From cartoons, animes to TV series

"Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere"  Anton Ego, Ratatouille

From the moment we are born, we are attracted by the colorful surrounding we live in and soon, in about a couple of years, we are ready to draw with coloured pencils all the objects and entities playing in our world. Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci would be jealous of the eagerness we have to grasp the beauty of nature and the easiness we have to represent very complex images with just a couple of strokes of our pencils. We feel artists doing artwork.

In time, we learn to read and this permits to uncover the mysteries of the drawings with text we had so many times cherished in our hands. Cartoons and comics become an attractive source of entertainment.

Phenakitoscope

When I was a kid, I enjoyed cartoons and comic books with the adventures of  Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Archie...and of superheroes like Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and many others. The interest in reading comics books was such that there were even places where you could buy, rent, or exchange your comics book for another one over a modest pay...!  That was a win-win opportunity.

Then, a long-awaited wish came true: animated cartoons in colour and with a perfectly synchronized sound. The Disney studios were pioneers in this respect with shorts that were common in cinemas and later on TV. A large number of other studios, such as Walter Lanz's (The Woody Woodpecker);  DePatie-Freleng's (The Pink Panther) and Hanna-Barbera (The Flintstones, The Jetsons); became popular. Thus, the dream of animation that started with ingenious devices created by visionary inventors as far back as the flip book in 1886 or the phenakistoscope in 1893 was materialized.

Anime is a Japanese term for animation. Animes use a different, but effective manner to give life to the stories in mangas (Japanese comics books). Animes focus on the illustration over the fluid movement of the characters, thus they give the observer time to think and have a deeper appreciation of the characters and the story. Marco and Heidi are probably two of the first most widely watched animes worldwide.

Walt Disney's Fantasy

Technological advance has permitted that the traditional hand-drawn animation were later replaced with computer animation, leading to better end results in the quality of the films. New important studios have appeared, such as Pixar's, that have added diversity to the field.

The focus of animation is the whole family. Animated cartoons have also been a good way to appreciate classical music. Perhaps one of the best-animated films showing the power of music is Walt Disney's Fantasy, a film that included musical extracts from  Bach, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Stravinski, among others.  And the tale "Peter and The Wolf" is also a good way of developing a liking to classical music.

How to train your dragon

I must say I am currently a fan of many animated films; Ice Age 3 and How to Train your Dragon are just a few of them. Sorry, I cannot leave Ratatouille behind ...

The Flintstones

Yet, I cannot but miss those days in front of the TV set happily watching the adventures of the Flintstones or the Pink Panther ...

Now it's your turn:

Tell me about:

The cartoon, anime, or TV series you like the most; describe.

Are you a fan or an occasional reader and/or watcher? Give reason(s).

Describe the role of comics or mangas in your life.

Describe the importance of cartoons or animes in your life.

Describe the TV series you or your family usually watched.

Are cartoons, comics, animes and/or mangas good conversation topics for you and your friends?

Write any other relevant information.

- Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts + a comment on your teacher's post.

- Word Count: 230 words