Research Recap Report



Ray Harryhausen was a pioneer and hero in animation. He paved the way for better animation as he used the pain staking technique called stop gap animation which means that you move the object very slowly frame by frame so it looks like it is moving on screen. One of the quotes I have found from the Guardian newspaper relating to him reads: “Ray Harryhausen was the undisputed master of this art form, and was the first superstar to emerge from the field of special effects.” Ray made and clay models and produced the animation himself. His fascination for animation started when he went to watch the original King Kong in the cinemas. He would then continue to study it and he knew that was what he wanted to do in his life. Another quote I have found in the same article reads: “His movies bristled with images that left a lasting impression on cinemagoers.” One of his most noticeable movies included Jason and the Argonauts (1963) which saw a skeleton army attacking soldiers. It was very realistic for its time and is one of his well-known pieces of animation. His animation in the films inspired a lot of directors and a lot of films such as Star Wars (1977) and Jurassic Park (1993)

The fifth and final quote is also from the guardian newspaper and tells how the Disney Beatles film Yellow Submarine (1968) gave rise to modern animation. It was led by brilliant visionary designer Heinz Edelmann and director George Dunning with a prosuction budget of under $1m. “Before Yellow Submarine, animation was a mild, goody-goody world of personality-free gloved mice and cartoon bears stealing picnic baskets. But after Yellow Submarine, it was a wholly different world. It wasn't just for kids. It was satire and art and, most of all, subversion.” This shows that animation before yellow submarine wasn’t very good and it was just for little children with characters like animals. But when Yellow Submarine came along they used top of the range equipment and animation was seen in a very different light after it because the film seen animation in an art form and that it could be viewed by anybody. Another quote reads: “Without Yellow Submarine there would never have been The Simpsons, no Futurama, no South Park, no Toy Story, no Shrek. No animated anything that enables us to laugh at ourselves while being highly entertained.” This shows how important this film was and the dedication to the film to make it a masterpiece. It is viewed by any animator now and it draws lots of influences. It is one of the most important milestones in animation history because of the way it is presented and made. Examples of its influence are quoted here:  “A couple of specific references from The Simpsons. Remember in the chilli episode, where Homer eats the "insanity pepper" and goes on a trip? As it begins, Homer is seen floating against live-action clouds. After the table-read of the script, I told the director: "Make it like that George-on-the-mountain-top scene in Yellow Submarine. You know that one?" And of course he knew, because he was of a generation that grew up loving that movie.

“Another example is in an episode of The Simpsons called Last Exit to Springfield. Lisa needs braces and the orthodontist gives her gas, whereupon she goes into a psychedelic trip – Lisa in the sky (without diamonds) – that is a brilliant parody of Yellow Submarine. I counted about 20 specific references.”