"Am I the only one who thinks..."

[Philmister978]

I would say 'am I the only one who thinks all the constant CGI/Flash animation bashing that goes on all over youtube, facebook, etc. gets very VERY irritating?' But I think that's been covered very well here at toonzone within the past few months, so instead....

Exactly my thoughts. If done right, I think both can be used to their advantage. But that adage can be applied to nearly everything, even life itself. Heck, IMDb is quite possibly the worst offender with dozens of trolls and haters claiming that CG (or anything for that matter) sucks in this or that. Though to be fair, they even get pissy over each other if need be.

 

[Whimsical Crank]

CG is good, but regardless of how you use it, Flash just isn't a good medium for full on animation in movies or television, it wasn't designed for that. Even drawing frame by frame, there are much much better programs to use than flash. Bones style animation has never appealed to me regardless of what program is used.

To be honest, Flash does not appeal to me either, but I wouldn't hate a show/movie for being animated that way. I just find it irritating that A LOT of people don't bother giving a new show a chance just because of the way it gets animated, a show/movie should be judged on its writing and characters instead. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Dan Vs. (and even this show's animation can get a bit tacky at times) are all animated in flash, but they're well written shows. Also as far as 'limited animation' (flash or 60s-70s hand drawn) goes, Flinstones and Jetsons were entertaining shows as well.

Exactly my thoughts. If done right, I think both can be used to their advantage. But that adage can be applied to nearly everything, even life itself. Heck, IMDb is quite possibly the worst offender with dozens of trolls and haters claiming that CG (or anything for that matter) sucks in this or that. Though to be fair, they even get pissy over each other if need be.

You can add youtube to the list, looking at a lot of the comments on both sites, it seems many people wear their nostalgia glasses WAY too tightly to prevent them from enjoying the good things today. What a shame....

 

[suss2it]

To be honest, Flash does not appeal to me either, but I wouldn't hate a show/movie for being animated that way. I just find it irritating that A LOT of people don't bother giving a new show a chance just because of the way it gets animated, a show/movie should be judged on its writing and characters instead. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Dan Vs. (and even this show's animation can get a bit tacky at times) are all animated in flash, but they're well written shows. Also as far as 'limited animation' (flash or 60s-70s hand drawn) goes, Flinstones and Jetsons were entertaining shows as well.

Cartoons are a visual medium so the animation is a huge part of the appeal, and should definitely be judged alongside the writing and characters. If all you're interested in is characters and good writing, you're better off just reading books.

 

[cognitofalcon]

To be honest, Flash does not appeal to me either, but I wouldn't hate a show/movie for being animated that way. I just find it irritating that A LOT of people don't bother giving a new show a chance just because of the way it gets animated, a show/movie should be judged on its writing and characters instead. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Dan Vs. (and even this show's animation can get a bit tacky at times) are all animated in flash, but they're well written shows. Also as far as 'limited animation' (flash or 60s-70s hand drawn) goes, Flinstones and Jetsons were entertaining shows as well.

You can add youtube to the list, looking at a lot of the comments on both sites, it seems many people wear their nostalgia glasses WAY too tightly to prevent them from enjoying the good things today. What a shame....

What about people who like animation? Animation should be judged as part of the story process. Chemistry is THE most important element in the story telling process, and you either have it, or you do not. But you get closer to achieving it when all elements beyond something as vague as story, writing, and character, are used. Sensations like visuals, sounds, and emotions, are very important to this process. You use these sensations to drive your story.

 

[Whimsical Crank]

Cartoons are a visual medium so the animation is a huge part of the appeal, and should definitely be judged alongside the writing and characters. If all you're interested in is characters and good writing, you're better off just reading books.

What about people who like animation? Animation should be judged as part of the story process. Chemistry is THE most important element in the story telling process, and you either have it, or you do not. But you get closer to achieving it when all elements beyond something as vague as story, writing, and character, are used. Sensations like visuals, sounds, and emotions, are very important to this process. You use these sensations to drive your story.

