of NFB, independent animation entirely from Canada also includes Marv Newland, who is best known for his 1969 cult animated short Bambi Meets Godzilla.[130]
See also
- Zagreb Film
- Pannonia Film Studio
- Norman McLaren - Scottish experimental animator who worked at the National Film Board of Canada
- United Productions of America
- Adult animation
- Soyuzmultfilm
- Halas & Batchelor
- Richard Williams - director of the independently produced The Thief and the Cobbler
- Cartoon Saloon
- Animation Show of Shows - showcase for both independent and mainstream animated shorts
- International Tournée of Animation
- The Animation Show
- Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation
- Laika Studios
- Arthouse animation
- Glitch Productions
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