Perhaps I didn't express myself well enough, animation should indeed be taken into account alongside the writing and characters, that's a good portion of the reason why I didn't get into shows/series like Problem Solverz and Mel O Toons (personally never got into these as a kid). BUT what I was originally trying to get at is that it shouldn't matter to people which method of animation is used for a particular cartoon (CGI, hand drawn, flash, stop motion, 60s-70s limited animation style, etc.), as long as it's done well. And again, Flash is no exception, keep those 3 shows I mentioned in mind.

Let me share a little something with both of you, when the news of the CGI Looney Tunes shorts popped up, the first thing I see is people complaining that the Looney Tunes are being animated in another medium. I'll admit even if I wasn't enraged about the LT being in CGI, a part of me still wondered why they didn't stick with hand drawn like they always have, but I decided to hold off my opinions until I've seen these new shorts...Well it just so happens that Daffy's Rhapsody, I Tawt I Tawt a Puddy Tat and the Road Runner shorts released were the best new LT shorts I've seen in many MANY years, it helped a lot that Warner Bros. was able to utilize CGI and at the same time keep the visual classic look and feel on them for the most part (especially on Daffy's Rhapsody). If WB used the CGI utilized on the Looney Tunes Show with the Road Runner interstitials, then these shorts would not have been anywhere near as good, compare the movements of the Road Runner and Coyote from the tv shorts and the theatrical shorts, there's a HUGE difference, the latter is nowhere near as restricted in movements. I'll say it again if it wasn't clear already, I don't complain about WHICH medium a show or movie is animated in, but heads will roll if little to no care is given on HOW well they execute the medium, especially for theatrical cartoons (both full length or short films) since they're given a much bigger budget than tv cartoons. I hope this makes better sense now.

 

[ShoutMeOut]

Moments of Stupidity

Am I the only one who has stupid moments? Like, for example, I was thinking to myself just then and for some reason I thought the word "capacity" was "compacity."

I have utterly stupid moments like this for some reason despite the fact that I'm actually pretty dang smart or at least I fancy myself so.

I'll also completely make up words on the spot when I write, thinking that they were already words to begin with. Silly me.

 

[cognitofalcon]

Am I the only one who has stupid moments? Like, for example, I was thinking to myself just then and for some reason I thought the word "capacity" was "compacity."

I have utterly stupid moments like this for some reason despite the fact that I'm actually pretty dang smart or at least I fancy myself so.

I'll also completely make up words on the spot when I write, thinking that they were already words to begin with. Silly me.

Lol, I do the same exact thing sometimes. I think everyone does. I correct my own train of thought's grammar sometimes.

 

[Philmister978]

Am I the only one who has stupid moments? Like, for example, I was thinking to myself just then and for some reason I thought the word "capacity" was "compacity."

I have utterly stupid moments like this for some reason despite the fact that I'm actually pretty dang smart or at least I fancy myself so.

I'll also completely make up words on the spot when I write, thinking that they were already words to begin with. Silly me.

I thought I was alone on this. Thank goodness I'm not.

 

[John Pannozzi]

Okay, time to be brutally honest...

Am I the only one who feels like they've had to put their entire social life on hold in order to focus on College, and yet doesn't have the courage to drop out (plus I'm pretty close to graduating).

 

[ShoutMeOut]

"Stupid" smart people, unite! LOL
I've had many a stupid moment throughout my rather short 18 year old life.

Hmmm...am I the only one who doesn't see anything completely wrong with judging some entertainment before experiencing it? Obviously you can't fully say whether or not it's good or sucks, but I think you can pay attention to the general consensus, along with weighing your own enjoyment of similar entertainment to see if you think it's worth experiencing. When discussing movies and such, usually I'll say something like, "I heard it was a good movie," when speaking in favor of it, or, "I heard it sucked," when dismissing it. Obviously I wouldn't know for sure if I would enjoy it or not and I'm not going to completely hate or love something I haven't yet seen/played/read/listened to (I'm actually rather cautious when it comes to that), but my opinion can be swayed early, let's put it like that.

 

[defunctzombie]

Am I the only one who remembers Kris? What makes this "Lyra" so special?

 

[bobbybop]

am i the only one who likes fanfiction?

 

[SilentBat18]

am i the only one who likes fanfiction?

No. I think many other members will agree.

 

[Silverstar]

am i the only one who likes fanfiction?

I enjoy good fan fiction, but how often does one come across a good fanfic?

Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places, but 90% of the fanfics I've read have been self-indulgent crap. Too many of them depict established characters acting completely out of character, dealing with subject matter they were never designed to deal with and/or being reduced to playing second fiddle to some ridiculously overpowered, spotlight-hogging Mary Sue/Gary Stu character.

By no means am I trying to imply that all fan fiction is terrible, as I don't wish to dissuade any other potential authors from pursuing their dreams, but I can count the number of truly worthwhile, enjoyable fan fiction stories that I've read on 1 hand.

 

[Shawn Hopkins]

I enjoy good fan fiction, but how often does one come across a good fanfic?

Never, in my experience. I have never seen one piece of fan fiction that I would put in the "good" category. However, I have seen dozens so bad that they make you think we probably do need a good earth cleansing asteroid strike.

Edit: Not saying it doesn't exist, just saying it's apparently rare enough that I've never run across it.

 

[The Talon]

Am I the only that does not like musicals AT ALL? Seriously, all of them usually just annoy me so much, which is kinda ironic, since I usually listen to all types of music. I couldn't stand season 3 of Total Drama because of that. But, the only musical that i've really enjoyed was Nightmare Before Christmas. And even that got ruined thanks to Hot Topic.

 

[Shawn Hopkins]

Am I the only that does not like musicals AT ALL? Seriously, all of them usually just annoy me so much, which is kinda ironic, since I usually listen to all types of music. I couldn't stand season 3 of Total Drama because of that. But, the only musical that i've really enjoyed was Nightmare Before Christmas. And even that got ruined thanks to Hot Topic.

I love musicals. You should try South Pacific. If you don't like that one, there's something wrong with your soul.

 

[Michael24]

Am I the only that does not like musicals AT ALL? Seriously, all of them usually just annoy me so much, which is kinda ironic, since I usually listen to all types of music. I couldn't stand season 3 of Total Drama because of that. But, the only musical that i've really enjoyed was Nightmare Before Christmas. And even that got ruined thanks to Hot Topic.

It's funny, if I try to watch a musical nowadays that's new to me, I usually end up unable to get into it. (Moulin Rouge? Ugh.) But I can still go back and enjoy the ones I grew up on, like all the Disney classics or The Wizard of Oz, which I was just watching the other night, or heck, even Popeye, which I unapologetically still enjoy.

 

[cognitofalcon]

It's funny, if I try to watch a musical nowadays that's new to me, I usually end up unable to get into it. (Moulin Rouge? Ugh.) But I can still go back and enjoy the ones I grew up on, like all the Disney classics or The Wizard of Oz, which I was just watching the other night, or heck, even Popeye, which I unapologetically still enjoy.

Moulin Rouge is a terrible movie, but a good try I guess. I LOVE singing' in the Rain, probably my favorite musical of all time.

 

[purplehairedwonder]

am i the only one who likes fanfiction?

I've been writing fan fiction for years. My writing has improved drastically because of the practice. Now I mostly write in the Supernatural fandom; I've found some excellent writers through the community on Livejournal. FF.N is a mixed bag, mostly of bad work, with the occasional gem (and I've found a few real gems).

It's funny, if I try to watch a musical nowadays that's new to me, I usually end up unable to get into it. (Moulin Rouge? Ugh.)

\o/ Moulin Rouge is still one of my favorite movies. Never get tired of it.